Hello everyone,
I have an Alfa GT 1.9 JTD and I have an unsolvable problem that is driving me insane for the past year and I am at my wit's end.
(This sounded a little bit like a support group introduction.. I guess it's not that far from the truth.
)
I have an abnormal vibration at idle. At times I can see my windshield wiper and/or my bonnet vibrating a little.
I took the car in for servicing a year ago and they changed the cambelt (I think), water pump and all the other parts that need to be changed along with those. They also changed the wishbone engine stabilizer bar that is located at the top of the engine, since it was broken. And then the issue started. The seats in the car turned into vibrating seats. The keychain was shaking like crazy.
I suspected that the new bushing was bad, but the mechanic told me that this is not very likely and the issue is somewhere else. I insisted he change the other 3 engine mounts, in case the engine was not balanced properly, now that 1 was new and 3 were old. He told me that this is not necessary but still changed them with aftermarket ones.
After the change, the vibration remained. I removed the stabilizer bar at the top and the vibration inside the car was completely gone.
I ordered a different aftermarket bushing, but the vibration was still there to some degree. It was not as bad, but it was still there.
In the mean time I asked him to clean and disable the EGR as well as block the swirl flaps. He had to remap the car to 170hp in the process.
After that, I ordered an original stabilizer bar, but now the vibration is there even with the stabilizer bar completely detached.
I sent the injectors to be checked and they came up within norm.
I had to change the clutch and DMF, which reduced the vibration at idle, but it's still there.
I also changed the driveshaft on both sides, because the car was shaking under load. Now it's driving as new, until I stop at a traffic light.. Then it's vibrating and annoying the hell out of me.
The engine is now very loud to begin with. Louder and clankier than it was before. As if I'm driving a van or a tractor and not a car.
I did an ECU reset. Nothing changed in regards to the vibration. The throttle seems a lot more consistent to me, but the vibration is still there.
My next suspect is a bearing in the A/C compressor. It's making a sound and I will have it checked and replaced, along with any other parts that may need replacing.
Initially, the vibration was there regardless of whether the engine was cold or hot.
After all the part replacement, the vibration is most prominent while the engine is cold. When it warms up, there is almost no vibration.
Unfortunately even this is not 100%. Sometimes it vibrates even after driving for a long time and sometimes it doesn't vibrate even if the engine is still under 90 degrees.
I may be making things up, but I think I have noticed that the vibration is less likely to appear if the car is on an incline when I start the engine.
One time, 5 minutes after starting the car, I was waiting for someone with the car running and idling, when I heard a brief change in RPM, a roar of sorts coming from the engine bay and the car started working much smoother. Temperature was a little over 50. As if something was blocking a path and it got pushed. Have not heard it since.
So to sum it up:
Car vibrates at idle after servicing and top engine stabilizer bar.
Things I did:
Measure the injectors
Change DMF + Clutch
Change Driveshaft on both sides
Change engine mounts (aftermarket) + top engine stabilizer bar (original)
Reset ECU + throttle
Things I am yet to do:
Check the A/C compressor for a noisy bearing and service it
I apologize for the long post. I just wanted to give as much information as possible.
Is it possible that the bad bearing in my A/C is causing the loud and hard idle of the car? I know that it's spinning even when the A/C is off, but I tested turning off the A/C and the car starts working a little more normal. The vibration is still there, but the sound is less clanky.
I would appreciate if anyone has any suggestions as to what may be causing this annoying vibration because I am a little tired of having constantly vibrating seats in my car as an added extra.
I have an Alfa GT 1.9 JTD and I have an unsolvable problem that is driving me insane for the past year and I am at my wit's end.
(This sounded a little bit like a support group introduction.. I guess it's not that far from the truth.
)I have an abnormal vibration at idle. At times I can see my windshield wiper and/or my bonnet vibrating a little.
I took the car in for servicing a year ago and they changed the cambelt (I think), water pump and all the other parts that need to be changed along with those. They also changed the wishbone engine stabilizer bar that is located at the top of the engine, since it was broken. And then the issue started. The seats in the car turned into vibrating seats. The keychain was shaking like crazy.
I suspected that the new bushing was bad, but the mechanic told me that this is not very likely and the issue is somewhere else. I insisted he change the other 3 engine mounts, in case the engine was not balanced properly, now that 1 was new and 3 were old. He told me that this is not necessary but still changed them with aftermarket ones.
After the change, the vibration remained. I removed the stabilizer bar at the top and the vibration inside the car was completely gone.
I ordered a different aftermarket bushing, but the vibration was still there to some degree. It was not as bad, but it was still there.
In the mean time I asked him to clean and disable the EGR as well as block the swirl flaps. He had to remap the car to 170hp in the process.
After that, I ordered an original stabilizer bar, but now the vibration is there even with the stabilizer bar completely detached.
I sent the injectors to be checked and they came up within norm.
I had to change the clutch and DMF, which reduced the vibration at idle, but it's still there.
I also changed the driveshaft on both sides, because the car was shaking under load. Now it's driving as new, until I stop at a traffic light.. Then it's vibrating and annoying the hell out of me.
The engine is now very loud to begin with. Louder and clankier than it was before. As if I'm driving a van or a tractor and not a car.
I did an ECU reset. Nothing changed in regards to the vibration. The throttle seems a lot more consistent to me, but the vibration is still there.
My next suspect is a bearing in the A/C compressor. It's making a sound and I will have it checked and replaced, along with any other parts that may need replacing.
Initially, the vibration was there regardless of whether the engine was cold or hot.
After all the part replacement, the vibration is most prominent while the engine is cold. When it warms up, there is almost no vibration.
Unfortunately even this is not 100%. Sometimes it vibrates even after driving for a long time and sometimes it doesn't vibrate even if the engine is still under 90 degrees.
I may be making things up, but I think I have noticed that the vibration is less likely to appear if the car is on an incline when I start the engine.
One time, 5 minutes after starting the car, I was waiting for someone with the car running and idling, when I heard a brief change in RPM, a roar of sorts coming from the engine bay and the car started working much smoother. Temperature was a little over 50. As if something was blocking a path and it got pushed. Have not heard it since.
So to sum it up:
Car vibrates at idle after servicing and top engine stabilizer bar.
Things I did:
Measure the injectors
Change DMF + Clutch
Change Driveshaft on both sides
Change engine mounts (aftermarket) + top engine stabilizer bar (original)
Reset ECU + throttle
Things I am yet to do:
Check the A/C compressor for a noisy bearing and service it
I apologize for the long post. I just wanted to give as much information as possible.
Is it possible that the bad bearing in my A/C is causing the loud and hard idle of the car? I know that it's spinning even when the A/C is off, but I tested turning off the A/C and the car starts working a little more normal. The vibration is still there, but the sound is less clanky.
I would appreciate if anyone has any suggestions as to what may be causing this annoying vibration because I am a little tired of having constantly vibrating seats in my car as an added extra.
