I'm getting a rattling/tapping metallic sound from under the car in the shifter area that's more pronounced when the car rolls from a cold start. The sound seems to be related to driveshaft speed, but not to the gear the transmission is in...when I roll to a stop at the light, the clinking noise slows gradually and stops when the car is not moving any more. I placed the car on a lift, ran the drive train with car in gear, but no noise with car on the lift when there's no load on the wheels. The driveshaft seems firm, with no apparaent play at either end. The noise also gets variably louder when the car travels over road bumps and the suspension moves up and down.. Under the car, I cannot find anything loose. Are there rubber bushings or sleeves on either end of driveshaft that need to be replaced periodically? Help! I'm really confused and frustrated!:help:

 

could be a heatshield bent and rubbing against the exhaust pipe, see it all the time , shift rod bushings? the shifter linkage rattles metal to metal when the bushing comes apart. transmission mount?

 

The annoying clinking, rattling is very likely to be the Auto Trans Shift Linkage Bushing having deteriorated (as Member chassis221 mentions above). A very common wear item on our W202s. I replaced mine on my 1996 C36 just last year for the very same reason.

Very cheap to purchase a new bushing, but a bit fiddly to install...

http://www.autohausaz.com/search/pro...kage%20Bushing

 

I replaced the shifter to linkage bushing, which was completely missing. That eliminated the metallic noise, however, there was still a grinding scraping noise in that same area that varied with shaft seped and got louder going over bumps. I discovered that the insulation sheet under the transmission/drivehaft tunnel had come loose and was rubbing aginst the rear transmission output shaft/driveshaft flange. Couldnt hear it when car was on lift with shaft turning since the shaft and flange dropped down out of contact range when wheels were off ground. I glued the insulation sheet back up to the body, no more noise !!! Thanks for the replies