Cavalier :: 2001 Sunfire / 2.4 L Engine - Car Shaking Back And Forth
Jun 22, 2013
I have a 2001 Pontiac Sunfire with a 2.4 liter engine.
I just had the waterpump replaced and the lower coolant tube, I believe it's called, by a mechanic, which was quite a long job and a bit of a costly bill.
I went to pick the car up earlier and as soon as I started it up, the car was shaking back and forth as I was sitting in park. I immediately got out and went and told the mechanic. He looked under the hood, and the engine was very clearly shaking back and forth.
He couldn't give me an explanation as to why it would be shaking like this - and it wasn't doing it before I brought it in to have the water pump changed. It's the weekend now and he's closed on the weekend, but he said to just drive it for a couple days to see if it evens itself out.
What would be causing this and if there's any issues that could have occurred when he was replacing the water pump that could cause the engine to do this? Also, the engine light is not on.
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2000 sunfire SE 2.2 L engine. Firstly, I should mention the present temperature out here is -37 C.
So here is the issue I am experiencing. The car does not idle smoothly. In fact I find it idles a lot lower then my fiances 2005 sunfire (hers idles at about 1000 RPM). My car idles around 750 RPM. and I've noticed for last couple months when just idling its not very smooth. The RPM will idle at 750 and then drop down a bit and back up again. It never has been a big problem till now.
While driving it yesterday, whenever I would let go of the accelerator the RPM would drop right down to 500RPM, and you would hear as the heater (air blowing) would completely drop down, and lights would dim significantly, and then within a split second, RPM would jump back up to 750 and blower and lights would return to normal. It almost feels as if the RPM is too low for Alternator?? That it's not able to produce enough power for electrical devices. As well, while braking if the ABS kicks in again I see this drop in RPM along with lights dim and blower airflow drop. Once again only for a split second though.
Here is the big problem. the drop in RPM and amount of disruption it causes actually had my car stall when I let go of gas and hit brake and had ABS kick in.
I am not sure if this is a problem with having the idle set too low, spark plug problem or something do with alternator?
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98 sunfire 2.2L
Basically the only way we can get my car to start is by hooking another battery up to it. Like, we plugged the tractor's battery up to it as we were going to jump it, but we didn't turn the tractor on. Then my car would start. The second we take the jumper cables off my battery it will die though. One time it did hold a charge for a minute or two before shutting off.
Also, my battery light is constantly on, even when hooked up to another battery, like the tractor one. We replaced the alternator today (got a brand new one) thinking that was the problem but still no dice. What else could it be? Could it be my battery that's less than 7-8 months old? It shows 11 volts when we put the meter on it. The new alternator is also showing that it's getting charge.
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My sunfire is not shifting from 3rd to 4th gear. I will shift fine all the way up to 3rd and then ir revs like it is in neutral when i hit about 43 mph. it gets a little bit of a jump if i get off the gas all the way and then back on it and i can get it up to 55 but the rpm's are at 4.5. I read a few different posts that seemed like they may have had the same problem but they werent describing the way my car is acting. I went and got the fluid exchanged today and also changed the throttle position sensor on a whim because someone told me it could be the problem.
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I have 99 Sunfire 2.2L doesn't like to start right away. You turn the key and it cranks, cranks, cranks, and does that for about 5-8 seconds then start. If I shut the car off and turn it back on within an hour it seems to start pretty quick,(my only crank for a second or two).. It seems to be when it sets for a few hours it just hates to start. It always cranks strong .. i.e. it doesn't crank weak or slow like when your batter is very low.
I put a new alternator in it about 3 years ago and new battery in it last week. I do not have a system or any accessories that maybe causing any interruption. I have had this problem for year now and I have had it.
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Brief history: Took possession two days ago - wife's car (we've separated). In December she put the car in a ditch during a snowstorm. The car has been driven less than 100 miles since that happened. She said that she thought she'd damaged something, since it made a strange sound when driving. I figure it would make a good work transportation vehicle.
I jacked it up today to have a look and there was some plastic splash guards on the pass. side which were damaged and rubbing on the tire. I thought! Removed them and still had the noise.
It appears that the pass. front wheel took the brunt of the impact (broken splash guard and the wheel cover was cracked). I thought maybe the wheel bearing/hub may be bad, but after checking it out (pulling top to bottom, side to side), it didn't seem too bad. I checked at the point where the axle enters the transmission and there is a bit of play when pushing up on the axle. I could also hear a click inside the transmission while doing so, like a gear hitting into another.
It also looks as if the axle is pulled out about a 1/4 inch or so from the transmission seal, as the metal is shiny and not rusted as if it had been this way for a long time. ( I have pics of this but no site to host them).
my question is this - could it be the differential bearing (hope not, don't feel like cracking tranny apart)? Should I attempt to try and whack the axle back in that 1/4 inch? Has ever heard of an axle pulling out of the tranny after an accident?
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My airbag light flashes six times when I turn my car on. Then it remains on while I'm driving. I have no clue what this means.
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when u turn the key it starts to turn over for half a sec then stops. when u stop it sounds like the starter is still spinning. battery is good. it use to do it some times but if she tried a couple times it would start. could it be where the wires go in or the whole thing? could it be somthing else besides the starter?
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Years and years ago, I had an issue with my trusty '02. The steering wheel would shake VIOLENTLY back and forth. I went round and round with Toyota, but at the end of all the angry phone calls and emails the issue never got fixed, but they paid for an after market steering rack. I wasn't about to pay the 4-5K to get the issue fixed, so I just pulled the PS relay, and have been driving merrily along with no power steering for about 90K miles. I'm now at about 195K.
About a month ago, I noticed some symptoms.
1) some play in the steering.
2) when I went over some bumps, I could really feel the bounce, and it felt like metal bumping into metal.
3) when I punched the accelerator, there was a delay and a "thunk" feeling.
I was coming up on a major servicing, so I took it in to the dealership. They sorted out a few things that I knew were overdue (wheel bearings, battery coolant, transaxle lube), and came to the decision that the steering problem was that I needed a new rack. I told the gobsmacked mechanic that I just happened to have one, and they put it in, and they recalibrated the steering sensor paddles so that I would again have power steering. When I started the car up in the dealership lot, VIOLENT SHAKING. They took it back in, and declared that was because my ignition battery was marginal (which it was), and that a new battery would sort this out. I thus spent far too much money on a new battery. Two days later, wheel starts shaking, and again I pull the relay. All is normal again.
The questions are these:
1) Can that kind of shaking be repaired?
2) Could it really have been a battery issue? (the battery reads a nice even 12.6 and has a wonderful warranty)
3) Was my issue just tie rods the whole time?
In the meantime, I'm going to get 238K (distance from earth to moon) if it kills us all.
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I have a 2003 Cavalier. It has started to shake and pull to the right when driving. It feels like the car is swaying. Is this the symptoms of a bad ball joint, tie rod or something else.
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I have a 2001 Passat (automatic, Turbo) On the highway, the engine shakes from about 65-75mph. When I hit around 80 (3000rpm) it seems like the Turbo kicks in and it isn't as bad. I noticed on my last oil change bill that they didn't put in synthetic oil even though they said they did. The people who I bought it from said they had engine problems when using regular and to only use synthetic. Could this be causing it? If not, what could it be?
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It has 158,000 miles on it and you can feel the engine vibration through the steering wheel, seats, and floorboard, and especially through the gas and brake pedals! Under the hood the engine shakes in place and very badly . it stops at about 1500 rpm and got worse when I installed a intake...
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I have a 2001 Toyota corolla with 150k. If I rev the engine with the car in neutral and my foot off the clutch, it starts to shake at about 2-2.1k rpm. It will also start to shake at 2.5-2.9k rpm when the car is in gear (I can feel it in any gear but it's most noticeable in 5th gear on the freeway).
I just replaced the spark plugs (I know, should have done that a while ago...) but it still has the same vibration. I'll be doing a compression test later today, but I did take a few minutes to check out the motor while the hood was up. I set up a camera and recorded the car from start up and hit 2.1k rpm a few times. The vibration isn't visible but the engine jumped a little right at start up.
Are the motor mounts bad? I've had that same vibration but a lot less intense since I've had the car, but it recently got a little worse.
I uploaded the video to youtube. Search "corollaprincess361"
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I have a 2001 sunfire. recently when you push the rear defrost button the service and theft lights come on. was told to replace heating/ac unit. did it today but lights came back on.
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I have 104k miles on car, had tune up back in 09, new die hard battery from sears spring '10, just today my car started to shake when in idling, check engine light flashing. It seems to shake itself even while driving, when in idle it will then kill or die. Had radiator flushed January 2nd, 2011 due to heat not pumping through, still doesn't work (I know heater core) like it should. Finally the other problem is when I start & turn the car on it won't turn over-it wants to but takes a few tries like turning key each click like as if it were alternator, does sound like it would if it did turnover but like I said it takes a while & maybe will fire/catch. What the heck is going on? 2001 flex fuel as well but I only once put it in.
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Here's the story: My engine misfires one night so the next day I check the spark plugs and there is oil in the far left plug well. I decided to change the valve gasket cover. Went to take off the covers and the cover wouldn't budge. It ended up cracking some metal piece that I SUSPECT houses the timing chain. I've included several pictures of my engine bay so you can get a feel for how it looks. Not sure what the part that is cracked is called. Anyway my real question is, is it worth it to replace this part and sell the car for around 1800 or just scrap it for about 500? The parts circled in red are where the crack is.
Pontiac sunfire 1997 2.4L 4 Cylinder
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I am driving and my engine suddenly overheats. I pull over and see that my coolant is pouring out. I have it towed to a mechanic. The mechanic ran diagnostics and told me the problem was the water pump. After I agreed to that, he called and said he took it out for a test and the thermostat was broken. After I agreed to that, he took the car out again and now says the head gasket needs replacing. I asked why he didn't find everything at the start. He said he needed to test drive it to find out. Is this really how it works?
It is a 2001 Pontiac Sunfire ...
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I have a 1997 Pontiac sunfire the other week I was driving and it stopped on me the engine would crank but quickly turn off but everything inside the car would still be on k was told I needed a new cat and got that and a new muffler put on. This morning I went to leave for work and the same thing happened again! I was told it could be the fuel pump or fuel filter but it doesn't act weird while driving it. What could this be?
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Car occasionally fails to start or will start and immediately die. Engine turns over, spark plugs are getting spark, but engine either won't catch or will start and immediately die.
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Check engine light issue. For the past 3 months, my check engine light has been turning on. The first time it happened, the garage replaced the EVAP Purge Solenoid (which includes the vapor can purge solenoid and the EVAP canister purge solenoid). Of course, a few months later, the check engine light turned on again. The second time, the garage replaced the gas cap. Then the check engine light turned on again the next day.
So, the third time, the garage performed maintenance/repair on the vapor can purge solenoid and the EVAP canister purge solenoid. Of course, three days after driving my car, the check engine light turned back on. I've contacted the garage for the fourth time now. I explained that their diagnostics have obviously been exhausted, and they aren't really sure what the problem is. I'm going back in a few days to speak to the lead mechanic hoping to be compensated for their guess-work or at the least to be given an honest "I don't know" answer.
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I have a 1997 Pontiac sunfire the other week I was driving and it stopped on me the engine would crank but quickly turn off but everything inside the car would still be on k was told I needed a new cat and got that and a new muffler put on. This morning I went to leave for work and the same thing happened again! I was told it could be the fuel pump or fuel filter but it doesn't act weird while driving it. What could this be?
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