2007 Honda Accord - Vibration at Idle

[Trav]

Critic, yes that the same without the VCM electronics but is still hydraulic. They are easy to check.
See that piece of rubber on the front of the mount looking at it from the top of that ebay picture? Look at that area with a flash light, if the engine is sitting down on that rubber its shot, there should be a gap.

BTW these can leak internally as well as externally, this one leaked internally.

 

[SatinSilver]

I read on here about some having luck using some Techron/similar to smooth vibration. Instead I filled up the Matrix with about 4 gallons of Shell V-power. It was .80 more per gallon. And sure enough the vibration is gone. 05 Matrix with 95k on it.

 

[Kool1]

I would pull the spark plugs and check for the slightest difference in any gaps. I noticed that 4 cylinders seem to be really picky with exacting spark plug gaps.

 

[The Critic]

Trav,

I think you are right. I ordered new mounts from the dealer for the front and rear. Total was about $220. I'll start with these two, and judging from the pictures, I think the ones on the car in question are a bit collapsed.

Kool1- the car received new plugs when I did the valve adjustment, which was about 2,000 miles ago. It received a set of NGK 6994s.

Originally Posted By: t1snwrbrdr12
did you check your timing when adjusting valves? mine at 200k runs smooth as new, but it did vibrate at idle when the timing was off due to a stretching chain. stretched chains sound very common on these apparently. I never had a check engine light until it got as far off time as about 3 teeth, and never thought to check timing due to it being a chain driving timing system. thought that'd be a lifetime system as opposed to needing service like a belt.

I've also found broken trans mounts (lower, along the subframe) which appear fine unless you have someone power brake them. just sitting I never knew anything was wrong with them, couldn't even see the slightest tear in them.

and as you already know the front motor mounts are prone to failure, but you usually see hydraulic fluid leaking from them if and when they fail, at least in my limited experience.


I did not check the timing but at the point, it did not cross my mind that it would be an issue. I'll install the new front/rear mounts first and go from there.

 

[t1snwrbrdr12]

I used a napa trans. mount when I replaced mine. they sold it to me less than half the cost of Honda so I figured it was worth a shot. for what it's worth, it was stamped with a factory part number. I had to provide them the factory number to look up the correct mount, because the first couple they ordered were wrong. For my motor mounts I did use oem Honda. Our pricing changes with different shops all the time, so I always call and weigh out my options, but for a motor mount I'd feel more comfortable with Honda as well, and it sounds like you're getting a good deal on the prices anyway.

 

[Trav]

A wet noodle has a longer life expectancy than one of these aftermarket mounts. We are talking hundreds of miles not tens of thousands and a few weeks if your lucky enough to get one not DOA out of the box.

Anchor, DEA and Westar are mostly what is carried by the aftermarket sellers, dealer cost on a V6 VCM front and rear mount is $395 each, even if you get it for cost plus 10% its over $400. How can the aftermarket sell one they claim matches OE for $69 retail? They cant and they don't, they are all Chinese made low quality parts.

 

[The Critic]

Update:

I installed the front and rear mounts that I received from the dealer. It is possible to do the front mount w/o removing the lower rad hose, but it does takes some serious gymnastics to get it out and the hose does get manhandled. The rear mount can also be removed without touching the exhaust shield bolts.

So I did one mount at a time to figure out which one was the culprit.

1) New rear mount = this completely fixed the vibration when car was in "R" (with a/c off), it also reduced the amount of vibration when the car was in "D" (with a/c off). The new rear mount also fixed the "drone" during acceleration. However it did NOT fix the vibration when the a/c is on.

Also, it should be made aware that the old rear mount was about 1/8" shorter than the new one - so there was some amount of saggage.

2) New front mount = this noticeably reduced the amount of vibration when a/c is on; it is now at an acceptable level, but far from completely gone. No improvement was noticed in any other areas by replacing the front mount.

I also performed the engine mount neutralization procedure after replacing both mounts, but this did not result in any significant improvements.

Overall, the amount of vibration went from a "C-" to a solid "B." I would like to say that it was worth $220 for the discerning owner, but the improvement noticed is definitely not worth the $600+ for what a shop would have to charge.

 

[Cressida]

Originally Posted By: Trav
A wet noodle has a longer life expectancy than one of these aftermarket mounts. We are talking hundreds of miles not tens of thousands and a few weeks if your lucky enough to get one not DOA out of the box.

Anchor, DEA and Westar are mostly what is carried by the aftermarket sellers, dealer cost on a V6 VCM front and rear mount is $395 each, even if you get it for cost plus 10% its over $400. How can the aftermarket sell one they claim matches OE for $69 retail? They cant and they don't, they are all Chinese made low quality parts.


Fwiw, I have found that Beck Arnly mounts are no better. They cost much more than the Anchor, DEA and Westar but give the same poor and unacceptable results.