deadlyklappy12887

Hey guys/problem solvers. I've been having this issue where I'll be coming to a stop and at around the 5mph-0mph mark I'll notice this virbation coming from what seems to be the center front of my car. I was wondering if you guys could throw out some suggestions of what you might think it is? Likewise, I seem to have this same vibration while my car is warming up. It will shake mildly if I'm sitting at a red light and my temp gauge is cold but then when it's all warmed up the shake will go away. Also, when I shift into neutral when I'm sitting at the light while my car is cold, the shake goes away. Brakes are good, axles too. I have a CT header. Thoughts??

JTso

iTrader: (2)

When did you first noticed the vibration? Did you have the problem before the CT header? We will need a little more info regarding the condition of the car in order to establish a baseline.

1. The mileage on the car
2. The condition of the spark plugs (did you pull them to verify?). The mileage on the plugs?
3. What kind of gas is being used?
4. What is the idle rpm? What's the rpm neutral?
5. Condition of air filter?
6. Any valve tapping noises?
7. Condition of the PCV valve?
8. Does the engine burn oil?
9. Does the vibration go away completely after the engine is fully warmed up?
10. What other mods or accessories are installed on the car?

deadlyklappy12887

sorry for the late post i recently had a big school exam...

1) 107,000 miles
2) spark plugs should be good. replaced at 85k milkes
3) premium gas only
4) havent looked at hand...next time it happens ill make note of it
5) recently replaced
6) dont think so
7) replaced back in july during 100k mile service as part of preventative maintenance
8) no
9) mostly. it is worse while the engine is cold. even after the engine is warmed up, i notice that it does it when i decelerate from 5-0mph. also, depending on the angle of which the car is stopped, either slightly uphill or slightly downhill, the virbation gets worse with downhill positioning.
10) as far as engine and exhaust mods, heres the list: ENGINE/ENGINE BAY: -Hondata reflash, Ralco RZ Performance Pulleys, AEM short ram, CT battery tie down, Mugen oil cap, Mugen reservoir cover, JDM dipstick, Mobil 1 synthetic 5w -30
EXHAUST:-CT header, CT catback, RT high flow cat

i just copied and pasted it from my sig on another site. sorry if some of the mods are irrelevant lol

TexasHonda

It could be a failing motor mount. Inspect mounts (front and rear) for excessive movement when shifting from N-D and N-R w/ car stopped, e-brake set, and foot on brake (need trusted helper). Don't stand in front of car, only to the side! A clunk would indicate motor mount brackets colliding. Excess movement at mount, perhaps 2-inches or more would indicate a problem.

A low idle (perhaps clogged idle air control valve) can cause low rpm and idle vibration. RPM would probably be 600 or less when vibration is noticed.

good luck

deadlyklappy12887

Ok so I took my car in today for an oil change and while I was there I had them take a look at my problem. I told them all of my symptoms and when I came back to pick the car up they said everything looked fine, motor mounts and all. The service manager told me, "The only thing we noticed was that when we put the car into drive, we got the vibration thing you were mentioning. Our take on it is that it's coming from the exhaust. We think the rubber hangers (ie whatever part holds the exhaust on the car) are too tight and thus the vibrations get transferred into the body of the car." Assuming this is true, what are my options here guys?

TexasHonda

Whatever the problem is, their proposed diagnosis is not it.

Occasionally, exhaust can contact body if a hanger is missing or damaged. If they are intact and OEM exhaust, this is very unlikely to be the source of your problem.

How low does rpm go when you come to a stop and what is idle rpm?

good luck

deadlyklappy12887

yeah i got a feeling they didnt want to deal with it so they made up a weak excuse. ill look at the rpms today and get back to you

ps: my exhaust is not OEM. it is a comptech exhaust but from what ive read comptech models their products to be as close to oem as possible

JTso

iTrader: (2)

Since you have some engine modifications done to the car, that can have an affect on the air/fuel mixture. Did you install all those mods at the same time? Do you remember at which point during the modification that the vibration became noticeable?

If you have access to an OBD2 scantool, see if you can monitor the Long-Term-Fuel-Trim and note the % of + or -. If the car is completely stock, it runs about 10% rich (-10%).

deadlyklappy12887

fellas, my apologies for not posting this earlier. my cold idle rattle happens around 900rpms and when fully warmed and it happens (sometimes) around 700. the idle rpm does not go below that.

on the other tsx website, this is what ive been told. its either a motor mount problem, or this "its because the header is stiffer than your old header. when you put the car in drive it puts a load on the motor and the motor moves a bit. than in return moves the exhaust. The way i solved it was to get polyurethane exhaust hangers. Although I dont have a AT so i cant say for sure but it stopped my exhaust from rattling."


so, say i replace the hangers and this doesnt fix the problem and it ends up indeed being a motor mount. how much labor (hours) would it take to replace the mounts? is it a difficult job? somethign a mechanic would be hesitant to do b/c it involves engine stuff?

TexasHonda

Motor mounts don't look to be a terribly difficult job, but no walk in the park either.

You don't want Rufus down at the local EZ Muffler tackling this job. Find someone w/ Honda/Acura experience.

good luck

curls

Front motor mount isn't too difficult. Rear one shouldn't be any harder with the exception of access -- it's tighter back there -- I'll be removing the strut tower bar tomorrow morning to tackle attempt #2 on the rear mount.
Mitchell On Demand lists the rear mount as 0.8hr and the front mount as 0.9hr. Not terribly expensive to get this done at a shop somewhere if you don't have a ton of 1/2" drive extensions or the time/muscle to get the bolts off of each.

tsxdoc2011

There has been a lot of discussion about vibration problems with the CT header. I dont know if anyone has solved the problem or found a solution. I was thinking about getting the CT header but leaning more towards the DC now, even though there has been some problems with that one but they seem to be more easily fixed.