Excessive vibration at idle

[jwalker1970]

I have a 99 SL2 with <85K miles. When the vehicle idles the whole car shakes. Once you bring the idle above about 1200 RPM's, the vibration goes away. I've tried the following:

#1. Scanned for any drivability codes. none.
#2. Removed serpentine belt & ran. Still had vibration.
#3. Removed splash shield & held a straight edge to front pulley while running. Pulley doesn't wobble.
#4. Ran without front pulley. Still vibrates
#5. Removed flywheel inspection cover & looked for loose flywheel or torque converter weights. None found.
#6. Held straight edge to torque converter while running, no wobbles.

Please help with any suggestions or Experiences.

Thank you!

[Fieman]

I too had a similar problem with my 97 SL2. The problem was in the motor mounts, not in the power module area like I had also assumed. Pretty quick fix really.

[quote=jwalker1970]I have a 99 SL2 with <85K miles. When the vehicle idles the whole car shakes. Once you bring the idle above about 1200 RPM's, the vibration goes away.

[HAWG]

I would check the top engine mount for beong broken an easy repair

[saturnspeed_12]

yeah like the other guys said, motor mounts. i know i few guys who said their car vibrated pretty bad due to broken mount, but when my mount broke it wasnt all too bad. does the engine seem to run fine when the car is shaking?

[drew300]

I'm curious. I recently had the intake gasket replaced, (I wasn't brave enough to try it.) In the shop, I noticed they removed the top motor mount. I guess this allows the motor to tilt for an easier job. The car was ok until this bout of cold weather (minus 14) Now, at idle, (700 rpm), it does shake a lot. I haven't looked yet, what goes bad on the top mount?

[saturnspeed_12]

the rubber. its like always at least the front half of it that rips. ive seen the mounts go to the point that they completely seperate from top and bottom. you just have to like look at the middle of the rubber(where metal piece is at that connects to the motor) and rock the motor with your hand. sometimes you can see the crack without rocking the motor but if you rock it you can see if maybe its starting to crack and see how bad it really is. if i was down at my grandfathers, i would take a picture of my old mount so you know exactly where to look.

[93sc2project]

Hi,
I wanted to echo the information in this forum for engine mount vibration. I bought a 93 SC2 with 186K miles last year, to play with. I recently replaced the clutch, timing chain, and clutch hydraulic system, but the car had terrible vibration and harmonic vibration of the rear view mirror, dash, and interior trim, at idle and when you let off the accelerator from revving the engine, the whole car vibrated and shuddered until it hit idle, then it was okay. Drove me nuts. Was reading this forum yesterday, and it convinced me to go out and get the top engine mount (passenger side). Put it in, and you would think it was a brand new car - vibration is all but gone. Inspected the old one and you could see cracks and tears in the rubber. My hat is off to the guys that put the information above on the forum. Your advice was dead on, the change was as easy as described, and the results, well.........priceless. While at the Saturn shop this morning, spoke with a technician who said the dogbone mounts don't usually go bad, but the top right mount and the one under the transmission, do. If you have a Saturn, and the problems described in this thread, replacing the top right (passenger side) engine mount, may just be the easiest and most satisfying thing you can do for your car.

[playa0069u]

like around how much does this cost to get done? I am still unsure of where I am suppossed to be looking though...

[ksion15]

Originally Posted by playa0069u

like around how much does this cost to get done? I am still unsure of where I am suppossed to be looking though...

it is right beside the coolant reservoir. mounts to the timing cover.

[playa0069u]

see it is hard because I dont know what I am looking for lol but i will check it out in the morning in the daylight. thanks alot.

[93sc2project]

Hi,
Sorry I didn't see this yesterday. As I see, someone told you, yes it is right next to the radiator resevoir. There are five nuts that hold the mount in place. The mount itself cost me $ 77.72 at the local Saturn dealer, part number 21013105, called a torque strut. You should put a jack under the oil pan with a block of wood between the lifting surface and the oil pan. Then use the jack to steady the engine and keep it in place when you remove the old mount. Torque for the mount is 37 foot pounds on the 1993 that I have. Altogether, it took me about an hour to replace the mount. You need 15 mm deep socket to go over the bolts to remove the nuts. Chances are (as described in other writeups on this forum) the three bolts in the engine block will come out rather than just the nuts, but that is okay. Be very careful to put the bolts back into the block correctly, and to not cross thread them (steel bolts, aluminum engine). Again, this is written up better in other articles in these forums. If you have a shop do it, I would expect that they will tack another $30-50 for doing the labor. If you want to experiment, I saw Ebay sellers who had new Saturn engine mounts for sale for about $20, but I decided that just in case there is something special about the hardness of the mount rubber compound, that I would buy the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) Saturn part. Suggest you stay away from a used mount. By the way, the old mount turned out to be cracked and definitely worn out. The car is so much quieter and engine vibration is basically gone. One last note from the Saturn dealer, a tech I talked to there, indicated that Saturn mounts seem to go bad/wear out after a few years. Really surprised me. Good luck, this car fix is really straight forward, and easy, if you have a floor jack and some wood!

[Luke.]

The Saturn "Powertrain mounting system" is called "Torque Axis Mount System" [TAMS]

The engine and transmission mounts support the >weight< of the powertrain, while
the engine strut and transmission strut control the >torque< motion.

TAMS: > It is not a component; It's a four component SYSTEM. A good reference is >Here<.

You'll also find the following:

A full clarification regarding the Torque Axis Mount System (TAMS) >Here<

Additional TAM information: >Here<

>>> Picture of Upper Engine Mount, and a way to measure/determine if it is "failing". >Here<

Fm 93 SC2 Project

As I see, someone told you, yes it is right next to the radiator resevoir. There are five nuts that hold the mount in place. The mount itself cost me $ 77.72 at the local Saturn dealer, part number 21013105, called a torque strut.

If I may offer a rebuttal to the "torque strut" description:
Are you not referring to the "upper engine mount", for the "lower engine" strut, would be located on the passenger side, lower engine side, at the level of the oil pan.

[93sc2project]

Hi,
That is an impressive amount of miles on your Saturn!!
The description that I used was what was typed on the receipt from Saturn. Nifty links to pictures, and that is exactly what I replaced, so if the proper name is a Torque Axis Mount (TAM) then I am fine with calling it that. Just hope I don't need to replace it again soon. Obviously you know more about the engine mount than I do, so I defer to you.

Question for you, how often have you replaced the shock absorbers (I know there is a more accurate proper name for them), just not sure what it is. The 93 Saturn that I have, at 186K miles probably has the originals, so I figured that you might have some perspective on how often to replace them.

[Luke.]

Fm 93 SC 2 Project

so if the proper name is a Torque Axis Mount (TAM) then I am fine with calling it that

Actually, no. The correct name is the "Upper Engine Mount", which is one of the four components of the Torque Axis Mount System (TAMS).

I'm still confused, though. Just what unit did you replace ? The "Upper Engine Mount", or the "Lower Engine Strut" ??

how often have you replaced the shock absorbers

Mine are still original. I'd replace them only when necessary. I determine that when I find that the front end, or the rear for that matter, 'bounces', more than once, when I exert downward pressure on the front of the car. Of course, the same would apply, in testing the rear.

[93sc2project]

Hi,
It was the upper engine mount on the passenger side.