[rafter40]

Hey guys,
Currently my car has a really bad vibration and I have been trying to pin point it. I have looked at like 15 threads about this sorry for the new one but no one ever put what solved their problem. The vibration varies with engine speed and is present though out all rpms. It feels worse between idle and 2000 rpms. The specific range varies. The car does feel like it lost power. at one point I was driving at 65 and shifted to 5th and the car was struggling and all of a sudden got a boost of power and the vibration stopped and the car began to accelerate. ( that happened only once)

manual trans

My thoughts:
harmonic balancer
motor mounts
Timing
loose exhaust ( i have true duals and one side isnt as stable as the other)
spark related?


Other problems with the car:
-front right caliper sometimes sticks ( not why i feel a loss in power)
-small coolant leak ( i can see in on the steering stabilizer bar so i dont think its leakin in the cylinders or anything)
-Loss in power

I would like information about how the harmonic balancer fails and how I would need to fix it specifically ( I could not find this in my Haynes manual)

Also I would like to know how this could be timing related ( a couple older guys suggested this) I was thinking my timing chain?

Thanks i hope to get some good replies with solutions!

[mcqueen]

I'd probably put my money on motor mounts

[Green_6er]

get solid steel motor mounts

[Matt.]

^Motor Mounts

You should just do a whole tune up. spark plugs, oil + filter, airfilter clean, maf clean. Seafoam and look for exhaust issues while doing it. Take apart the caliber and regreese it , put it on. Get it running better and see if that solves it, if not go for the bigger money issues.

[rafter40]

just did pads and rotors but the one caliper just aint cooperatin ( but what ever)

lol Green u try the steel motor mounts and let me know how those treat ya.

car was really running great until this and I dont think its anything sensor related so im gonna hold off on all that stuff until i fix this. just did an oil change. never seafoamed before so im a little hesitant. spark plugs were done like 15k ago replaced exhaust manifold like a couple months ago

still really curious about harmonic balancer and timing possibilities

how could i check the motor mounts with out taking them off?

[6ER THEN I 8ER!]

Originally Posted by rafter40 just did pads and rotors but the one caliper just aint cooperatin ( but what ever) lol Green u try the steel motor mounts and let me know how those treat ya. car was really running great until this and I dont think its anything sensor related so im gonna hold off on all that stuff until i fix this. just did an oil change. never seafoamed before so im a little hesitant. spark plugs were done like 15k ago replaced exhaust manifold like a couple months ago still really curious about harmonic balancer and timing possibilities how could i check the motor mounts with out taking them off?

start the engine...go look at the mounts...and have someone rev it up a bit...usually you can tell a bad mount pretty straight forward

[rafter40]

still open to suggestions for trouble shooting !

but if it is my harmonic balancer where could i purchase one. Autozone does not carry them aparantely. Napa no answer. havent tried advanced

[6ER THEN I 8ER!]

Originally Posted by rafter40 still open to suggestions for trouble shooting ! but if it is my harmonic balancer where could i purchase one. Autozone does not carry them aparantely. Napa no answer. havent tried advanced

i believe they do at advance..check to see if they do at your local store...if not in stock have them check the warehouses

[rafter40]

thanks im gonna go check the motor mounts are there only 2?
)
also apparently advanced also does not carry a harmonic balancer for 2000 3.8 mustangs( just called)

[SALEEN961]

Classic misfire symptoms, your down on power, you have a bad vibration, and when you got the power back the vibration stopped, the only thing confusing me is that you didn't mention a CEL and you should have one if it's a misfire problem.

[rafter40]

looks like the driver side motor mount is is beginning to shear in the rubber.

id doesnt appear to be re sheared all the way but since its appears to have a problem i guess thats where ill start.

and then there is the power loss like saleen said

[6ER THEN I 8ER!]

Originally Posted by rafter40 thanks im gonna go check the motor mounts are there only 2? ) also apparently advanced also does not carry a harmonic balancer for 2000 3.8 mustangs( just called)

when i go to work tonight i'll check for you and call our country wide warehouses...something tells me they didn't check too hard. i'll let you know if i find something

[rafter40]

thanks alot ill need it if this motor mount doesnt work

motor mount should arrive today but im not to sure what i have to do to replace it. do i need to jack the car up to change the motor mount? or can i just access all the bolts from above the engine bay. or do i need to remove the tire?

[rafter40]

installed new motor mount but shaking has not changed its still very intense

[rafter40]

so cylinders 3 and 4 are not getting a spark. I unplugged the wires 1 at a time from what i believe is a distributer block (mounted to the intake manifold) and there is no arc for cylinders 3 and 4. This should be my problem and i believe it cause my old motor mount to fail.

What should i look to replace? id like to do this today

[xtreme 2]

that's your coil pack.

[6ER THEN I 8ER!]

Originally Posted by rafter40 so cylinders 3 and 4 are not getting a spark. I unplugged the wires 1 at a time from what i believe is a distributer block (mounted to the intake manifold) and there is no arc for cylinders 3 and 4. This should be my problem and i believe it cause my old motor mount to fail. What should i look to replace? id like to do this today

no distributor...just an ignition coil....go buy one...they aren't that expensive...motorcraft or BWD is fine

[rafter40]

off to autozone

[SALEEN961]

Hmm so you do have a misfire, I guess your CEL is just burned out. Just so you know your coil isn't necessarily the problem, bad plugs or wires can also cause this. Since our cars are waste spark if there is bad plug wire going to cyl#3 then neither #3 or #4 will fire because they fire as a pair.

[rafter40]

interesting. so i just replaced the ignition coil and the 3 and 4 are now firing (as checked from the ignition coil). I double and triple checked to make sure that pulling each wire individually effected the engines idle and they all did!

where does this leave me.

assuming i installed all the plugs in the correct order could this still be like spark plug, wire, or distributor related or is that problem now out of the question.

Saleen so if i pull a wire or say number 3 does that mean i loose spark to cylinders 3 and 4? or is that only for a bad plug

i guess should i go replace the sparkplugs or am i just chasing fairies.

gut feeling is telling me harmonic balancer right now since replacing the ignition coil didnt work