Vibration when stopped in gear anyone have some advise?

[aerokid1987]

I am having a bit of a problem... When my car gets warmed up and the idle goes down to 800 or so, if you are stopped in drive, the whole car vibrates. I am thinking motor and tranny mounts... Any ideas?? BTW it is a carbed automatic if you didn't already know...

[Acid X]

Hey, im having the same problem! I can't figure out what it is either, though.

EDIT: Oh, and you posted this in the wrong section..

[aerokid1987]

Woopsy! I meant to post in tech... sorry

[Blkblurr]

Change your motor mounts and the problem will go away. Same thing happened to my SE-i. Make sure they are Honda mounts.

[aerokid1987]

By honda mounts do you mean true honda parts or what? thanks for the advise.

[onliLX-i]

The easiest fix is to throw it in neutral at stop lights. I did this for years. My 87 LX had this same vibration problem. So bad that the steering wheel and dash would visibly vibrate. Throw it in neutral any time you stop.

[paso100]

By honda mounts do you mean true honda parts or what? thanks for the advise.
Yes, ONLY Honda OEM mounts. The rubber in most afterfarter parts are too hard and will make the vibration worse. Honda rubber is softer and absorbs engine vibration the best. I know this from experience. Besides, you won't save an apprecialbe amount w/ afterfarter parts.
You can check for cracks by using a flashlight and probing with a screwdriver.
There's a front mount, a side mount by the left fender and a rear mount. There's also a donut mount on the right side and a transmission mount. There's also a dogbone mount on top of the engine to the rear.

[DBMaster]

The ones that seemed to make the most difference are the lower mounts in the front and rear. The "dogbones" rarely wear out. The left mount (at the timing belt cover) may need replacing, too, but generally will not be the cause of the vibration.

Without the balance shafts that were added to the Honda four cylinders in 1990 our engines do have some amount of natural vibration, but by replacing the two lower mounts and following the tightening sequence in the shop manual it should help a lot!

[Blkblurr]

I didn't replace the dogbone mount and the vibration is gone. I replaced the front, drivers side, the rear, the transmission mount and the transmission hanger one on the passenger side. My front mount was broken.

[DBMaster]

From what I have learned the front mount often breaks. It is the one that is oil filled. After replacing mine and still having noticeable vibration I talked to the Honda parts department at the local dealer. They told me that you should always replace the rear lower mount at the same time. That was what made the difference.

[Honda-Master]

From what I have learned the front mount often breaks. It is the one that is oil filled. After replacing mine and still having noticeable vibration I talked to the Honda parts department at the local dealer. They told me that you should always replace the rear lower mount at the same time. That was what made the difference.

86-89 accords did not have oil filled mounts....it came out 90 accord auto tranny , and it is the rear mount.......

on 86-89 the one that causes most of the vibration, is the rear mount , they collapse ,

[Acid X]

How much is it for a front and rear mount? My friend nick doesnt want to change them for me even though he works for honda, and he wont even pull them for me to see if they are broken. I probably have to do it myself.

[DBMaster]

86-89 accords did not have oil filled mounts....


Uh, excuse me!? When I took my original front mount out the rubber around the threaded rod came out and thick oil (like hydraulic oil) spilled all over the place. It IS a fluid filled mount - just not as sophisticated as the later ones. Take my word for this - you need to replace BOTH lower mounts if you want to positively impact your vibration problem.

[aerokid1987]

Hey thanks much you guys for the advise!

[Blkblurr]

Uh, excuse me!? When I took my original front mount out the rubber around the threaded rod came out and thick oil (like hydraulic oil) spilled all over the place. It IS a fluid filled mount - just not as sophisticated as the later ones. Take my word for this - you need to replace BOTH lower mounts if you want to positively impact your vibration problem.

I agree. It is filled with oil but not pressure controlled like the later ones. The rear mount collapses and hardens and the front mount allows movement if it's broke. All the vibration is transmitted through the lower crossmember that the steering rack is mounted to. Replace both front and rear at a minimum.

[DBMaster]

Yes, I agree completely. The front mount cracks and/or breaks and the rear mount hardens and collapses. Made a huge difference in mine when I replaced them.

Here's how you know you have had the car a long time. You own it long enough to have to replace the motor mounts twice!

[Blkblurr]

I've owned mine since it was new. Can't get any longer than that! I am an old fart though.

[DBMaster]

Me too! For this board I am an old fart at age 40. The Accord is only my second car and it is nearly tied for age of my last car. I had a 72 Catalina that was handed down from my parents. It was a sad day in 1990 when I sold it, but rust was getting the best of it even though it was mechanically very sound.

[Blkblurr]

I'm 47 and my SE-i was the second new car I've bought. The first was an 86 Prelude. My wife dorve it but I did love that car. I sold it when it began to rust badly.

[onliLX-i]

SE-i must have been BADASS as a brand new, straight off the lot car.

[Blkblurr]

Yea it was fun to have as a new car. The sound system was kick ass in those days. I still drive it all the time. I put on almost 1000 miles this week alone and it runs great. 240 k miles now. I have to say it's the best car i've owned hands down and why I continue to keep it in good condition. It has treated me right.

[Acid X]

I checked my mounts and the front one seems fine. The rubber surround isnt broken or anything, and theres no oil around it. The driver side mount was gone though.. But i replaced it with an almost brand new mount (pulled it off a car in the JY... brand new mount practically! 10$..), and it didnt make the vibration any better... SO im assuming its the rear one, which i heard was a biatch to replace.

Is there any way i can test it before taking it out?

[Blkblurr]

Just replace it. At the age of the car it has to be hard and colapsed. Make sure it's a Honda mount. I can't stress that enough. The mount is not too hard to replace.