Car shakes while sitting idling

[WhiteS13]

My 1993 240SX shakes when I'm stopped at a light.  There's a revolving motion from the motor that increases when I'm at a standstill.

I'm assuming it might be an engine mount, but wanted to confirm with everyone first.  Just incase it is a known problem?

[West]

My 89 coupe does the same thing <img src="http://www.zilvia.net/f/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/sad.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=':('> Its real anoying.

Mine will shake more the lower the RPMs go down @ idle. Is yours the same way? Im still trying to figure out what it is.

[MorganS13]

yea mine does that too when i'm sitting at a light with my foot on the brake. &nbsp;when i took it to the dealer they said it was my brake cylinder starting to go or somethin along those lines. &nbsp;Oh yea my drivers side rear caliper has been siezed for a couple months now too, would that have anything to do with my brake cylinder going bad?

[WhiteS13]

West, you've explained it perfectly. That's exactly what my car does. When I'm sitting around idling, it starts shaking, and gets a little worse with more time. Once I start driving, it's gone. Stop again, and it starts all over.

I figure it's a torn or worn engine mount because the shaking feels more like a revolving motion. It actually makes my feel dizzy.


(Edited by WhiteS13 at 5:20 am on Jan. 22, 2002)

[MorganS13]

actually mines more like my idle will fluctuate between 500-700 RPM and thats what causes my car to shake

[West]

Idle Problem
When the car sits at idle the rpm needle is solid but the car trembles slightly. I had the dealer look at engine mounts and 3 techs said they were ok. What else could this be? Next step... Tried, new plugs, rotor, distributor cap. When car is pushed to the limit,(like 100MPH+ for 2-5 min) the idle tremble disappears. It cools down and there it is again. Strange.... any ideas?
-Dave
'91
ICQ:3489486
[email protected]

Re. 1

Check the electrical connectors on the injectors by &quot;gently&quot; shaking them while the engine is idling. &nbsp;I had a corroded connector on one injector and it caused similar symptoms.

Doug

Re. 2

Check your spark plugs for cracks. Run your engin in the dark and look for arcing of the plugs and wires. Don't forget to rev the motor to put it under a load.

Check for white deposites on your coil. This indicates that the coil is breaking down and electrcity is arcing to ground.

Also put some fuel injector cleaner in your fuel.

[email protected]

Re. 3

I had been having what felt like clutch slippage, kind of cyclic bogging down, in low revs. Car didn't lack upper end, or bother on hills though. I went through the bother of getting to the AIV, removing the top, and rinsing it out with electrical contact cleaner (its what I had, as I was also degreasing All contacts). (my speedo still wonk work right.) On removing the top clamp, the valve unit, was stuck. Some gentle pulling released it. The valve had to be stuck to some degree. Clean, bolt it back up, no bogging. Engine breaking smooth again. I feel (without real evidence) that this could be an additonal idle-type problem. I did have the unit replaced prior due to catastropic engine stalling when pushing the clutch and breaking. The unit seems to be easy to clean. I feel silly now for having it repla$ed.

Idle problems should include: MAF, MAF connectors, AIV, AIV connectors....

[email protected]

Another Solution

My 1993 would stop intermitently with very unstable idle and lack of power afterwards. Then after 5 minutes everything was fine. Dealer detected bad air flow meter, probably I could do it myself by reading error codes, didn't have time to do it. Got a meter form a dealer for $450.00 (why is it so expensive?), installation took me 30 minutes. Running OK so far.

Vlad
Email: [email protected]

[Azarael]

My #### fiero shakes too <img src="http://www.zilvia.net/f/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/tounge.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=':p'>

[fourg63]

I'm having the same problem on my Altima.It shakes like a mofo when idling.It idles at about 500 when sitting at a light with breaks engaged(auto).I know it's an idle motor problem since the more accessories(i.e. AC) I turn on the lower the idle gets.Once I put it in neutral, it gets better but not perfect.

[geerhedz]

I started having the same trouble on mine just last week. &nbsp; I bought new plugs, and I figured I'd try to see what the stock ignition could handle as far as plug gap is concerned. &nbsp;So I gapped my plugs at around .40 versus .35 where there supposed to be. &nbsp;I didn't notice any diff in power but my idle suffered so I pulled the plugs out and gapped them back to .35 and It went away.

Hope this helps :cool:

[West]

Went home today and fixed my idle. It was very ez actually. All I had to do was either open up the AIV and clean it out or do what I did and just break the tube that goes from the intake to the AIV and then put a small K&amp;N style filter over the intake hole where the AIV tube went out of the intake.

I also clean my throttle bodies and changed my spark plugs. The car runs really good for an 89 that once ran like shit <img src="http://www.zilvia.net/f/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=':)'> Im happy I paid $1200 for this car.

[240racer]

my car has that problem too. &nbsp;Where is the AIV and did you need to plug both ends of the tube. &nbsp;Also I have found some problems with the intake leaking after the MAF and when I fixed that it got a lot better
thanks
Adam

[Skiman112]

my car idles rough, but i thought it was b/c of my intake that i made. &nbsp;It idled really rough before i sealed up all the leaks in the intake. &nbsp;You can see my masterpiece at www.msrg.8k.com

[260sx]

ah hah! same problem goes here...
however.... didnt seem to find any resolution to it... my air intake is fine... just removed my aiv... i dont think there's a problem.... so what could be wrong...???
i guess new distributor is needed... but not sure..

[AN89HATCH]

My 89 240 did the same exact thing, I found out it was the spark plugs, i replaced them, now my idle is perfect, no more shaking :hsdance:

[ledzeppelin240]

Well this is actually an easy problem for the most part. It is a 4 cylinder which means there are less power strokes to keep the motor turning as compared to a 8 cylinder. The reason for a flywheel is to keep the motor spinnng between power strokes. The shaking is most likely more noticeable with a lighter flywheel. So getting used to this shaking would be a good thing, unless u decide to get a 6 or 8 cylinder. Its a 4 cylinder motor that has a longer stroke and bigger bore so it is inevitable.

[260sx]

yea i know... i've heard that striaght sixes are best for not bouncing around. but still... all other fours doesnt do it and i'm pretty sure nissan dont intend to make it shaking like its gonna die, which it never did... but the shaking is just unpleasant when you have a hot chick ridin along.

[West]

Congrats for reviving a 2 year old thread!

:wtf: