Sprinter noise/vibration

[vipra]

Here's info for Sprinter owners who get what is called the "rumble-strip" noise, something frequently asked about in this forum. My 2004 Sprinter with 230K miles did that noise/vibration at least once a week since it was new. Suddenly last month it started doing it almost constantly, plus my Sprinter would shake violently while accellerating between 45 and 60. My shop put in a new transmission and torque converter, and the noise/vibration is completely gone. If you're getting that noise occassionally, my advice is: ignore it, but don't be surprised if you suddenly find yourself facing a very expensive repair.
My repair manual said to get the tranny oil + filter changed once only at 80K miles, and I did that on time. Recently in this forum someone said that should be done every 60K miles, so maybe that's a good idea- it may prevent you from paying for a new tranny at only 230K miles like I had to do.
I should plug my shop- www.vandykedodge.com They did all the work in 1 day, and the service manager talked Daimler/Chrysler into knocking $1000 off the price since I'm a regular customer.

 

[RLENT]

Yeah, the "change-it-once-at-80K-and-forget-it" thing in the manual had me puzzled from the git-go. If the fluid has the potential to start going south after 80K, then if you change it at 80K why wouldn't you do so again at 160K ? D-C really ought to clarify this .....

It might not be a bad idea to stick in a temp gauge for the tranny fluid and really see how hot it's actually getting ..... that and an actual transmission oil cooler. (dunno if it has one or not)

A number of years ago (about 20 or so) I had an E-350 cube van and the tranny went south. I pulled it and took it into a tranny shop that was recommended to me by a friend, who said the guy was really good.

In talking to the guy he explained to me that one of the primary causes of failure with automatic trannys is the fuild getting hot and breaking down, along with contamination (failure to change the fluid & filter.) He showed me the powered metal that was on the bottom of the pan - it was alot finer than sand - about like jeweler's rouge or flour. And then explained that basically the stuff that was in the pan was all throughout the tranny - and that rebuilding it without cleaning it out would be a waste since it would fail prematurely

He had a flush bench that he put my tranny on and hooked it up to. Then he pumped a fluid thru it for a number of days to clean it out - the fluid was repeatedly filtered thru a very fine filter, which he cleaned every so many hours. He did have to replace some internal parts that commonly go bad (clutch packs maybe) I think it ended up costing me around $750 to have it rebuilt (since I had pulled it and brought it in)

I'm curious what did it run you to have it replaced ?

There's also a website that sells Sprinter parts that I ran across that claims the rumble strip noise is caused by a frame member (cross-brace I think) that is made of too light a gauge of metal - which allows the driveline to chatter. They sell a replacement that is heavier. Do you know if the dealer replaced that cross-brace with a retrofit unit perhaps from D-C to beef it up (and maybe just didn't mention it ?)

 

[Turtle]

I can plug Van , as well. Around my 3rd oil change I was up in that part of the woods after dropping off a load, and as I drove by I decided to see if they could get me in for a quick oil and filter change, including the fuel filter. They had me in and out in under half an hour. I know I just got lucky, but still.

Mine is still under warranty. I wonder if they'd swap out my transmission for a new one?

 

[bryan]

Hi

Does the Sprinters have an aux tranny cooler?If so how big is it and where is it located?

 

[jrcarroll]

I have looked at 2007 sprinters and you can now order one. most would mount cooler in front of condenser and radiator.
The only thing to remember when installing an after market trans cooler is to let it do all of the cooling, and not have fluid run through the radiator cooler.

John




"flyin" under the radar is more fun, and pays better.

 

[cargodreaming]

I have a 3500 sprinter and had the transmission replaced at 53,000 miles under warrenty thank goodness. Everythings fine now fixing to hit 100,000 soon. I had to battle with the dealership over it and even switched dealerships to get it done but they gave me a new one as soon as I heard and felt this noise. They did not have an anwer but another driver with the same model transmission went out and he was passed his warranty very expensive. I add a Transmission cool gauge and will be installing a larger cooler soon as well. Minus the high repair cost I love the sprinter.

 

[talkinghorse43]

The shaking on acceleration between 45-60 mph sounds similar to a vibration that others have found a tranny fluid flush will fix - did you try a fluid flush?

I have an '02 and recently bought an '06 owner's manual figuring it might include lessons learned in the meantime. That manual included an addendum recommending a tranny fluid change every 60k miles.