Engine vibration help?

[pingwin77]

I have been getting a vibration from the front passenger side of my car over the past couple of weeks and it seems to be getting a bit worse as time goes on. I think it might be the motor mount but I'm not sure, what are your thoughts? Here are the symptoms:

1. Vibration noises when car is in drive with foot on the brake.
2. No vibration if the car is in neutral or parks.
3. The vibration seems to be coming for the motor mount are in the engine bay. (passenger side)
4. When the steering wheel is turned from side to side, the vibration sounds get worse.
5. When I apply pressure to the motor, the vibration goes away.
6. I also have a quiet ticking coming from the motor, this may be a different issue all together though.

Again, just looking for some thoughts on what this might be before I take it into a shop to get looked at. Thanks!

P.S. for those that don't know, I have an '04 Mazda 3 Hatch ATX with about 66,000 miles on it.

 

[mndsm]

Sounds like a mount to me. The rubber in those was mushy as hell from the factory, so that would explain a lot. Make sure that it's tightened in there well.

 

[pingwin77]

Can I just tighten that thing up or do I need to get a new one? If I can, are there any torque specs and where could I find those?

 

[dmention7]

Check to see if there are any obvious cracks in the rubber. IIRC, that passenger-side mount is pretty easy to get at.

Otherwise, the engine could just be running a bit rough. That's usually most noticable at idle, and the fact that it changes as you turn the steering wheel (adding a load to the engine) supports that as well. If the torque converter is not disengaging correctly at idle, it could be putting extra load on the engine as well.... how are the idle rpms?

Any transmission services lately?

Air filter, spark plugs, fuel system cleaner?

 

[pingwin77]

Yeah, the mount is easy to get to.

The idle RPMs seem to be normal, I can't recall the the numbers off hand but they don't seem to be real low or anything.

I had the car in for a transmission flush and fill back in the beginning of August. I have to call and ask if they changed the filter also.

I run a fuel system cleaner through my car after every oil change. I have a K&N drop in that is pretty clean yet. The plugs and wire are the only thing that I am not too sure about. I remember a few people on the Mazda3forums telling me not to worry about those until 100,000 miles. Is that true or should I pulls those and look at them?

 

[dmention7]

Might as well pull them and take a look... only takes 10 minutes. The stock plugs are supposed to be very high quality, but 60k miles is about when I, personally, would start to think about replacing them.

Also, the fact that you have the K&N filter reminds me: check the MAF sensor. For one, it's an oiled filter. Also, anythign that flows better than stock is pretty much going to filter less efficiently, so it's possible that the MAFS is a bit dirty.

You could also check to see if it's throwing any codes. It might not have triggered a CEL, but there might be something stored in the computer that you could access.

 

[pingwin77]

Not a bad idea. How much work is it to pull the plugs. I know they are not the typical plug and wire system which I am used to. They are some sort of coil-over system or something right?

as far as the MAFS, I have never done anything with one of those before, what is involved with that one?

I have a buddy with a decoder so I will have him throw that on my car thursday when I see him.

Thanks for the tips!

*off topic* you still meeting at BWW for the Wednesday meets? If so, which one, I'm gonna try and make it out this week.

 

[dmention7]

The MAF sensor is the sensor that is plugged into the top of the airbox, and has a little probe that sticks into the intake tube between the airbox and the throttle body. There are two screws holding it in.

You can buy CRC Mass Air Sensor cleaner at most auto stores (throttle body or carb cleaner should also work fine). Spray the entire probe down liberally with the cleaner and let it drain/dry on a clean towel. Be careful with it though, because you don't want to damage the wire filaments in the probe. If you've never cleaned it, I would definitely hit that up.

Also, to do the plugs, you just have to remove the engine cover, then each of the plugs have a coil right on it that you just pull off.

 

[pingwin77]

Sweet! So I just pull the MAFS sensor out of the tube, spray it down and then let it dry? easy enough.

Should I look at cleaning the throttle body as well?

Thanks Jay!

 

[dmention7]

Cleaning the throttle body is easy enough as well, so you may as well go for it if you feel like it. Same story, just spray it till it's soaked then wipe with a lint-free towel (dirty microfibers work well).

Tip: Turn the car to ACC, and use something to hold the gas pedal to the floor. That will cause the TB to open fully, making it much easier to clean around the butterfly valve.

And, no prob!

 

[rocafellavc]

i had a small knock in my engine and came to find out that one of my pistons was fried to the the cylinder. needed a new engine!

 

[mndsm]

Dayum what did you do to that car to cook an engine? Also, was it under warranty?

 

[pingwin77]

how many of you are gonna be at the Wed. meet? I'm gonna go so if you would like to hear what I'm talking about, let me know.

 

[dmention7]

I will probably be there tomorrow, since I'll be gone next wed.