2001 Sunfire, 2.4 L, Engine Shaking
Static Sloth
06-22-2013, 10:12 PM
Hello,
I have a 2001 Pontiac Sunfire (http://www.bizrate.com/pontiac-sunfire/index__af_assettype_id--4__af_creative_id--3__af_id--[AFF-ID]__af_placement_id--[AFF-PLACEMENT-ID].html) with a 2.4 liter engine.
I just had the waterpump replaced and the lower coolant tube, I believe it's called, by a mechanic, which was quite a long job and a bit of a costly bill.
I went to pick the car up earlier and as soon as I started it up, the car was shaking back and forth as I was sitting in park. I immediately got out and went and told the mechanic. He looked under the hood, and the engine was very clearly shaking back and forth.
He couldn't give me an explanation as to why it would be shaking like this - and it wasn't doing it before I brought it in to have the waterpump (http://motors.shop.ebay.com/i.html?_nkw=waterpump) changed.
It's the weekend now and he's closed on the weekend, but he said to just drive it for a couple days to see if it evens itself out.
I'm wondering if anyone knows what would be causing this and if there's any issues that could have occurred when he was replacing the waterpump that could cause the engine to do this?
Also, the engine light is not on.
Thank you for any assistance.
I have a 2001 Pontiac Sunfire (http://www.bizrate.com/pontiac-sunfire/index__af_assettype_id--4__af_creative_id--3__af_id--[AFF-ID]__af_placement_id--[AFF-PLACEMENT-ID].html) with a 2.4 liter engine.
I just had the waterpump replaced and the lower coolant tube, I believe it's called, by a mechanic, which was quite a long job and a bit of a costly bill.
I went to pick the car up earlier and as soon as I started it up, the car was shaking back and forth as I was sitting in park. I immediately got out and went and told the mechanic. He looked under the hood, and the engine was very clearly shaking back and forth.
He couldn't give me an explanation as to why it would be shaking like this - and it wasn't doing it before I brought it in to have the waterpump (http://motors.shop.ebay.com/i.html?_nkw=waterpump) changed.
It's the weekend now and he's closed on the weekend, but he said to just drive it for a couple days to see if it evens itself out.
I'm wondering if anyone knows what would be causing this and if there's any issues that could have occurred when he was replacing the waterpump that could cause the engine to do this?
Also, the engine light is not on.
Thank you for any assistance.
Static Sloth
06-22-2013, 11:16 PM
There is also a couple other details I forgot to include in the original post.
1) This shaking occurs as soon as the RPM goes below 1000.
2) If I'm stopped at a red light, the car is shaking a lot, and when the light turns green, when I begin to accelerate as I normally would, the car feels like it doesn't want to go forward, so I have put about double the pressure as I normally would on the gas pedal to get it going. But, once the RPM rises above 1000, it runs smoothly.
3) The car has air conditioning. I'm not sure if that effects anything, but I think the air conditioning system is part of changing the waterpump. I'm not sure, though. Also, the A/C was not on when these symptoms occurred.
1) This shaking occurs as soon as the RPM goes below 1000.
2) If I'm stopped at a red light, the car is shaking a lot, and when the light turns green, when I begin to accelerate as I normally would, the car feels like it doesn't want to go forward, so I have put about double the pressure as I normally would on the gas pedal to get it going. But, once the RPM rises above 1000, it runs smoothly.
3) The car has air conditioning. I'm not sure if that effects anything, but I think the air conditioning system is part of changing the waterpump. I'm not sure, though. Also, the A/C was not on when these symptoms occurred.
gmtech1
06-23-2013, 08:52 AM
Hello,
I have a 2001 Pontiac Sunfire (http://www.bizrate.com/pontiac-sunfire/index__af_assettype_id--4__af_creative_id--3__af_id--[AFF-ID]__af_placement_id--[AFF-PLACEMENT-ID].html) with a 2.4 liter engine.
I just had the waterpump replaced and the lower coolant tube, I believe it's called, by a mechanic, which was quite a long job and a bit of a costly bill.
I went to pick the car up earlier and as soon as I started it up, the car was shaking back and forth as I was sitting in park. I immediately got out and went and told the mechanic. He looked under the hood, and the engine was very clearly shaking back and forth.
He couldn't give me an explanation as to why it would be shaking like this - and it wasn't doing it before I brought it in to have the waterpump (http://motors.shop.ebay.com/i.html?_nkw=waterpump) changed.
It's the weekend now and he's closed on the weekend, but he said to just drive it for a couple days to see if it evens itself out.
I'm wondering if anyone knows what would be causing this and if there's any issues that could have occurred when he was replacing the waterpump that could cause the engine to do this?
Also, the engine light is not on.
Thank you for any assistance.
The water pump replacement procedure on your car requires the timing chain to be removed. There are special tools required to hold the cams in place when the chain is removed. Since you didn't have any issues before the repairs, I'm going to guess the that one or both cams are not timed correctly. If this is the case (I'm pretty sure it is) your mechanic will need to remove the timing cover again and reset the timing.
I have a 2001 Pontiac Sunfire (http://www.bizrate.com/pontiac-sunfire/index__af_assettype_id--4__af_creative_id--3__af_id--[AFF-ID]__af_placement_id--[AFF-PLACEMENT-ID].html) with a 2.4 liter engine.
I just had the waterpump replaced and the lower coolant tube, I believe it's called, by a mechanic, which was quite a long job and a bit of a costly bill.
I went to pick the car up earlier and as soon as I started it up, the car was shaking back and forth as I was sitting in park. I immediately got out and went and told the mechanic. He looked under the hood, and the engine was very clearly shaking back and forth.
He couldn't give me an explanation as to why it would be shaking like this - and it wasn't doing it before I brought it in to have the waterpump (http://motors.shop.ebay.com/i.html?_nkw=waterpump) changed.
It's the weekend now and he's closed on the weekend, but he said to just drive it for a couple days to see if it evens itself out.
I'm wondering if anyone knows what would be causing this and if there's any issues that could have occurred when he was replacing the waterpump that could cause the engine to do this?
Also, the engine light is not on.
Thank you for any assistance.
The water pump replacement procedure on your car requires the timing chain to be removed. There are special tools required to hold the cams in place when the chain is removed. Since you didn't have any issues before the repairs, I'm going to guess the that one or both cams are not timed correctly. If this is the case (I'm pretty sure it is) your mechanic will need to remove the timing cover again and reset the timing.
Tech II
06-23-2013, 11:19 AM
Absolutely, I agree with GMTech1.....
The timing chain does not have to come off, per se, but it it could move/jump during disassembly, reassembly.......
Rule of thumb on these is this......when the front cover comes off, you put the engine in the timed position BEFORE ANY DISASSMBLY, and look at the the position of the timing marks on the cam and crank sprockets.....then after the chain and tensioner have been reassembled, you rotate the crank twice and double check the position of the timing marks that they are in the same position, BEFORE PUTTING THAT FRONT COVER BACK ON....being off just one tooth can cause an erratic idle.....and it is very time consuming to take that cover off and retime the engine....
The timing chain does not have to come off, per se, but it it could move/jump during disassembly, reassembly.......
Rule of thumb on these is this......when the front cover comes off, you put the engine in the timed position BEFORE ANY DISASSMBLY, and look at the the position of the timing marks on the cam and crank sprockets.....then after the chain and tensioner have been reassembled, you rotate the crank twice and double check the position of the timing marks that they are in the same position, BEFORE PUTTING THAT FRONT COVER BACK ON....being off just one tooth can cause an erratic idle.....and it is very time consuming to take that cover off and retime the engine....
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