Home » Tech Help » Technical Forum

115 chassis 240d 1975- engine vibration damper plate or power steering pump attachment only?

Submitted by oldsmoky115 on 5 July 2007 - 2:28am.
Hi- I have a 1975 240d (115 chassis)- I just removed the power steering pump since its been disconnected for years anyway. TO do so I had to remove the radiator, and a link bar that connected the ps pump to a stud on the side of the engine block. My question is: there is steel plate that is joined to a lower frame crossmember by a small 'shock absorber'at the left side when facing the front of the car, and also attached to a stud on the block on the right side at the same point the power steering pump was attached. This plate was also attached by 3 of the oil pan bolts that extended upwards through the block casting and then into this plate- is the function of this plate related solely to additionally securing the power steering pump, or is it some sort of 'engine vibration damper'? - is it critical or really desirable that I reinstall it or can I go without it (as long as I replace the 3 oil pan bolts I removed to get it off) ?
‹ 560SL starting issues Changing Serp Belt on 93 300D? ›

1975 240 d engine vibration damper

7 July 2007 - 3:23am
oldsmoky115
answer to my own question for benefit of others with similar issues. I found out that what i described is an engine vibration damper. Attached to a lowerr frame crossmember with a small shock absorber, and with 3 of the same but longer bolts that attach the oil pan to the lower engine block, and a bolt or two going to the engine block on the drivers side. I asked a benz tech if is was desirable to leave this system in place, or if it was just Mercedes Benz engineering overkill. He said an ancillary function besides minimizing engine vibration , if there were a motormount failure the additional support this system provides can prevent vehicle loss of control situations when the engine drops- so I decided that while I have the radiator off to remove the steering pump and do belts I'll redo my vibration damper setup with a new unbroken shock and hardware kit. also I noticed that the 3 common allen head bolts that are longer than the rest and also attach the vibration damper plate to the lower block had threads that were badly mangled when i removed them. Probably because of the stresses they get acting as more than just oil pan bolts, so I'm replacing them as well to avoid the possible future aggravation that brokem off oil pan bolts would mean.