[dameonrose]

I recently stated getting a pretty bad shake in my 2000 mustang about a week ago, I replaced the wires and spark plugs and it doesnt do it as much at idle anymore but from a stop the car shakes until i get up around 50 mph, shaking is not as severe prior to change of plugs and wires but it still concerns me. I take good care of the car and am about to pull my hair out......help me please, any suggestions. It seems to be coming from the right side mostly.....is this a balance and rotate issue, sensor issue, or punch the dashboard issue.

 

[DJAlsip]

Just going to take a wild guess, but either something is off balance inside the motor, or your motor mounts are going bad. If it is inside the engine my guess is it has to do with fuel injection and/or combustion, but it might also be a bearing that has gone bad or a piston/cylinder is damaged. The reason I think it might have to do with fuel injection and/or combustion is that it got better when you replaced your spark plugs. Maybe one of your injectors or coils has gone bad, making it misfire/not fire properly, leading to some unbalance.

 

[dameonrose]

shake

so does that mean replacing the coil pack......so where would the shake come when accelerating, because it now idles quietly, there is no loss of power either....should i stop driving till i figure it out?

 

[dameonrose]

is it worth it do take it to a shop to get checked?

 

[DJAlsip]

so does that mean replacing the coil pack......so where would the shake come when accelerating, because it now idles quietly.

I'd wait and see what others have to say first before you do anything. SoCal, Bullitt, Burns, and a few others, are very knowledgeable people on here that will probably have a much better answer for you than I do.

The vibrations/shaking during acceleration could be an imbalance in the engine, but it's hard for me to believe that is the root problem if the shaking stops at 45-55+ mph. Could it be that the motor mounts have gone bad? I can imagine more shaking during acceleration then, but once it is up to speed and running it will stop shaking. I'm just suggesting things from the top of my head though.

 

[dameonrose]

thanks

so i will hold off then and see what type of thoughts i receive on here....thanks for your thoughts, most appreciated....if you can think of anything else let me know.

 

[DJAlsip]

is it worth it do take it to a shop to get checked?

You could call around to a few shops and ask about it, see how much they would charge you to just have a look at it.

Just thought of something relating to my other posts: If it was misfiring or something with the combustion or cylinder I would imagine a CEL (Check Engine Light) came on.

Read up some on these 4.6 engines, come with crazy ideas that might relate to your problem, and one after one eliminate them by educating yourself further on the subject by either checking it out yourself or googleing more.

so i will hold off then and see what type of thoughts i receive on here....thanks for your thoughts, most appreciated....if you can think of anything else let me know.

Yeah I would suggest that, it's amazing what some of the people on her know and can help us out with. Try to give us as many details about your problem as you can though, this will help us help you!

 

[dameonrose]

i have been doing tons of research so thats why i changed plugs and wires....kinda at a loss here, will keep researching and taking the awesome feedback i do receive on here..........

 

[SoCal2V]

so does that mean replacing the coil pack......so where would the shake come when accelerating, because it now idles quietly, there is no loss of power either....should i stop driving till i figure it out?

So, it only shakes/vibrates once you get moving, and then goes away when you hit around 50? My first suspicion would be to check the u-joints for any slack or excessive play. Could also be the driveshaft itself, but you didn't mention anything to make me think it somehow got damaged so we won't worry about it for now. If the bearings in one or both u-joints are bad it will cause the driveshaft to be out of balance, and your symptom is almost a textbook example of driveshaft vibration. Could also be out of balance tire(s); it's rare but sometimes the balancing weights do come off.

 

[SoCal2V]

I'd wait and see what others have to say first before you do anything. SoCal, Bullitt, Burns, and a few others, are very knowledgeable people on here that will probably have a much better answer for you than I do.

Haha, thanks for the kind words, but I'm really just another village idiot in disguise. I don't really honestly know a whole lot or have in depth knowledge about anything in particular, but instead know a little bit about a lot of things. Compared to others you mentioned and a few others here you didn't, I can't even hang out in the same room.

 

[dameonrose]

so i will shoot for the balance and rotation and update you.....

 

[DJAlsip]

Could also be out of balance tire(s); it's rare but sometimes the balancing weights do come off.

If that was the case, wouldn't it start shaking more as your speed increases? When I got my car, one or more of my wheels was unbalanced, but it only started shaking above 45 or so, and got worse till about 55-60 and then it was more constant. I took it to Firestone the next day and got new tires (Firehawk Oval Indy 500), got the wheels balanced, and got my C&C aligned.

 

[dameonrose]

Well i didnt do the balance and rotation, I took it to my mechanic and he stated it is either a injector or mass air flow sensor.... so i went and got some sea foam, helped a little, how can i tell the difference, should i change pcv valve?

 

[SoCal2V]

PCV valves rarely go bad. If you want, pull it out and shake it. If the little thing inside of it moves freely, then it's fine. If it's gummed up, spray a little carb cleaner in it to clean it out.

Seafoam is good stuff, but to really have your injectors cleaned requires removing them from the car and having it done professionally. A well respected member here, wmburns, frequently recommends a place called injectorrx.com.

Did your mechanic actually look at the car and hook it up to his diagnostic, or just come out to the parking lot and listen to it run for a minute? I only wonder because in order to diagnose the MAF sensor would require actually viewing the live data table for the MAF. Anyway, if you take it off and it is dirty, clean it only with a non-solvent based electronics cleaner. Do not use carb cleaner, brake parts cleaner, etc.