car vibration

Coykiam · Post by **Coykiam** » March 9th, 2005, 4:38 pm

ok guys last week I took my car to STS car center and had them check why my car was vibrating when its in Drive or Reverse. I read in the TSB that its the engine mounts and possible the radiator mount. But when I took it to the shop the mechanic took a look at it for 2 hours and found nothing. They said the motor mounts were good but yet the car shakes like hell especially the steering wheel when I have my headlights or parking lights on. Is there something else????

P.S. I took it to mazda last year and they didnt find anything. Not a surprise since they have a bunch of lazy mechanics working there....They blamed it on my custom exhaust.

Chino921 · Post by **Chino921** » March 9th, 2005, 4:51 pm

Where was your exhaust installed? To be honest with you I've seen improperly installed exhaust systems cause horrendous vibrations. Also, does this happen when you're driving or when you're at idle?

TekPmp · Post by **TekPmp** » March 10th, 2005, 12:23 am

Try picking up a a set of ground wires and installing them. I recommend ground wires because you said the vibration was linked to switching on your headlights. They are a pretty cheap fix, you can always find them on Ebay for under $20(US) or you could make them your self. If i remember correctly, GroHarlem has a nice tutorial on how to make a set and install them.

My MX-3 has the same problem when my lights are on. The RPMs drop to a near stall causing the car to shake.

-Joe

Coykiam · Post by **Coykiam** » March 11th, 2005, 9:49 am

My car wasnt shaking when I first installed the exhaust. It just started happening last year. I've had the exhaust for about 3 years now. I had it installed at this family mechanic that Ive been going to for years. I dont think its the installation since I checked it out and not one of the hangers has been bad and also the way it was installed seems like a good install, and knowing how dealers are, if they cant find anything wrong they'll blame it on something that can void the warranty. Ill try those ground wires upgrade as soon as the weather here in NY gets better. Thanks guys

95_mx3 · Post by **95_mx3** » April 6th, 2005, 4:58 pm

I've been having exact same problem with my 95 MX-3 for 2 years now. When the vibration started, I checked the engine mounts and 2 of them were popped. Those were.... when you are looking at the engine bay, one was close to the firewall and the other is on the radiator side, so I took my car to the shop and replaced them with OEM mounts. Guess what? No improvement!! I felt exact same vibration after I spend $150+ on parts and labor. But when I shift from N to D or D to N. Engine wasn't moving that much. Before I replaced them, I could feel the whole engine was moving back and forth when I shifted from N to D.

A couple of days ago, I had a chance to talk to someone at the dealership. He said I might have a bad transmission mount and he said he's seen many cars like that. I wonder if anyone knows if that's true or eliminated the vibration by replacing it. BTW, vibration doesn't get worse when the light is on. It seems pretty consistent. This is one problem that I really want to fix. It's bugging me a lot.

95_mx-3 · Post by **95_mx-3** » April 12th, 2005, 11:31 am

I'm trying to replace passenger side engine mount and upper transmission mount. My mechanic said labor will be $90 (1 1/2 hour job). Where's the best place to get those mounts? A friend of mine told me that this website has good price, but mounts are out of stock.

http://www.bestforeignparts.com/

Upper transmission mount is $108 plus tax from Mazda dealership. Does anyone know where I can buy aftermarket parts with good price? Thanks!!!