Lots of rattles and shakes

[baskie]

Hi all, I'm still getting nowhere with the problems with my 03 2.7tDI LWB. The local garage is stumped and I'm close to taking it to a main dealer (re-mortgage anyone?).

The problem of the wheels constantly going out of balance is still with me: 4 different garages have now balanced them all saying they were miles out, initially the are fine then within 100miles they go out of balance again!

Now, the car has developed some bad shakes and vibrations. Also I think the glow plugs are away.

First off the glow plugs: Turn the ignition on, wait for light to go out, start the engine, it turns over loads of times then eventually starts with a big puff of white smoke. If I turn it on, let the light go out, turn it off then immedaitely back on and let the light go out a 2nd time it starts OK. This means the glow plugs are away, right?

Now the shakes: When I start the engine it gives a big shake that rattles the whole car, when turning it off it gives an almightly shake that causes the entire car to shudder. The shudder starts at the front and literally runs down the length of the car and ends in the back right corner. When idling (sp?) ther is a lot of low level vibrations, which get worse as the car speeds up, the die out around 30ish but there are lots of groaning noises thru out the speed range upto about 70.

The suspension has been checked and given an OK. The engine mounts have been checked and whilst the mech says they are maybe a tiny bit soft he can get no movement from the engine when levering on it with a big bar. The gear box has also been checked, all mounts OK.

Anyone any other suggestions for what to check before I sell a lung and vist a Nissan dealer?

 

[rossco]

Ok the first one is with the tyres going out of balance have you looked at the tyres themselves to see if they have a flat spot or out of roundness, some times the tread comes away from the core.

Sounds like the glow plugs so have a look in the downloads in the workshop.

I'll leave the shakes for someone else :lol:

 

[Boggert]

Possibly the shudder is linked up to the glowplugs and switching the engine off...Thats a wild guess... :lol: Let me know if it corrects it when you fit new ones.

I have a wobble through my steering wheel, its a bit on a off, so when its srviced on next Thursday my mate is checking the front bearings, at the same time it could be the tyres need a balence, but he is fitting new AT's as well hopefully it will cure.

I would suggest its a tyre problem, but with out taking them off you cannot be sure, Is the problem with all 4 wheels or just one??

 

[baskie]

All wheels I think.

Do the glow plugs do anything once the engine is started?

Wheel bearings checked, OK.

 

[jace]

your engine may be starting intially on 2-3 cylinders making it feel rough till other cylinder (one with duff glow plug) catches itd be lumpy and smoky (unburnt diesel) till then

 

[baskie]

The rough running and vibrations continue all the time the car is moving, even after 4 hours.

However, is it feasible that it's not running on all cylinders hence the shudders etc? Would that be very noticable in terms of power loss?

 

[Terranosaurus]

Glow plugs continue to provide a source for auto ignition for a very short while after starting - basically until cylinder temperatures reach normal.

Tyre wise, they can turn on the wheel but it is highly unusual especially on quality branded tyres. You could get some bead sealer put on which would help them stick in place. Much more likely is that the weights are sliding around the wheel. There are lots of cheap imported poor quality wheel weights on the market at the moment which have a tendency to do this especially on std ford steel rims, I for one only supply Trax weights. Try drawing around the weights with a felt tip or similar to see if they move over time.

 

[rossco]

Have you changed your fuel filter lately or tried a fuel/injector cleaner?
Possible blocked injector/s not supplying enough fuel to one or more cylinders

Just a long shot on the start up and shudders, have you checked your head gasket I'm just wondering if water is getting sucked in.
Might pay to get a test done or have a look at your oil filler cap to see if milky or the radiator for signs of oil, peace of mind. :wink:

 

[jace]

if it aint running on 4 pots id exspect to see plenty white smoke outve exuast as it wont be buning the fuel its getting it would be down on power especialy on hills difficult to start aswell.
how difficult are injectors to get at to slaken pipes when running if revs dip that particluar cylinder is working if no difference thats your first choice to be duff.it will squirt diesel everywhere and be a messy job! u only need about 1/2 turn on eack pipe.

 

[baskie]

Hi all, many thanks for the above, we've checked it all and all came up OK, but the damn thing still shakes and vibrates a lot.

Looking at the engine mounts they take one hell of a kick when the engine is turned off, could they mounts be away on a 2003 car with only 50k on the clock?