guyenacurazine

Hi guys, my car is kinda shaking briefly shortly after I turn on and start driving during warm up. It feels like a subtle engine misfire but continue only about a second or less but definitely noticeable. I have been also noticing that shifting is becoming a bit harder sometimes. Wonder if it is a sign of impending transmission issue or something else.

notbrant

iTrader: (2)

Most likely motor mount if its all the time, sometimes under load a bad sparkplug will mis fire but ones its warmed up it will be fine, thats what happened with mine.

01tl4tl

whats the miles -how are the plugs- ckd the motor mounts?
some years are vac boosted and a bad mount also causes miss

Smell trans fluid dipstick- burnt? ever change the fluid?

give a little info to go on please,,how long prob has been going on, all at once or not related in time on shift and start issues

myisanog

2g's are known for bad trannys...

guyenacurazine

Thanks all
I ll check motor mount althought it is unlikely coz it does not happen all the time. It only happens about 4-5 mins after starting the car and begin driving.
Once a while, (very infrequently) some harder shifting has been noticed.
I bought with 70k now it is 120k never changed splugs during my ownership not sure it was changed before. transmission fluid has ben changed less than a year ago, may be 15000 miles ago.
i dont think it is due to fluid change frequency issue.

01tl4tl

was honda atf used at the change? dont want to mix in dex 3 or other fluids
ck receipt

expect spark plugs are dead at that miles- that would cause your problem
Pull a front and examine wear

seafoam the gas and manifold
install new ngk iridium ix spark plugs

may need to clean the egr port(s) need to do every 75kmiles or so

did you replace the timing belt and water pump since you owned it- those are due at 105/7years

guyenacurazine

ok i checked my records and sparks plugs were actually replaced recently less than 20,000miles ago. I put seafoam in the gas tank, how u apply it on the manihold?
tbelt and water pump replaced at appropriate time, there is no reason tbelt causing this.

thewhitepearl

mounts or misfire!

webmastir

check DIY. tells how to do it.

(https://acurazine.com/forums/2g-tl-1999-2003-98/new-official-2nd-gen-tl-diy-thread-706083/)

guyenacurazine

How do you know if engine mount is loose or bad? Thanks!

01tl4tl

look at it from above- seem compressed?
and from under the car- traces of strange oil,, unlike any other used on the car
in a drip trail, or dust trail stuck to the drips- from under the mount..or a few drops of same fluid in floor..
3 drops of strange oil on floor near radiator--that was mine

also old school method with someone holding brakes on: in Park, Drive and Reverse
and park brake on,,rev engine to 2000 and let off- repeat...if 1 inch or more movement of engine the mount is toast

anytime after 50-60kmiles is right on schedule for its failure
When it doesnt get replaced the side mount takes more load and fails

guyenacurazine

hmm, ok, mine is 120K, i am not sure when the last time it was replaced. bought it at 70K and never replaced during my ownership. pretty sure previous owner has not replaced damn sure. thanks for info l4T

guyenacurazine

ok, I called the acura dealers around the area the front and side ones are about 600-700. If not needed, i dont wanna waste $ on unnecessary repairs. Is someone here in Austin TX who can do a diagnosis on the mounts, i used to work on cars but living in apts, just does not work for me. Dealer diagnosis is like 115$ extra.
Should I issue the front one is usually the first to go?? I don't visually the side mount causing to car to shake. Thanks!
Thansk!

01tl4tl

normal failure is front mount (front of car) and is often found after 60kmiles with trans failure and tech spots the fluid trail
Very easy 15 minute labor with trans already removed from car
Otherwise they charge 3 hours or so-you can DIY in an hour+

side mount fails some months after front- as it takes extra load and breaks.
Its about 50 bucks part and half hour labor

front (and rear) mount is very trick with vacuum booster system inside mount!!
A broken mount also has mystery engine miss and vac leak
It cost about $120-150 USD depending on dealer markup

Ck our supporting vendor dealers for a better price
Ck the azine MEETS section for locals to assist you- someone can hook you up

01tl4tl

park the car with one sides wheels on the sidewalk- slide under car in front and look for oil traces from the mount

with a friend- do the static test with brakes held on and engine revved
Same test dealer is going to perform~
Dont need dealer for this job anyway- look in phone book for smaller ad- small private shop with private owner on site,,its basic work but experience reduces time spent

n1njai

iTrader: (3)

I just replaced all of mine for 480 a couple days ago, it was front and sides and rear. And because my motor mounts were bad, my axle boot ripped and I had to replace that too. If I were you, i'd replace all of them, I looked at my old ones and wow, it was really really messed up. You can see it from your engine bay how bad it's torn up.

guyenacurazine

ok great, here is my plan, i am gonna replace the front one first and go for a while, since it is not wobbling side to side. After a week or so, I am thiking to replace the side one too. Looked at DYI for both front and side looks pretty straightforward.
I looked through engine bay and front one looks pretty straightforward. But for side one, taking out of its place might seem a quite a bit of challenge. There seems to be 3 things on the on the way:
1. there is black hose that connects to reservoir, did not check what type of reservoir it was brake or windshield viper fluid.
2. second is a wiring harness, that might easier.
3. seems to be the most challenging, there are 4-5 metal lines i guess brake lines?
without taking all these 3 out of way, removing and inserting a new side mount seem to be a quite a bit of challenge.
Anyone who has done it give a hint. thanks!

01tl4tl

look in the DIY 105 timing belt water pump section
for side mount removal
Are you serious we dont have a front mount DIY?
place floor jack with block of wood under oil pan on either job to support the engine
remove bolts and change part
move ps res if needed- dont mess with the shiny metal brake lines!

figure out whats needed instead of this part this week and another part next week
Its not that hard to diagnose these broken motor mounts, and no reason to replace all of them!!

guyenacurazine

well i ran a test put into D and pressed into the brake and gave it a rev. my friend was watching and the movement was said to be about a sentimeter which is ~0.4 inch. He observed the inside part of the mount moving up and down relative to the outer round housing i dont know how it is called. And it is almost hitting the top of the outer round housing.

Most folks suggested 1 inch or more means failure. Do you think it is still in bad condition?

Here is the info:
it is got 130k and most likely have not been replaced (I bought at 70k and have not replaced engine mounts till now, not sure previous owner did it). Briefly shakes during acceleration on sligh uphill after 4-5 min after start.

01tl4tl

trade places with your buddy and watch it
or go to a parts store and have them watch the same test- thats probably the best plan at this point
When failed, the mount looks sort of collapsed
and we say 1 inch but it should be pretty solid..parts store guys can tell you for sure

search youtube for vids of `cking acura engine mounts`

01tl4tl

unless it had a replaced trans when you got it- chances are very slim anyone ever looked at the mount
The front breaks anywhere after 50 and you wont know its bad if the car came that way.
Its subtle, but when replaced you can tell the differance

guyenacurazine

ok thanks 01tl, it had its tranny replaced, but i doubt they have changed the mount. Because I basically called the dealership it used to be serviced before i bought the car and they say they find no record of engine mount replacement. I will just go ahead and replace it.

01tl4tl

from your description of the movement and visual and miles- I agree its time for new front mount.
About the only time its found is by dealer techs at trans time, but if your car got a trans early in its life,,mount would not have failed yet

See DIY section- even private shop can do the job for much less than dealer

Buy the mount from one of our sponsoring dealers and make sure to ask for the azine discount~ expect $70-100-125 as the discounted price (my guess based on retail price)

or ck those prices and ask the local dealer parts manager if they can match it

the passenger side mount (crank pulley end of engine) is easy to see if its broken with a prybar and some pressure or visable crack thru the rubber
If your front is broken, and has been for a long time- the side will have failed from excess torque to it..

01tl4tl

Note- our sponsor Excelerate has a new Anti Torque bar for the TL!!!!
that should end the prob of broken front mounts!!

he is putting together a list of buyers and will have them made when demand meets cost to produce--see his thread

guyenacurazine

well i am kinda new to town, so i dont know which shops are good or which shops are scams. kinda feel not easy to hand down my acura to total strangers.
i am replacing front one this time, i believe the side one is ok at this time. I started noticing this about a 5months ago, but i am usually a gentle driver, i seldom rev it above 2k, in these months, i probably had 3000 miles as my work is across the street.

01tl4tl

you go in and look at the shops!
'we are only talking about a front motor mount job
If they have to look it up-cant seem to figure out the price,, they dont do enough TL work for you to trust them

Look in phone book ads for smaller ad that has honda/ acura listed as brands they work on- import cars- performance shops
Call a few and get a LABOR price- tell them you have the mount,
also ask places for total price with them supplying it, or you getting it from a sponsoring dealer here (for a good price) and bringing it in

IN general:
Is the area for the techs clean? the floor, the benches?-
do they have nice toolboxes and keep their own area clean while working?

or a greasy handed kid hops in your car with a cigarette going

To me: if the techs smoke inside the shop- they are too crazy to work on my baby and will get bad smells all over her~
its an explosive hazard to the entire building!- your car could be destroyed!!,
and Im paying for 2 hands working on the car at these prices!!!

is the owner on-site?
Is it family working there? dad taught the kids and takes pride in their reputation?

OR best option in my opinion
look in the `azine Meets` for your area- contact a few ziners and see who can help.
If they show up at car meets,, they probably own tools~
and DIY help to another ziner is no problem
or they have a shop they trust and can refer you to

rcb2000

I wouldn't get excited about the mount, it's torque converter shutter your feeling, replace the inline filter and back off on the throttle when you feel it.

guyenacurazine

hey 4tl i am considering the sponsors you mentioned for front mount, where are the lists? Are they somehwere in acurazine site? I went to the xlr8 you suggested but they dont have it on their online store. thx.

01tl4tl

here it is in gen2 main thread list
https://acurazine.com/forums/2g-tl-1999-2003-98/excelerate-performance-ingalls-engine-torque-damper-groupbuy-785413/
Its a new item so not on the website

go to a transmission shop and ask for a diagnosis
see if they think motor mount or trans problem
That would be a good place to replace the mount-plenty of experience

guyenacurazine

well thanks 01tl4tl for being here for all the time. I got it replaced today after findng respectable shop thru word of mouth. Now it feels like shaking is not happening anymore and i feel it is driving much more responsive and faster. But I only replaced the front one assuming the problem has started recently and side one is in at least OK shape. Wonder how good idea this is. If my assumption turn around to be wrong and side one is bad, how likely it will hurt the newly installed mount. But I dont believe it is bad yet becuase i was hearing bad side mount cause car to wobble side to side.

01tl4tl

you would hope the shop inspected the side mount, but its easy to ck with the prybay method

no it wont make the car go side to side if its broken!
and its a lot cheaper to buy and have installed,,50 bucks part, o.5 hr labor

If you have the vac assist front mount- the car will run better now without that mystery vac leak !

guyenacurazine

Well I bought part from Acura 180$ (front one) and have it installed at respected local shop that came out 120$ but I could have very well to the dealership and have it installed. They were asking for 300$ something for the front one, so not much price difference.
After the fix, the shop guy showed me the front mount, it looked largely pretty good but there was a small crack in the interior side of the mount.
Told the shop guy about hte shaking feeling, he said it is possible that the something wrong with the axle, but i told him i am more than 90% sure it is the broken mount sincei it is common across this model.

Plus it is probably vac assisted, that is the narrow hose running from underneat the mount right, i am pretty sure mine has it.

okay, i better inspect the side mount. as I said car runs still much better but still there is very very slight shaking for fraction of a second when I go up hill, where is used to shake considerable before the fix. So I am kinda still disappointed at it. I wonder what is still causing it, may be I should just have the side one fixed too.

01tl4tl

inspect and test the side mount- find the prob and fix- not throw parts at the car

180 for the mount~ yikes!! was that a sponsoring dealer here or retail walk in

dudeinaTL

iTrader: (1)

I say just replace the side mount...it's like 40 bucks and can be replaced pretty easily by yourself...shouldn't take any more than about half an hour. Move the cruise control actuator out the way and just take some easily accessible bolts out, swap the mount, and throw the bolts back in.

Front mount is a diff story...there's some bolts that are a pain to get to. I didn't have u-joints so had to resort to a regular wrench from the bottom for those bolts - a ratcheting wrench would've be very helpful-of course something I didn't have.

guyenacurazine

ok guys, i am gonna try doing the front one myself. at least i dont have to get under the car for it. it is still definitely shaking but although much much less. i will have you posted. thx!!!!

01tl4tl

you mean front of engine--passenger SIDE of car? correct? make sure to order correct mount

you do need to support the engine with a floor jack and block of wood- to protect the oil pan

ck diy for more help

dudeinaTL

iTrader: (1)

No need to jack the engine up for passenger side mount r&r.

01tl4tl

not jack UP- I meant to `support it` as a mount is removed..less strain has to make it easier to get the bolts out~

you would support the engine when removing this mount for timing belt install-
so thats my basis in thought..could be wrong--happened a few times already this year~

dudeinaTL

iTrader: (1)

I knew what you meant...however I don't believe it's necessary. I changed my side mount while I still had a broken front mount installed and all bolts came out without any significant amount of force applied.

01tl4tl

well- for the noobs--better safe than sorry~
teach them to use support jacks and other safety ways~