Transmission vibration and bad tensioner pully ?

[mattcubus]

My GA-SE is about to hit 188,000 kph and for a while now i've noticed on a cold start i get a noticable vibration through the car once i put it in drive and the engine noise seems to be amplified as well, i put it into neutral and she goes quiet with virtually no vibrations. if i leave it alone the vibrations and noise goes away once the engine is warm and has be running for a few minutes.
it's a bit worse in colder conditions.

I've also noticed just over a year ago that a very audible rattling noise comes from the pully's, on further investigation it seems to be comming from the tensioner pully
is it best to try and replace it ?

[coupe]

Go ahead and replace the tensioner, couldnt hurt.
Im willing to bet your A/C clutch is toasted though.

These engines have always been noisy when cold.
Try giving it a full tune up, probably needs it anyways.

[BPBAIR]

your car is getting older, and what you have described is a very natural process. I have a 2001 and it has all the same symptoms, and runs like a charm. I did a full tune up about six months ago and problems never went away.Ireplaced the belt, plugs, wires, K&N drop-in, brakes, and completed a power steering flush. My car also has a slight vibration when put into certain gears (fluid and filter change in tranny maybe, i havnt done that yet), and i have some audible rattling from the belt too. No SES other than small evap leak, so im not too concerned. you shouldn't either, just do a tune up as coupe recommended

[bballr4567]

Yea my GA was running pretty rough when I bought it so I did a tune up. Change wires and plugs, new air fliter and transmission service with filter change. Now it runs like a charm and its well worth it to put some money in the car to prevent some huge problems.

[mattcubus]

Originally posted by coupe
Go ahead and replace the tensioner, couldnt hurt.
Im willing to bet your A/C clutch is toasted though.

These engines have always been noisy when cold.
Try giving it a full tune up, probably needs it anyways.

Yeah i can see a full tune up for winter, tat should help it. the tensioner should not be a problem getting out and replaced. although the a/c clutch has been replaced that issue started when i got the car


Originally posted by BPBAIR
your car is getting older, and what you have described is a very natural process. I have a 2001 and it has all the same symptoms, and runs like a charm. I did a full tune up about six months ago and problems never went away.Ireplaced the belt, plugs, wires, K&N drop-in, brakes, and completed a power steering flush. My car also has a slight vibration when put into certain gears (fluid and filter change in tranny maybe, i havnt done that yet), and i have some audible rattling from the belt too. No SES other than small evap leak, so im not too concerned. you shouldn't either, just do a tune up as coupe recommended.

some of thoes items have been covered but like i said; a tune up won't hurt. and the tranny hasn't been touched since i came into ownership a year and a half ago, that will be rectified when 193000 comes along. same with the fuel filter, i notice off and on rough starts on a regular occasion, that issue is going to be resolved when i remember to take my filter to my uncles shop.

thanks for the suggestions :D

[rixGAphx]

I see no evidence that the vibration is related to the AC clutch; it *might* be part of the problem, but that needs much further diagnosis.

188,000 kms = ~120k miles, so this engine is getting long in the tooth.
Personally, I'll bet at least one, and prolly 2 or even all 3, of the motor mounts are bad.
That allows the engine's "natural" vibrations (and un-natural) to transfer to the body/chassis.
Yah, do a tune-up to eliminate the 'un-natural' vibrations; but the 60* V6 still has 'natural' vibrations/harmonics that need to be dampened by good mounts.

There are 3 mounts:
* Motor - Top, passenger side.
* Torque strut ("dogbone") - Bottom, passenger side, from engine to floor pan near passenger's feet.
* Tranny - Driver side, centered on crankshaft.

Don't fool yourself about tensioner pulley being 'easy to replace'.
It's a royal PITA, so do a 'search' on here to glean the tips.
Tip 1: You don't replace the pulley, you replace the tensioner assembly consisting of the arm (with spring-loaded tensioner) and pulley attached to it.
Tip 2: There is NO tool in your toolbox that will work on the @$#%ed bolt.
Tip 3: You will need a whole box of bandaids and a 12-pack of beer to survive this ordeal.

Good luck,
-Rick

[DSMMAN]

MY car was doing something similar to that when I got it. Come to find out I had the stock plug wires and it looked like the plugs had been in there forever.

I had the wires, plugs, and fuel filter replaced and it took the problem away.

Not saying thats your problem or that will fix it, just offering some insight.

Good luck

[bballr4567]

Another quick question here. Is there a how to somewhere on the net on changing all the mounts?? Mine has got 140k on it and Im pretty sure they have never been changed. Im wondering if I can change them myself.

[rixGAphx]

Originally posted by bballr4567
Another quick question here. Is there a how to somewhere on the net on changing all the mounts?? Mine has got 140k on it and Im pretty sure they have never been changed. Im wondering if I can change them myself. '01 w/ 3400

You can do them yourself; the motor mount and the torque strut are fairly easy with a floor jack (to support the engine) and normal DIY tools.
The tranny mount is a PITA to access, but requires no additional tools.

There are several threads on here, do a 'search'.

I don't know about any 'net how-to instructionals.

Best bet IMO is a Haynes manual, about $20 at the local parts store.

Good luck,
-Rick

[bballr4567]

Yea I tried a search but I couldnt really come up with anything. Ill have to tackle this pretty soon though.