Idle engine vibration

[svtrit]

Aftermarket engine mounts are the WORST. They are Asian garbage. I had to change the engine mounts in my 03' Totota Solara. OEM were not available anylonger. Had no choice but to go aftermarket. Now I need new teeth. The vibration is INSANE. But, I'm stuck. When the car is in drive, and stopped at a light, it's the worst. Then if you turn on the A/C, you really start shakin. But, I'm getting used to it. ( have no choice). Go get OEM engine mounts and that will solve you're problem.

I put the OEM back on after jamming them full of heater hose to stiffen them back up (mainly to test the theory that the Anchors were trash). The anchors are in the metal bin at work.

That did improve things to a point I was able to ignore what little vibration remained. The 1200 RPM stutter is new.

 

[svtrit]

I’m another victim of the dreaded 3.6L cam issue. I got 133k miles so I can’t complain too much.

The engine is very clean. I used a mix of Valvoline High Mileage, Havoline synthetic, and the last change is VRP.

Now to decide: Toyota, Honda, or roll up my sleeves for replacing the cams.

 

[svtrit]

I ended up putting new rockers on the left(front) head. I cannot tell a distinguishable difference between the old ones and the new Melling ones when rolling them by hand, but something is better as the van is now very happy. The cam damage is only at the surface, so this fix works for now. Some of the polished face has worn off like you might see in a worn rod nearing.

We drove it to church this morning, before I swapped the rockers, and it was unhappy when we got home, feeling like it was going to die at idle. Now it runs perfectly with a very slight vibration at idle. My son said it best when he said, “ If I wasn’t looking for a vibration I might not feel it.”

I’m happy enough that I may just change the banging endlinks now….

At least we’ve bought more time. $200 and my time is all it took.

1. #2 cylinder coil pack
2. 12 rockers
3. Valve cover gasket set
4. Upper air intake set, which I robbed from the Dorman Aluminum oil cooler on my shelf.