Hey there first time starting a thread Ive had my TL for 2 years now and ive been happy with it done alot of work on it do it as a hobby, I learned a lot from this website so is time to contribute to something right lol. Well down to the issue theres no CEL for this but I feel a vibration at idle every second is always there feel it on the floor board parked and when in Drive at a stop light I feel the steering wheel vibrate the whole time herers the list of things Ive done to the TL spark plugs, timing belt water pump, 6 coils,cleaned EGR,TB gasket and IACV both cleaned idled much better, checked all grounds found a loose one no difference, whining altenator was replaced,valve adjustment and knock sensor also since the wire was broken and the connection was brittle also all engine mounts were changed . Now the only thing I have not dealt with is the fuel side such as dirty injector or the electronics within one of the injector going bad making an inbalance at idle. The car runs great even at wot, I dont belive this is normal as I have been in a 99 TL and an 05 TL none had the same issue. I am going to replace all 6 injectors on the weekend lets see how it goes. The Long Term Fuel Trim is at 10% at idle I I haven't compared them with the other TL`s and Im aware of the ULEV at start up. Any input would be appreciated

 

What mounts did you put in the car? OEM or aftermarket.

 

forgot to mention checked the PCV valve is ok.

 

OEM mounts and tested for leaks with a vaccum pump no leak.

 

What is the idle speed in park and drive?

 

my scanner reports 748-756 it fluctuates in that range don't know if that's normal

 

Sorry forgot to answer this one. In drive is 680 if I remember correctly.

 

Does the rpm's at idle remain steady ?
Nothing to indicate a slight miss.....try using a quality fuel system cleaner, then check injector connections and test the fuel pressure.

Out of the loop, but were the tranny mounts replaced also ?
Also there's a solenoid that activates the vacuum to the mounts, may want to check it.

 

wow thats a lot of parts chasing a problem!

I suggest you get 2 cans of Seafoam at parts store- under 10 bucks each
add the first one to just under half tank of gas in the TL
drive however you like--trips over 30 minutes helpful

refill at low fuel light,,drive
add 2nd can when at just under half a tank
that cleans every part of the fuel system and the engine top end parts- intake valves etc. even the O2 sensor and cat on the way out !
better than the `100 dollar induction service~

you need to clean the TB air plate if not done already
carb cleaner to both sides and edges, wipe up runoff- engine will run funny as fluid moves thru it,,doesnt burn the same as gas
Lube throttle return spring assembly
lube throttle cable

 

At the moment I have a cleaner in the tank to see what it does and I have checked the engine mount system its working as it should according to the service manual, I can see and feel the difference when I unplug it. I havent checked for fuel presusre but Ill try that. As for the mounts all were replaced

 

Yea sounds like I went crazy throwing parts at it lol but the car is at 225k miles so it needed the timing belt when I took it out it had cracks all over the belt so I caught it on time, I guess the last owner didn't care much about it but just oil changes, The EGR passages were completely clogged and to get the plate off I had to get a small crow bar to get it off the manifold. I have done seafoam twice before felt a small difference the first time thru the vaccum side not much on the tank so ill try that for now ill post back with the results when the gas problem gets better out here in NY.

 

seafoam vac method instantly gets a few important parts,,
but does nothing for the fuel system unless added to the gas at correct ratio
2 oz per gal for cleaning does..1 oz per gal midyear maintenance dose

doing gas method twice removes need for vac method
It takes a few weeks driving to get the full results

what cleaner are you using now--at what ratio--you have to read the bottles fine pront!!

 

without actually sitting in the car to feel the issue you are feeling we cant know for sure, but every TL ive sat in you could feel a slight vibration in the steering wheel when in park or drive at a stop.

 

might have missed some of the egr path and ports,,they are on every level of what gets removed and whats exposed

did we already mention the upper gasket removed for egr cleaning- can be installed upside down,,closing off a needed port in the upper section.
have to match it up to the block side to be certain
that will make it run funny,,,if the problem got worse after egr work

 

what spark plugs exactly- are in there now

 

Hey ErickUa5, is the vibrating any different between initial start up and after the motor is fully warmed up ?
Is the situation any better after all the work that you've done ?

If the motor is running smoothly and the actual idle speed isn't fluctuating much, then recheck anything else associated with the motor that may be possibly loose or binding. (Mounts, intake, exhaust, arm bushings, airbox.....etc.)

 

torque on intake manifold bolts and tb to manifold bolts is critical=
some need to retorque after 500 miles and find bolts need 1/4 turn
thats a lot at 16 foot pounds!

a broken edge of airbox cover will screw with you too

 

Yea I guess its normal with these cars I wonder if the 6mt swap at idle would do the same.

 

Well I did the whole upper intake 3 cans to take off all the crud and took of some from the lower intake maybe there's more in there just not enough to set a code im gonna have to go down there and recheck everything and clean the lower intake all the way thru

 

It actually is different from when its cold to normal temp, on my scanner ive noticed that when the temp reaches 194 thats when it the pulsing vibration comes in. I will check all again to make sure I didn't miss anything thanks

 

Thats a good one ill give that one a shot after the cleaning.

 

OK guys the engine gave up the intake valve gave up on the first cylinder. I had hooked up a vaccum gauge on it and the needle was not steady last week so I knew this was gonna happen some time soon thank god I was on my way home and the car died right in front of my house, had a hard time pressing on the brakes as the engine was misfiring and rattling. Im thinking of swaping the heads with the one from a Type S but first Ill look inside to make sure nothing else boke in there.

 

Hey ErickUa5, So your TL gave it up and died ?

I'd imagine your "CEL" light came on, what codes are coming up ?

 

Yep I'm in the process of taking it apart now but no codes came up strangely since it did happen quickly

 

was this all due to incorrect valve adjustment?
its possible for a piston to hit a valve thats extending too far
thats what happens when tbelt snaps,,valve stuck in open position gets nailed by rising piston!

IF there was SEVERE carbon buildup on the pistons, it raises the total height of the piston...into the bending of valve edge range = failure zone

its easier and cheaper to get another head thats all redone and install

my 2 wheel honda= book requires `frequent decarbonizing` thru gas tank method
already has 11.5 to 1 compression ratio,,
carbon layer raises compression = to a point of blowing head gaskets and more

 

 

I guess is more of a maintanance issue remember the egr was never cleaned so carbon build up must of been real bad till I threw some cleaners and cleaned the egr. Im going to do a Type S swap tomorrow morning ill post up with the results.

 

egr carbon is different than piston and valve carbon
thats a lot of crud in the combustion chamber
looks like valve stem snapped,,maybe from piston contact--
definitely look at the valve adjustment specs as a possible cause

were they set with a flat feeler guage.. or the far more accurate GO/No-Go style?

 

I used a flat one, I believe the valve wasnt seating properly since I got the car because I cleaned the whole upper intake plenum and after a week of driving Id go back and check the intake and always had a puddle near cylinder 1, even before valve adjustment and timing belt job. Maybe I contributed more to the problem with the adjustment.

 

Yep. I feel it with the 6 speed too. Even more with the poly filed mounts now. Nothing that I would consider annoying.

 

Well that was the cause of your pulsation. Looks like a freak valve train failure. You typically only see that on these motors when a timing belt break (which is a rarity, even with some of these cars over 13 years old now)

Looking at that pic it appears as though there was maybe at some point a valve piston contact bending one of the valves? There appears to be oil based carbon buildup which could come from a bent valve/damaged valve guide? Though its hard to tell due to it being wet in the pic. It could have gotten that way in the last few cycles with a hole in the piston. But what i can see from the head pic, the cyl next to it appears pretty clean.