Ok so I figured I would post a collective thread of all the questions I have instead of posting separate threads. Thank you in advance for any help

Background info on the car: Recently bought a 2003 CLS6 with 120K miles, manual transmission was rebuilt and 105k service done according to the person I got it from. Car is lowered on comptech springs with what looks like stock struts.

1. movement in front ( more so left side?) starting from stop or after braking and then getting on the gas. To help visualize what it FEELS like, it would be as if the lower control arm moves backwards while braking then moves forward when getting on gas, this is just to explain what it feels like. If I release the gas then get on it again without braking I do not feel the strange movement

2. Squeak from rear only when going over speed bumps

3. When driving in gear and releasing the gas allowing the car to coast, the car coasts smoothly until it slows down to ~1000RPM (regardless of which gear, more violent the lower the gear though) the car bucks 3-4 times then reaches idle speed 750RPM and it smoothly coasts again.

4. When shifting gears, I take my foot off the gas then when I push the clutch in my RPMS jump ~150-500 before falling, the slower I shift the less it jumps until very barely. Just to be clear I am completely taking my foot off the gas before I clutch in. If I take my foot off the gas and wait more than 2 seconds before pushing the clutch in the RPMS do not jump

5. SRS light came up last night and has stayed on while the car is running

6. Shifter is a bit loose (especially left to right), seems to originate from the shifter itself and not the bushings that connect to the transmission

7. Any way to check if the timing belt and water pump were actually changed?

8. Do I seem to have new heads and why are there empty holes (circled red)


Rear


Front





Picture of Transmission

 

2. Squeak from rear only when going over speed bumps

Get suspension checked out, including bushings and especially sway bar links.

3. When driving in gear and releasing the gas allowing the car to coast, the car coasts smoothly until it slows down to ~1000RPM (regardless of which gear, more violent the lower the gear though) the car bucks 3-4 times then reaches idle speed 750RPM and it smoothly coasts again.

In order to save gas, the car will shut off the fuel injectors when you let go of the gas and your coasting above certain speed. This allows the momentum of the car to keep the engine rotating. When the RPM slows down to 750, the fuel injectors start again to keep the engine going. This will result in a slight bump in the RPM, but it should NOT be a noticeable jerk. How is your idle? If idle is normal, I would check motor mounts.

4. When shifting gears, I take my foot off the gas then when I push the clutch in my RPMS jump ~150-500 before falling, the slower I shift the less it jumps until very barely. Just to be clear I am completely taking my foot off the gas before I clutch in. If I take my foot off the gas and wait more than 2 seconds before pushing the clutch in the RPMS do not jump

Ties into my answer for number 3. When you press the clutch, the fuel injectors start back up.

5. SRS light came up last night and has stayed on while the car is running

Your air bags will not deploy if that light is on. Get it checked up professionally.

6. Shifter is a bit loose (especially left to right), seems to originate from the shifter itself and not the bushings that connect to the transmission

Just need to readjust the shifter bezel. Just need to take it out and put it back in. There's a white plastic bracket thing under the silver bezel.

8. Do I seem to have new heads and why are there empty holes (circled red)
idkmybffjill

 

responses in bold

 

Yes, there was for the SRS light. If the seatbelt buckle fails (happened to me, once per side) then that will set off the SRS light as well. Any seatbelt components are covered for the life of the car. Only way to know what set of the SRS light is to get the dealer to read the code or to have a code reader with SRS capabilities read the problem. You could also reset the light and hope that it doesn't come back. I've done that with success too. Just simple do a search for instructions on how to do that.

 

Rear noise is likely sway bar. Open trunk get buddy to jump up and down lightly and I'll hear it squeal... That happened to mine

 

injectors come back on below 1200 rpm, not 750

 

gonna try the SRS reset method tomorrow and see if I have any luck, also gonna try and isolate the rear end squeak

Additional to issue #1:

-After taking the wheel off and inspecting everything the 2 bolts that bolt the radius rod into the control arm were loose, the bolt closer to the front actually wasnt holding anything. I tightened them as best as I could but there is still ~2mm of slack, any suggestions on how to get them snug without having to bring it into a shop?

Also do my transmission mounts look shot? I get the feeling they could also be a cause of this strange movement








Took off my intake manifold cover to find this, should this be of any concern? Wouldn't imagine to find it looking like this.






Something else, I cleaned out my intake manifold and after reassembling everything I'm now getting an erratic idle from 1000-2500 rpm which I'm assuming is caused by a vacuum leak since my IACV is brand new and did not come in contact with any liquid.

I cannot for the life of me figure out what is causing the leak though, I suspect the cheaping looking manifold spacer that came with the car might me the culprit and I was thinking about just replacing it with a regular gasket like seen HERE but I wanted to get thoughts on it first.

 

I know of a old mechanics trick 4 finding any type of vacuum leaks. Get a can or 2 of starting fluid, spray aroundwhere you "think" it might be coming from. If the idle goes up, there is your source for the problem. I am new to these cars, so I can't say anything about your intake. I need toffigure out how to reset my srs light too.
Glw everything. Joe

 

I had a link for the SRS reset saved somewhere, I'll post it for you when I find it.

So took my intake manifold off today and finally found my vac leak






Searched around and ended up finding it HERE. Anyone know of someone selling one for cheaper and also any tips on changing it out?

 

Holy crap! Looks like you need some JB weld on that intake manifold LOL.

Yes I'd replace the trans mounts. I'd also look at the mount infront of the engine right behind the rad, and the side mount next to timing belt. These being shot will make the whole front end feel sloppy.

 

You can use the rear turn signal bulb and plug to plug into the SRS reset jumper plug under the dash. Easier than fiddling with a piece of wire to short the contacts.

 

Hmmmm?? I wonder if that's where my leak might be coming from. This isn't the first time I've seen that crack in the same exact place. Looks like I'll be pulling my manifold off tomorrow. Try the local junkyard for that part btw.

 

Searched around and ended up finding it HERE. Anyone know of someone selling one for cheaper and also any tips on changing it out?[/QUOTE]
did you ever find one ? if not pm me

 

Congrats on your purchase!

Is that your rear transmission mount?

It seems like your well on your way to getting what you need taken care of!

As far as the shifter issue, you can try replacing the shifter bushings, I have yet to do this mod myself, but from reading it seems to fix the sloppy shifter feel!

 

thanks for all the replies

funny that you mentioned jb weld because thats exactly what I did lol, I used their strongest one for a temp fix but it's actually holding up perfectly, definitely stronger than I had given it credit for.

Here's a pic of my motor mounts, Im guessing they're poly mounts? all of them look like this and are in great condition, thanks for the tip too, will definitely make use of it when finally reset it




Question are the trans mounts replaceable without removing everything? and how easy of a diy is it?


@rush since I jb welded it I dont need one right now but if it happens to stop holding up I definitely will

@vtectl Thank you, This is actually my first manual car and I absolutely love it, sometimes I miss the aggressive look of my old 2003 mustang and the RWD but then I take a quick drive in the CL and thats all forgotten lol. The top pic is the rear mount and the bottom pic is the front. Yeah little by little I'm getting things good, it's a nice feeling every time I get something accomplished. I know my shifter bushings have a slight play in them but for me most of the play seems to actually originate from the shifter housing itself, like the plastic parts are worn or something.

 

Looks like the side mount at least is an innovative mount.

 

i wonder how in the world do you crack the intake runners, maybe over tight?? solid mounts do cause vibration but the upside to that is that you basically never have to replace them!

 

Werd. There was a recall on the airbags. You can bring it into the dealership to see if your car is one of them for free. When I brought mine in, my SRS light had come on just a day earlier. Turned out it was something in the seatbelt buckle. Everything related to the seatbelt is covered under a lifetime warranty so it was replaced for free.

 

It was like I was looking at a picture of my car when I cracked the runner..it happened to me a little over a year ago..that thing is so damn fragile..you over torque it just slightly and that's it..it just cracks. Same damn spot too..I just temporarily welded it with some heat resistant super glue from autozone..I was suppose to replace it but it never really gave any issues after patching it so I forgot about it..glue it and you'll be good