Vibrations under 1000 RPM, rattling noise from engine

[Steery]

a friend of mines VN has the problems listed in the topic titles. hes in a remote area so any help here would be appreciated (cant easily get a quote).

it will idle under 1000rpm, but has relatively strong vibrations.

the rattling noise coming from the engine comes on at about 1500 rpm through to im not sure what, i believe he stops hearing it when the noise of his exhaust drowns it out.

im thinking its the harmonic balancer. however i dont know enough about this stuff to make an educated guess. if people do believe its the harmonic balancer, what would he be looking at to get it replaced? cost of balancer and labour.

cheers guys, any help is appreciated.

[Bz Kn33z]

What type of rattle noices? is it a knocking rattle or like a chain metal rattle, it could be the timing chain that will rattle around them revs and then when the car is reving it goes away, if its that its the tensioner is worn down and the chain is loose, the plastic fell off my tensioner and fell into the sump, but if you think its the H/B check the rubber for cracks and splits sometimes its not visible because its around the back of the balancer.

[Emackulation]

Have you checked,
Engine Mounts
Gearbox Mount

[Steery]

im pretty sure its a chain metal noise.
ill tell him to check both the engine mounts and gearbox mounts aswell.

any approx costs for these issues?

cheers.

[beefcream]

my v6 had this at one point i though it sounded like a timing chain but sure enough was the harmonic balancer, ther quite loud them things

[timmy_tam]

is it possible the coil packs?
i have a knocking noise as well under 1k rpm
my mechanic reckons that the coil packs might not all be firing
that probably sounds stuipid, but thats the best i could summarise (was a wihle ago)

[Steery]

not the coild packs. its a vibration as far as i know, not a knocking

[aussieghostrider]

I just had my balancer replaced as was making a racket ...and all was good until few weeks later ...

Im only getting this problem when at lights and foots on the brake , but it doesnt do it all the time... and also does it when in drive and handbrakes on so I know not the master brake cyclinder.. I just replaced the spark plug leads as they were very old lol & it seems to have hepled it and car goes real hard now lol... spark plugs are 4 year old ngk irdiums so shouldnt need replacing for a while..


the vibration comes and goes with the Idle Ive noticed .. and since new leads on not doing as much if at all ... so im guessing my throttle body needs cleaning/adjustment .. iac might be blocked or stuffed , could also be coil pack as its original so going to look at that on the weekend so will let you know how I go ... I will also check the engine mounts etc .. will go over whole car.

[Steery]

im under the impression that a plug or lead would cause a miss not constant strong vibrations?

this problems screwing with my head, trying to work out what it is.

whats the easiest way to check engine mounts?

[Bz Kn33z]

Get under and have a look at them, see if they have th rubber splits in them or missing rubber if the engine mount is stuff it will lift the left side of the car up when you throttle it off the line nearly lifts the wheel off the road lol

[Steery]

that happens. lifts the right side of his car quite severely.

ok, problems diagnosed. thanks for your help guys. appreciated.

[Emackulation]

What was the problem LOL.

[Steery]

mounts for the vibration. hes getting the rattle checked when he gets the mounts done.

[Emackulation]

Have you checked,
Engine Mounts
Gearbox Mount

+1 for the Mackinator.

[Steery]

thanks bro =)

that brought about the original idea, the comment about one side of the car lifting up finalised it.

[meatballs vx]

hey guys my car is playin up my mate said it could be spark plugs or leads so i put new spark plugs and leads in then it didnt change much he then said fuel injectors so i got new injectors and now is still running bad. it is getting worse and my mate today took it into work and they had a look at it they said it might be compression or somethin they no its the third cylinder. any help on wat this could be please

[Coast_Calais]

that happens. lifts the right side of his car quite severely.

ok, problems diagnosed. thanks for your help guys. appreciated.

you mean the passenger side (left) lifting...

Also, when those are stuffed, the exhaust tends to find body parts to rattle against, so should fix both probs there...

and you can check IAC on idle by flicking your air-con on...

I've had idle problems, but only in drive whilst stopped... cleaned IAC and all better now...

good luck on engine mounts.. left (passenger side) engine mount (usually first to go...) requires air-con compressor out..
(No need to D/C lines, it's just in the way and bolted between engine mount in frame..

good luck!!!

[Ozzie]

theres three nuts under the coil pack mount... check they are tight, if they are loose and there is any movment in the coil pack he will hear knocking and it may even jolt as he drives

[TIL52]

this sounds very similar to my situation and it could be the bearings on the balance shaft which runs through the centre of the engine to keep it stable. they could be shot and it is a hard process to replace.

[Emackulation]

this sounds very similar to my situation and it could be the bearings on the balance shaft which runs through the centre of the engine to keep it stable. they could be shot and it is a hard process to replace.

If you actually took the time to read the thread you would have noticed that he has found the issue.