Why does my Ford Ranger shake when idle?
My parents recently bought me a 1998 Ford Ranger XLT V6, off of a mechanic who rebuilt the engine. The mechanic bought the truck off of someone who blew the engine making the re-building of the engine necessary. The first day I saw the truck after they bought it I started the engine and had it idle. I noticed while sitting in the vehicle that is shakes a little bit, its in no way a violent shake just a vibration. Opening up the hood I found the engine shakes in place (more like a vibration, but am concerned as I'm not use to seeing the engine shake). Is this normal, should I be concerned or should it be fine? Thanks, - Frank
Why does my Ford Explorer shake when it's in idle?
Nothing beats the experience of sitting in a vibrating chair, it is soothing and deeply relaxing for your nerves. Now, if you exchange the chair seat with the seat of a car, the result will not be all the good for your nerves.If you have been unfortunate enough to experience your car shake when idle you would be alarmed and not to mention a tad bit scared as well. Questions like ‘what is wrong with my car’ and why is my car shaking while idling will definitely come to your mind. This happens to a lot of car owners who have been driving their car for a really long time. A little shaking often begins and eventually leads to a vibration that is so strong that it can be felt through the seat and the steering wheel.Car Shaking While IdlingThere are many reasons and even forms of vibration and shaking of the car that one may experience. If you are sitting at a red light in your car and despite being in a vehicle the car shake at idle makes you feel like you are sitting on a weight loss machine, then there is something definitely wrong with your car. The most likely problem in this situation is that something is broken in your car. It can be a broken or at times even a worn out motor mount which can cause the engine to move around way too much and cause the sensation of vibration. Low RPM can result in a lot of bounce under the hood of the car. This can be fixed with a minor or a major repair all depending upon the condition of the car. There can be issues with the fuel system as well. If the engine RPM is not functioning properly and drops suddenly, it can cause vibrations.Why Is My Car Shaking While IdlingThere can be a plethora of issues as to why your car can start shaking at idling and here are those reasons. You need to see what is exactly wrong with the vehicle and get it repaired immediately to avoid any mishappening in the future:#1. Wheels Get Out Of Balance#2. Loose Hoses#3. Spark PlugVisit here for more details: What causes the Car to Shake while its Idle?
My 2002 Ford Explorer started shaking when I brake. What is the problem?
If it "shakes" only during breaking that is called a brake pulsation. Your brake rotors could be out of round or they have developed a rust spot. A pulsation can be felt with as little as 0.004". If you feel the pulsation in your hands through the steering wheel then the culprits are the front rotors . Regardless, always have all the brakes inspected at the same time.Additionally, if you had your wheels changed for any reason and they were not evenly torqued, that also coul cause an out of round situation.
How do I fix my car having a rough idle after replacing the alternator?
You're right to assume that something else going on. Because it is!Personally I'd check to see if the alternator is providing the right amount of voltage. it's not impossible to get the wrong part installed. and when I say that, I don't necessarily mean you chose the wrong part, but during the assembly line a part they grabbed while assembling the alternator could have been or of spec or something. Check the grounds. A lot of the time, over years of use a little sand blasting or sand papering of the hookups does help. while running the engine, disconnect the battery. A poorly performing battery can drag the entire system down. check to make sure your AC ain't causin' problems too. make sure the clutch is spinning or not spinning when not being used. double check the water pump to see if it was messed up. lastly check all your ignition wiring too. depending on the model year and brand, it might be chatty with obd2. if it's carbureted, obviously you won't get any feedback. if it is obd2, there might be information in there that can give you an idea of what's going on. so get a reader and check. also with modern fi engines, they'll run rough after a battery removal for a while. make sure your fuel economy hasn't been affected, if it has, it's a clear indication that something is wrong.
Why is my car shaking and the check engine light flashing?
A shaking vehicle AND flashing MIL ("check engine light") sound like the vehicle is misfiring on at least one cylinder. As @Anna Nguyen, @Brendan Sinclair, @Antoun Nabhan and others have said, it could be an ignition related problem. It could also be fuel-related. If one or more fuel injectors are clogged or dead, that would also cause a misfire in the affected cylinder(s). These are relatively cheap/easy things to check and fix.Other causes (which could be more complicated and more expensive) to fix include contaminated fuel, a bent intake or exhaust valve, a broken valve spring, a damaged piston/connecting rod, and on and on.I recommend getting a scan tool and checking the codes which are causing the MIL to light/flash and I also strongly recommend NOT driving the vehicle until the problem is fixed. If you continue to drive the vehicle as is, you will exacerbate the problem. Dumping unburned fuel into the exhaust due to a misfire will overheat and kill your catalytic converter. A more serious problem like a bent valve can eventually cause you to crater your engine (i.e.: completely destroy the engine).
Is it normal for a car engine to shake a bit when starting up and shutting down? It's a 2005 Ford Explorer.
Depends on what you mean shaking. And how bad. All engines move when there running but if it “coughing”when shaking and moving the entire car then there's a fault in either transmission (automatics usually) incorrect pressure, debris from tank could be blocking pipes causing irregular fluid and air flow which can cause this.If it isn't noticeable and you haven't noticed anything else wrong it may just be that it moves more so than others, but without actually seeing it, I can't give exact just a guess. Apologies
What would cause my car to shake a little bit when idling?
If it has started shaking more now than it did when new, then listen to the exhaust. If it is not hitting evenly on all cylinders (“missing”) then get new plugs and verify ignition performance. Normally broken motor mounts will allow the engine to shake more since they are not securely holding the engine. Under this circumstance, there will be less shake transferred to the car than with new mounts and your car will actually shake less.If it is an inline 4 cylinder, then this shake is just a normal function of the engine design. A 3 cylinder engine actually has less normal shake than the 4 cylinder. This is simply a result of the rotation angles between power strokes. As cylinder count increases beyond a 6 cylinder the engine shake gets smoother. A V-12 engine can have a glass of Champagne filled to the brim sitting on the intake manifold without splashing any contents.My first experience in a Jaguar with a V-12 really surprised me. The engine could be idling when you place your hand on the body of the car and you could barely tell if it was running or if the body was simply resonating from ambient sounds.
Why did my car shake and the check engine light flash while stopped at a light?
What you experienced was almost certainly a misfire event and the cause may be recorded as a diagnostic trouble code (DTC) in the engine controller’s memory. Most failures that are significant enough to cause MIL illumination will record a trouble code and its environmental/ data information from the moment, even if the MIL is no longer lit. Onboard Diagnostics work constantly to keep the MIL off, looking for a reason to turn the CE light out if the condition hasn’t been seen again recently, eventually even erasing trouble codes if all’s good. I can only speculate on the nature of your event, but a thorough scan to retrieve codes and freeze frame data of the moment will often shed some light on the situation.Misfires come in many flavors, ranging from slight loss of performance in a single cylinder, to one or more holes being completely dead. Your description of shake at an idle implies a power imbalance, which usually involves complete loss of performance, but just one hole.Barring an at-home scanner being available, rolling the ignition key from LOCK to RUN three times, then leaving it in the RUN position at the end will initiate the customer code-read feature, spilling any matured codes stored in the PCM through the instrument cluster’s odometer window. All codes will be four digits in length, beginning with the letter P, such as P0123. DTC information can be found at OBD2-OBDII Engine Light Trouble Codes Definitions, Description and Repair Information online.One-trip failures - those that have not quite matured - will not be displayed in this feature, but will show up on a high-end scanner if present.If only a single cylinder misfire code is retrieved, pull the coil and spark plug to inspect for signs of flashover - black marks on the upper spark plug insulator and inner coil boot that will not scratch off with a fingernail. Flashover is pretty common on coil-on-plug ignition systems and the cure is to replace both the boot and spark plug together. Worn plugs tend to incite this sort of situation as spark will always seek the path of least resistance.If your DTC list includes an injector control circuit code that matches the cylinder of misfire, chances are good that the injector is at fault. The injector may test as completely normal when cooler, but will go to an open circuit once heated, either naturally or with a heat gun.
Truck is shaking and check engine light is flashing?
So a few days ago my truck was smoking and I discovered a leak back by the intake. So I did what I had to do to replace the gaskets, and was cleaning in there, spraying parts and stuff like that with break cleaner. We put it all back together and as we started it up it was shaking pretty badly in park or stopped. We noticed taking it for a test drive that the check engine light flashed when we were moving, and stops when we arnt. Took the truck to Autozone to have them check the codes and clear it, they did, and when I started it back up the check engine light popped back on. Here is what Autozone said: Definition: Cylinder misfire detected-cylinder number 1 Explanation the powertrain control module monitors the crankshaft speed and has detected a misfire condition. Probable cause: - Ignition system fault-spark plug(s), ignition wires, coil - Vacuum leak - Injector fault - High or low fuel pressure Now we checked all the connections and vacuum seals and all seem to be fine. What my dad thinks it is is one of a few things. He thinks the misfiring could be a result of the stuff we were spraying around the engine or antifreeze leaking down in there when we had the throttle body and injectors off, or that the stuff we were spraying (brake cleaner) could have leaked down by the spark plugs and shortened or whatever you would say, one out and we just need to replace the spark plugs. Opinions? It is a 1999 Chevy S10 Xtreme and has a 4.3