the3rsss

I have been having some vibration issues at idle. Tried new plugs etc, but still shakes at idle in drive. Last week, I jacked it up, took out the motor mount to subframe bolts, took the weight off the engine and inspected the mounts. Well, they wiggled and moved around just by me grabbing them so I think its safe to assume they are shot. Ok, got new mounts this week. Straightforward job right? A few bolts, lower the engine and im on my way? Noooooooo......How do you get to that back bolt? I cant even see it let alone take it out. The subframe covers it up. Anybody do this job? Would it be any easier if the motor were even higher off the frame? thanks 99 obw 2.5 dohc

Don't forget the valves! Check the clearances while the engine is out. Shims are 7 each but often have to be ordered. This is important! Check them!

Tweezers and a pin. Fish it out. Godspeed!

Blackstone labs! Damn auto correct!

Good choice of oil and filter. If you want, I did this, send a sample to backbone labs and have your oil analyzed at your next change. It will give you good insight into how your engine is wearing and how well your oil is holding up. It's cheap piece of mind. 25.00 and your results are back in a week.

Btw. I found pinhole leaks by charging up the system thru the canister hose with about ten lbs compressed air. Found leak quick. Could hear it hissing.

How about replacing the entire line in rubber fuel line. Bypassing the rotten metal tube.

If it were fuel related I think you would get that fuel starved sputtering , coughing and loopy idle and thats not what you described. So... I'm thinking ignition. Is the coil connector clean and tight? Tap the coil with a piece of wood while running, maybe an internal short in the coil. The main connectors, are they clean? I know there was a tsb about water draining on them. When it stalls does everything go out? Lights etc?:

I believe soa calls for 5w30 for that engine. Remember, the second number(30) is the weight or flowability of the oil at OPERATING temp, approx 210 degrees. this never changes from alaska to texas, once an engine warms up they ALL run at about 210 deg. The first number(5) is the cold start weight. 5 is kinda of an all around middle of the road number. In a warm climate you could use a 10w30, moderate 5w30 and cold 5 or 0w30. Dont mess with the 30 unless your engine is well worn. Now synthetics.....a 10w30 synthetic will flow as well as a 5w30 dino oil cold. Synthetics flow much better at all temps. Your in a warm climate. I would use 0w30 with a quality (not fram) filter. The top of the line purolator (i think its puregard) has a bypass valve opening that is as close to a stock filter as you can get. If you want more info go to http://www.bobistheoilguy.com or the petroleum quality institute http://www.pqiamerica.com

Oh BTW...I had a 01 Taurus do the exact same thing. Turned out to be a bad map sensor. I know you put one in but.....

How about the basics? Plugs and wires? New? Quality? Vac. Hoses ok? Sounds like maybe a vac leak. Check pvc hoses and egr valve/hoses for cracks or restrictions. Have you done a compression or vac test? A bad Iac will generally give you a very low or very high idle. I would concentrate on a vac leak.

Looks like the Iac itself is adjustable. Seems to vary idle slightly and unlike the set screw, the ecm will not correct it.

I would start by replacing both battery cables. They are cheap, and it sounds like they may be the problem. Clean all the connections and coat them with electric grease or the old standby....vaseline. chances are, that will take care of the problem. Also, how old is the battery? Have you tested it and the alternate output?

Wow. 3 to 5 lbs? Seriously? Then its useless! Anyone know of an upgraded one? Maybe ten lbs? Id like a little warning.

While your under there with dirt falling into your eyes, you might as well swap out the old rubber sway bar to body bushings for firmer poly bushings. They are cheap (15 tops), and help firm up the ride.

If you plan on keeping it, now is the time for major service. The timing belt should be replaced as well as all of the pulleys. The cam seals should be replaced while the pulleys are off. The oil pump ring should be replaced. Also a weak tensioner will cause a knock like noise at start up. Look for wear marks on the plastic cam covers, a sure sign of a sloppy belt.piston slap is worst in colder weather. Usually goes away in ten min or so. I use a dino oil half 5w30 half 10w30. Quiets mine down.

The first thing I would do is clean the underside of the car real good and that will help you pinpoint the leak/s. Fix that first, then you can drive it. The other stuff you can put off for a while. Make a list, most important first. As far as the seller....if the mileage is not actual, ie; broken or replaced speedo etc that must clearly be spelled out on the title. What the seller did may not be legal. With that said.....didn't you read the title before you signed it? My god, it was off a hundred k miles!

Do it! Don't give it a second thought. The anti-wear agents used in motor oil are basically minerals. Boron, magnesium, etc. No ill effects mixing different minerals. But basically they all use the same ingredients. Look at the petroleum quality institute website. Most of the ingredients are the same.

Ive had some issues with rough idle warm, in drive on my 99 obw. New plugs helped. Also found a loose fender mount that was rattling, but its still kinda rough. I picked up a iac valve at the junkyard, going to clean it and just got the new gasket in. It looks like both temp sensors are easy to get at with the iac out. Since the sensor controls the iac via the ecm, is it a good idea to change this also? Is this another case of " use only oem" sensors? Looks like the aftermarket 2 wire sensors run from 60$ to 15 on ebay. Anyone use these? What do you guys think? Maybe just leave them alone? Also, ive read the threads on iac cleaning. Was thinking of soaking in gasoline and q tips? Anyone have experience cleaning one of these?

I got it! Just by luck! First I tried to turn up the idle. Just a touch. The ecm didn't like that, kept throwing a high idle code. So I cleaned the map, removed and cleaned the Iac valve . Still vibrated . I then loosened both motor mounts and Rocked the engine with a pry bar. Checked out that axle pin and it looked fine. I was convinced it was the autozone axle.This morning, I decided to change the plugs. They only had about 10k miles but I thought I'd give it a try. Put in new plugs and noticed the cruise control vac hose was cracked. Replaced that (didnt think that would cause a bad idle) and by accident slammed the pass side door. There is was! That rattle! Turns out there is a metal bracket to support the fender bottom. Tnhis rusted at the bottom and was rattling around. Gone! Rattle is gone! Thank god I didn't have to replace that axle again

I have piston slap in my 2.5 dohc. Cant speak for anyone else but I tried a few oils to see if i can lessen the noise at start up. This motor did not seem to like synthetic in any grade! The knock seemed worst with synthetic. Went with mobile 5000 3qts 5-30 rest 10w-30. That seemed to quiet it down quite a bit. I also use a block heater on very cold nights. Warm car in the morning and cuts down the piston slap alot. I had done some major engine work over the summer, I read all the threads and I know that the slap is harmless (my opinion), I still got an oil analysis done for my own piece of mind. It was cheap 25$, quick 2weeks, And found basically no wear metals in the oil. If you want piece of mind, get it done.

I honestly had no idea the pin was directional. By directional do you mean the pin itself or the hole in the axle? God, the last thing I want to do is mess with that pin again. It was a real b/&%# to get out!

Are you talking about the drive pin in the axle? Directional? Problem 6 mth later?

My 99 obw developed a bad vibration in gear at idle. This developed a few weeks ago. I have read the threads on this subject and for the most part people just live with it " I put my car in neutral at redlights" seems to be a common reply. And the remedy seem to all over the board. Here is what I have done. Oem plugs and wires, cleaned Iac, ran seafoam thru intake, all new vac lines, pvc new, runs perfect on the road and in park or neutral. I did replace pass side axle about 6 mth ago. inspected the mounts and replaced the trans mount over the summer. Recently noticed the center pin in the trans mount had shared off. Replaced that thinking I had solved my problem.....nope. any ideas? Would an autozone axle start to vibrate after 6 months use? Any way to test and narrow this down somehow? Driving me nuts, used to idle so smooth.

Replaced my cracked knock sensor over the summer on 99 obw. Got a cheapo 20 sensor. Cel just came on. Bad knock sensor. What is your experience with these? Another part that needs to be oem? BTW. Reset ecm and cel stayed off, no stored code. Been a couple hundred miles now. Replace it?