Hi everyone again! After reading many many threads, I truly cannot believe the helpfulness of this forum, it's a great online community. Anyhow, I have some concerns about my 2000 TL.
I have searched but simple keywords bring up pages and pages of results.
Most concerning me is that I have a delay in the tranny engaging into Drive. I read ~2 seconds is normal, mine takes that full 2 seconds or slightly more, whether cold or not. Also, I get a vibration during the 1-2 shift, but all shifts feel strong with no slipping, but are noticeable, which I dont know how it compares to how it is suppose to be. It is not as smooth as my gfs 2010 hyundai accent, but not too alarming. Tranny was rebuilt about 1,000 miles ago, before I purchased the car. I am guessing motor mounts, but I don't know how much the engine should move when rev'd, nor do I see any fluid from front or rear mounts. Tranny mounts maybe? Couldn't imagine the tranny being rebuilt with worn tranny mounts reinstalled.

My next concern is I have a vibration at idle, which is a hair above the 750 mark, which iirc is a bit high, should be 680rpm? Again motor mounts may be suspect on vibration, but it seems to be intermittent, and the way it does it is odd. When it vibrates, it vibrates for about a second, is smooth for a second, and repeats. Does it regardless of in gear or not, but vibration seems worse in neutral. Car runs great over all, but it also seems to stumble if I hold the rpm at exactly 1k. Doesn't feel like a miss, and only at that exact rpm, higher rpm or idle it's smooth, and is different than just the vibration I feel at idle. It's almost like when you seafoam and the car starts to want to die, but not as bad.
Car just hit 170k, I have seafoamed, both gas and intake method, air filter is clean, all hoses seem to be I good shape.
Car runs great, raced a newer T-Bird, the one with 280hp iirc, and kept with it 0-80mph.
Sorry for the long read and thanks in advance!

 

Oh, sorry, I made it sound as if the idle vibration was repeating like it does it when a certait cylinder is firing, it's not. The engine definitely completes a full cycle between vibrations as far as I can tell.

 

have you done the intake manifold cleaning of the egr system,,clogging causes many problems
while throttle body is off, you flip over and access the idle air control valve/rod
for cleaning
hows the spark plugs'?

have a tech ck the mounts for you,,may have left the vac line off one during trans work!

Is it on HONDA DW1 atf? that affects shifting
change it all out now,,
rebuilds shed material just like a new one does~ better to get it out now,,then every year change at least 3 of the 7.3 qts

a full 2 seconds from N to D is normal,,more than that is an issue
start with fluid level ck-
15 minutes freeway cruise from dead cold
engine off in park- level indicates between the 2 dots,not at either--between them at that fluid temp

got to start with all the basics!

 

I haven't gotten to the egr cleaning, it passed california emissions with close to 0, if not 0, nox emissions. Spark plugs look ok, are the regular ngk platinums, I have the IX ready to be installed though.
Where should I go for the mounts to be checked, Aamco (lol i know right) wanted to charge me a $75 diagnostic just for that.
I can only assume it's honda DW1, as the repairs were done before I bought the car, but I got the repair order, and it says honda atf, but who knows. I suppose I'll have to bite the cost and 3x3 it to be safe.

Update, this morning I noticed the car idling exactly at 750rpm, after about 5 minutes of driving, reaching temp. As I sat idling at a drivethru, after a minute or so, I watched the rpm needle slowly rise up, to where the bottom of the needle is just past the 750 mark, so ~800rpm?
680rpm is the correct idle for a 2000 right? 750 is for the later years with sticks no?

 

that seems low in Drive to me,,have to look at the guage next time
~800-900 warm seems right
1000-1200 cold for a minute then drops down to 1000~
System is set to run longer/hold/higher rpm than normal in 1-2nd gear cold, to speed warming of the cat

I pass Ca test too,,with egr clogging not found on test,,but....,

 

whats the date on that invoice with trans fluid?
dw1 came into play about a year ago? anyone remember a date?
dealer can tell you

plugs with 60-70kmiles are ready for replacement
these plugs look fine but are not working like they used too

clean or replace $10 PCV valve, goes into rear valve cover and TB inlet line

 

Is there a certain brand of PCV valve to get? Fram is pretty cheap, but I'd rather avoid it if the quality is like their oil filters.

 

It never hurts to check Acura/Honda for an OEM replacement. Sometimes for a critical part, a few bucks more is worth the money spent for peace of mind.

 

Update....
Got the NGK IX plugs installed, plug change was much easier than anticipated, definitely feel a better idle and a little bit smoother off the line. Still have a bit of vibration/intermittent rough idle. I did notice one of my coil packs was discolored, had a rust look to it, maybe like it was seared from heat? I stupidly didn't take a pic. Is it possible for a coil pack to work but not fully and not throw a code? Like it gets the plug to fire but weakly? Would needing a egr cleaning and all that related areas cause idle go be rough?
Also, I still can't figure out the vibration in the 1-2 shift, I've seen a couple others on here with the same problem, its shutter with low throttle but give it more gas and the shift is normal. None of the threads showed a cause or solution.
And lastly I've noticed a squeaking noise when rolling slowly, <10mph. It squeaks with the rotation of the tires, which I would think maybe warped rotor, but braking at all speeds is smooth. And it doesn't scream like a wheel bearing. Ideas??
Thanks!

 

Have you introduced "Seafoam" to your car yet ? It may well be worth a try !
Cleaning the fuel system and injectors is a good place to start. If you have not cleaned the EGR passageways and TB intake......do so now. Check your motor mounts.

Is the squeaking noise coming from the front ? Safely lift and support the car off the ground.....grab the tire at top and bottom, then check for any bearing play by pushing in & out. Inspect and clean the caliper slides for the pads, Also look closely at the backing plate for the brake assembly.

 

I agree. The factory ones are about $20, but you know it's going to have the correct calibration for your car. I've had driveability problems with aftermarket pcv valves in the past, and I think they try to get by with too few part numbers. I recall seeing an aftermarket pcv valve listed for our cars that was the same application on an f-150.

 

Ya I've seafoamed through intake and in tank. EGR cleaning is on my list, but I'm going to be re-reading the dyi and what not, I'm a measure twice cut once kinda guy I suppose. Just wanna make sure I understand each step of the process. Probably why the plug change was actually easy to me.

Yes the squeaking is from the front, I will check for play soon as it stops raining like crazy, no room in the garage atm. What is the backing plate you mentioned, and what should I look for?

Also, the idle problem seems to have changed.....it's either smooth, or consistently vibrating now. And I can feel it in the seats now, instead of mainly the steering wheel.

 

The vibrating may be originating from worn out motor mounts. Cleaning the EGR & TB usually helps smooth out the idle.

The "backing shield" is located behind the rotor. Dry ball joints don't always scream, sometimes they just squeak.