Loud Whine and shaking....out of ideas!!!

[FJPTB]

Hey guys. I am an old member from "that other site" and heard a lot of folks had migrated here. I am having an issue and hoping that you guys can help....


I have two issues actually. Both of which are driving me absolutely nuts!! I have had two mechanics look at my car, read countless forums posts for similar issues and also took it to an exhaust shop and no one can seem to tell me what is causing these issues. They could be related but I don't think that they are.

Issue #1
The engine is shaking violently but only seems to do it when the vehicle is still (P or N) There is an obvious movement to the engine when looking at it with the hood up. Sometimes it is worse than others. I have no SES codes nor a SES light. I will post below what I have tried so far.

Issue #2
When I accelerate and only when the car is above 2500ish RPM's, it makes a VERY loud whining noise that to me, sounds like it can be heard through the exhaust but that could just be my ears. As soon as the transmission shifts gears and the RPM's go back down under 2k the noise is gone and the engine purrs like it should. I am completely out of ideas.......


I have tried the following:

1.) Replaced the alternator.
2.) Replaced the idler pulley.
3.) Replaced the Water pump.
4.) Replaced the fan clutch.
5.) Replaced the tensioner and pulley.
6.) Replaced the serp belt.
7.) Checked the pulleys and fluids for the PS pump and AC.
8.) Cleaned the throttle body.
9.) Replaced the Air Filter and fuel filter
10.) Replaced the coil packs, boots and plugs. 41-103's
11.) Checked the bolts on the intake and exhaust manifolds.
12.) Replaced the motor mounts and brackets with OEM parts.
13.) Replaced the catalytic converter.
14.) Replaced the thermostat

With the belt off, I drove it around the block. It still vibrates\shakes and still has the loud whine.

Before Installing the new cat, I had them put a piece of test pipe in its place and it only seemed to amplify the sound.

 

[The_Roadie]

Welcome! Wow, you've thrown a lot of time and money at the problem!

If it happens without the belt connected, that throws out most of my ideas. I'd get a scan tool on it to look for fuel trims and misfires, check for vacuum leaks, change the CPAS, and check compression.

How many miles?

 

[FJPTB]

Hey there Roadster. Long time no see!

Every now and then it will throw a P0302 but it is very random and I cant seem to isolate a pattern to it. The SES will come on and my cruise control won't work. It will go off and return to "normal" just as random as it came on. Other than that, no codes at all.

258,xxx miles now. Next week, I bought the car 11 years ago brand new. She has been a great ride and I am hoping to get a little more out of her before buying another car.

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[CaptainXL]

Hey there Roadster. Long time no see!

Every now and then it will throw a P0302 but it is very random and I cant seem to isolate a pattern to it. The SES will come on and my cruise control won't work. It will go off and return to "normal" just as random as it came on. Other than that, no codes at all.

258,xxx miles now. Next week, I bought the car 11 years ago brand new. She has been a great ride and I am hoping to get a little more out of her before buying another car.

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Hello. I would check the vacuum as Bill said. Should be around 18 in Hg at idle. Another thing to check/replace would be the CPAS. A next step would be to perform a power balance test where you disconnect the primary wires or lift each coil out one at a time. When the engine idles better then you know which cylinder is the culprit. You can then perform a compression test on that cylinder.

 

[Wooluf1952]

Hello. I would check the vacuum as Bill said. Should be around 18 in Hg at idle. Another thing to check/replace would be the CPAS. A next step would be to perform a power balance test where you disconnect the primary wires or lift each coil out one at a time. When the engine idles better then you know which cylinder is the culprit. You can then perform a compression test on that cylinder.

The engine won't idle better. The idle just won't idle any worse.

 

[CaptainXL]

The engine won't idle better. The idle just won't idle any worse.

Hmm. Well I disconnected my coils the other day and the idle became just a little rough as I lifted each coil out.

 

[Wooluf1952]

HM. Well I disconnected my coils the other day and the idle became just a little rough as I lifted each coil out.

Right. But if the idle is rough because one of the coils was bad, the idle would not change when the bad coil was disconnected.

 

[CaptainXL]

Right. But if the idle is rough because one of the coils was bad, the idle would not change when the bad coil was disconnected.

Right, right. Yes. I remember now. lol.

 

[FJPTB]

I tried this and noticed that when I unplug the connector on #2 the idle doesn't change (no better and no worse) which indicates an issue on cylinder 2. However, the coil pack and plug are both good (and new) and they are also hot to the touch so I do not think the plug or pack are dead. If that makes sense.

 

[FJPTB]

So..... after all this and months of pulling my hair out. It turned out to be a clogged\bad muffler...WTF!

Took it to the local exhaust shop and they happend to have a fairly new take off muffler from a TBSS. Sold me the muffler and the labor for $50 and now the vibration is gone and the good ol' TB has LOTS of power. However, the best news is that annoying whine that it has had for over a year now is GONE!!!!!

 

[Hypnotoad]

Was it maybe the resonator? I once found strings of fiberglass come out of my resonator. I could see those clogging up the exhaust.

 

[FJPTB]

I've heard of that problem but my can was gone years ago. It was the actual muffler.

 

[The_Roadie]

Thanks for the report! In my short time on the forums I've heard of many, many clogged cats but never a muffler. An exhaust backpressure test could have caught that, I guess, but without bad data from the O2 sensors, who would think to run a backpressure test. Gotta add that to the list of possibilities we recite to folks with your symptoms.

 

[FJPTB]

Yeah, that was definitely a new one on me too. An old friend of mine (and I do mean old ) who is a seasoned mechanic was at my house and told me he thought my cat was clogged. I told him that wasn't possible since the cat is brand new. He then said "It must be that muffler then". The guys at the exhaust shop were like you and me, no way that is the problem. I asked them to do it anyway and sure enough...... hence my WTF earlier!

 

[The_Roadie]

...An old friend of mine (and I do mean old ) ...

Old guys rule!

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