Hey blades, my car needs new transmission/engine mounts. I had one replaced a while ago, but the others are old. I'm sure most of you know by now but I drive a 97 Buick LeSabre. FWD, 3800 series II motor. Anyways, today I passed a guy and after probably 3/4 throttle, the car started to shudder. It felt almost like it was misfiring, it was rhythmic. This was in second gear. I goosed it from a stop and it did the same thing in first gear. So my question is do you think bad mounts can cause this? Or do you think it's an engine problem, or perhaps a slipping transmission? I feel like the past few months my car has been trying to tell me it's going to give up soon. Hopefully I'm wrong, I need three more months of delivering pizzas out of her haha. Edit: forgot mention that when the car shuddered the rpms didn't drop so I don't think it it's a misfire. Sent from my Samsung GS4 SCH-I545
A trans mount could cause a shudder in theory but in my experience when a trans mount is torn you won't really know until you gas it and the transmission bucks and smacks your frame/body during a shift. It'll be a loud clunk. Pull the mount off and check it but if it's fine then look into your engine/trans being the issue.
After a bit of driving I think it's the transmission on its way out. I'm gonna so by my mechanic and see what he says, but this car ain't gonna last much longer haha. Sent from my Samsung GS4 SCH-I545
Yeah lemme tell ya, I had a v6 stang when I was 18, it started shuddering before it threw a rod in a parking lot. My engine seized then when I tried to start it a rod went partially through my oil pan.
Ask your mechanic if he has a line on another ride you could trade that one plus a little cash for....a lot of those guys pick up cars like yours and fix them and make a few bucks trading it for another one to repair.... Summer time heat is a killer on cars that have engine issues...I'd unload it before it dies....
I'm going off to school soon so I'm not in the market for another car. If it dies this summer then I'm just gonna deal with it until September haha. Hopefully it lasts till then though Sent from my Samsung GS4 SCH-I545
Definitely sounds possible, I'm sure the valve springs have lost some of their strength over the years. I haven't brought that engine over 4k rpm in like a year though so I don't think it's anything I did. Edit, wouldn't valve float cause a noise? I didn't hear anything out if the ordinary. Sent from my Samsung GS4 SCH-I545
its your mounts.. just fixed that problem on my ride Sent from my SCH-I500 using Grasscity Forum mobile app
Figured out the problem. A coil pack was going bad, causing the shuddering. I had a feeling it was one of these. The tranny still slips a bit, but I'm not too concerned. Edit: drove it today. Much more power and runs smoother. My knocking under acceleration is also gone, I'm pretty happy now haha. Sent from my Samsung GS4 SCH-I545
Good job, pat yourself on the back. On that year I'd be checking your frame mounts. The mounts that hold the cradle to the body, the cradle holds the engine and trans. There are 4 in the back and 2 in the front. These mounts tend to rot out.