Bad vibes-Harmonic balancer? -Video

[red95r]

Hey all,

I have a horrible vibration from 1k-1500rpms. I just replaced the engine mounts and tranny mount which seemed to help a bit. But the fact is it still vibrates pretty bad. :dontknow:

The only thing I can think of would be the HB going bad, but as there are no signs of bulging rubber I don't know.

Vid of HB

 

[P51CrazyHorse]

It's a little hard to tell with the camera moving around that much, but the balancer looks fine to me. Is your car an auto or a stick? When was the last time it's been tuned up? A bad plug wire or fouled plug can possibly cause a "vibration" at lower RPM's. Does it have a Check Engine light at all?

On my '85 F-150 (351W) it had a horrible vibration at lower RPM's but not at higher, or while driving down the road. Turned out to be a corroded plug wire end on just one of the plugs. I'd check that first, then start looking at the more expensive stuff.

Always start off with the easiest. Sometimes the simplest solutions are the right ones.

 

[red95r]

It's an auto and about 6k miles ago for sparks, plug wires new in 08. No CEL.

At Idle you can feel an occasional rattle. Its enough to move the seat backs. If you turn on the A/c it smooths out like its balanced or something.

I'll look at the plugs+wires in the morning.

 

[atlanticblue98]

check to make sure you dont have any vacuum leaks

 

[P51CrazyHorse]

Still sounds a lot like an ignition issue there... The A/C system automatically increases the idle speed some to compensate for the added drain on the engine while the compressor is engaged. The fact that it smooths out then makes me think it could also be an Idle Air Control Valve that might be sticking a bit. This is a common issue for pretty much any car that has fuel injection. They get gummed up with carbon and stick either open or closed.

 

[red95r]

Lets put it this way the rpms DO NOT move at all while idling unless, of course the A/C is turned on.
I cleaned the IAC and MAF a few months back and got quite a bit of black filth off each.

I didn't get a chance to look at it today, we had all the rain from the hurricane come in.

 

[P51CrazyHorse]

Did you use MAF-specific cleaner on your Mass Air? Supposedly using any other type of cleaner in there can seriously damage it...

 

[red95r]

Yeah that crc stuff. I should have used the radio shak equiv, much cheaper and exact same makeup.

I changed the plugs back to motorcraft, it now rides a bit smoother at idle (not expecting a Cadillac ride lol). I forgot to mention that the car had over heated on those plugs twice so that may have caused it.

 

[Wayne]

if it over heated I'd check the compression the plugs may tell you something by reading them but you could have a blown head gasket. could be a burn valve too compression check a must