240D motor mounts, engine shock and thermostat

I just got my 240D back from having the motor mounts changed.   When I purchased the 240D, the motor mounts were one of the few obvious things that needed attending to on the car.   They looked pretty bad and the engine was shaking at idle.

On a W123 or W126, normally I would go with the Lemforder motor mounts, which are excellent.    I couldn’t find any of those for sale.   Generally I avoid Meyle parts as I find their quality and longevity questionable.  However, I had read a couple of good reviews of their HD parts.    Given 240Ds have a reputation of being hard on motor mounts, I thought I would give them a try.

At the same time, I bought a new transmission mount, plus and engine shock and fitting kit.    Interestingly, while the 300D has a pair of engine shocks like a V8, the 240D has a single one.   When the Meyle mounts arrived, they looked quite substantial, and quite different form the regular Meyle mounts.  I didn’t inspect the transmission  mount, but it seemed to make sense to do them all at the same time.

Now I have the car back, my initial feeling is that these mounts are very hard, and probably a bit too hard.   I expect they will settle a little, which may make them a bit better.   They are an improvement on the original mounts, but are a little harsh, particularly when the engine is cold.

While the car was in, I also had the shift bushings and thermostat changed.    I would normally do the shift bushings myself, with the Kent Bergsma tool, but my hoist is currently broken.   The car had been running a bit hotter than I would like, so the thermostat seemed like an obvious thing to do.

The shift bushings made a big difference, and so far the thermostat seems to have helped somewhat.   The engine still gets quite warm going up a steep hill, but it now cools off a bit when not under load.    I’ll keep an eye on this.    I was able to verify that the oil cooler is working.   When I parked the car after driving today, the oil cooler was warm to the touch.

I’ve been really enjoying this car. The W123 sedan is such a great car, especially when compared to how cheap they are to buy.