Vibration In The Car

[MiraOwner]

Guys,

i have been having a serious issue with the car and couldn't resolve it even after spending the whole day at the garage yesterday. this is regarding one of the previous topics that i posted as well (Motor mounts)

There are serious vibrations in the car when idling and at low speeds with heavier loads (AC on and multiple passengers on-board).

The garage guys are 'trial and error' mechanics. initially after running on the road with the 'chief' mechanic he said the car is sluggish and lets do a complete fuel system clean up to see if it would reduce the vibration so they went on and did the following.

* switched to new spark plugs

* new filters on the fuel nozzles (the tiny ones with the mesh, don't know the technical term)

* fuel tank was removed and the in-tank fuel filter mechanism and fuel pump were cleaned up with thinner.

* fuel rails cleaned up.

after this the car became more responsive yet the problem remained.

the gearbox mount was the next one to be changed as the mount was pretty badly damaged (refer my previous post)

but as per the mechanics the other two mounts are not that bad and didn't need replacement

second trial on the road revealed that the vibration increased a little after changing the gearbox mount.

Later the mechanics were claiming that it could be an issue with the steering mechanism and the vibration is travelling from the engine through the steering mechanism to the body and the dash.

at this point i was fed up and having spent 7 hours at the garage i thought of calling it a day.

now with my observations. i feel that the vibrations are originating from the gearbox.

i did the following and this is what i found out.

When holding on to the brake and engaging D the vibration goes up to a noticeable level, when engaging R (reverse) vibration is twice as much (as if the whole car is going to fall apart), and when in N the car is as quite as a mouse.

Experts! need your input! I'm totally lost.

[VVTi]

Ideally you should change all the Engine and gear box mounts. When one fails. extra strain is put on the rest causing them to wear out fast. I had a similar problem with my previous P11 and only the complete replacement of the engine mounts solved the issue.

[terrabytetango]

VVTi is correct, I personally observed an auto geared Liana (a car I used to ride in often, not drive) deteriorate rapidly over a few months. The difference after the engine mounts were replaced was like huge, my jaw no longer rattled when we sat still in traffic with the transmission in D.

[Riz]

Doen the engine vibrate on "N" position.

[Batteries]

Guys,

i have been having a serious issue with the car and couldn't resolve it even after spending the whole day at the garage yesterday. this is regarding one of the previous topics that i posted as well (Motor mounts)

There are serious vibrations in the car when idling and at low speeds with heavier loads (AC on and multiple passengers on-board).

The garage guys are 'trial and error' mechanics. initially after running on the road with the 'chief' mechanic he said the car is sluggish and lets do a complete fuel system clean up to see if it would reduce the vibration so they went on and did the following.

* switched to new spark plugs

* new filters on the fuel nozzles (the tiny ones with the mesh, don't know the technical term)

* fuel tank was removed and the in-tank fuel filter mechanism and fuel pump were cleaned up with thinner.

* fuel rails cleaned up.

after this the car became more responsive yet the problem remained.

the gearbox mount was the next one to be changed as the mount was pretty badly damaged (refer my previous post)

but as per the mechanics the other two mounts are not that bad and didn't need replacement

second trial on the road revealed that the vibration increased a little after changing the gearbox mount.

Later the mechanics were claiming that it could be an issue with the steering mechanism and the vibration is travelling from the engine through the steering mechanism to the body and the dash.

at this point i was fed up and having spent 7 hours at the garage i thought of calling it a day.

now with my observations. i feel that the vibrations are originating from the gearbox.

i did the following and this is what i found out.

When holding on to the brake and engaging D the vibration goes up to a noticeable level, when engaging R (reverse) vibration is twice as much (as if the whole car is going to fall apart), and when in N the car is as quite as a mouse.

Experts! need your input! I'm totally lost.

Does this happen when the A/C is off.

[MiraOwner]

Does this happen when the A/C is off.

When the AC is on the vibration is more. if you are thinking of the AC idle up that is ruled out idle RPM goes up when the AC is switched on.

and thanks for all for the reply's. still haven't decided what to do yet. waiting for more input from all before i take her to another garage.

[VVTi]

Machang, do this.

Get another driver. Ask him/her to start the car. You get on the front, open the hood and stand on the side of the engine bay. (For safety).

Ask the driver to pull the hand brake. While pressing hard on the foot brake hard, ask to put the car on to D and then to N And to R. If you see a large movement on the engine sometimes with a 'thud' noise, your mounts are bad. Ask to race the engine slightly while pressing the brake hard, you might see a lot of movement, That is what comes in as your vibration.

Check and see.

[MiraOwner]

Machang, do this.

Get another driver. Ask him/her to start the car. You get on the front, open the hood and stand on the side of the engine bay. (For safety).

Ask the driver to pull the hand brake. While pressing hard on the foot brake hard, ask to put the car on to D and then to N And to R. If you see a large movement on the engine sometimes with a 'thud' noise, your mounts are bad. Ask to race the engine slightly while pressing the brake hard, you might see a lot of movement, That is what comes in as your vibration.

Check and see.

Thanks Mate.. will try this out tomorrow.

[VVTi]

Thanks Mate.. will try this out tomorrow.

Keep us posted.

[MiraOwner]

Guys... Just to update you all on what happened after. after so many hours of trying to pin-point the problem and close to 50k worth of different repairs (new exhaust mounts/ engine tune ups / motor mounts / blah.. blah.. blah) . finally the vibration was identified at the steering mechanism where a nylon bush was worn to bits below the uni-joint of the steering column ("kuruse" (cross) they call it). hope this would help someone else if they ever come across such a scenario.

[terrabytetango]

Are you sure you didn't initially feel the vibrations through the steering wheel? Vibrations can feel very different between driver and passenger.

Edited November 5, 2011 by terrabytetango