engine and drivetrain Steering Wheel/column Shaking And Engine/tranny Shaking

[DionM]

Hello. First time posting on here. Have owned my 1975 pastelblau 02 since 2009. Never worked on it myself. Have only been taking to mechanics (Bav Professionals in Berkeley and now Little Garage -- Matt Meng -- in Huntington, NY), but it's getting expensive and I'm now fully curious to learn how these things work myself. Replaced my license plate light assemblies myself the other day (I know it's small beans, but it was fun and it gave me confidence). I have the Haynes book and I've been told to just memorize the thing by a friend, Nick, who owns 3 02s out in South Hampton. My 02 is my daily driver. I am a grad student and do not have the money for any kind of big restoration at the moment. I just keep it functioning as well as possible to get me where I need to go (mostly to the beach--I'm a surfer). In the past 3 years I've had the starter replaced, tie rods replaced, and have gotten a new head. There have been a few other minor fixes, but nothing too big, some brake pads and a new front windscreen (rock hit old one while driving on the 495 to Long Island). I've been told both by Matt at Little Garage and Nick (guy in the Hamptons) that my pistons are leaking and my engine is losing compression. When I'm driving over 55 and I have to suddenly take my foot off of the gas a puff of blue smoke comes out the exhaust. That is the only time it smokes. Car burns oil like a mofo. Now the shaking: When I'm idling the engine and transmission shake quite a bit. The gauges bounce a little and sometimes the oil light flickers on and off. I am wondering what is causing this shaking. It's almost like the car is shuddering. I'm thinking this has to do with the poor compression, but is it also the mounts? To add to this shaking my steering wheel/column has started to shake with it. If you have ever driven in NY, especially Brooklyn, you know that it's practically a third world country in terms of potholes. I try to avoid them, but it's nearly impossible. My steering is not loose as far as handling the car is concerned. There is no side to side looseness, just up and down. Ok, so I've said a lot. Here is what I want to know: 

 

1. What are your guesses about what the engine/tranny is shaking from? Just poor compression? Or compression plus mounts? How do I check? Am I even using the correct terms? 

 

2. Can I diagnose and possibly fix the steering shaking myself? If so, how? Do I need to get the car up on a jack or lift to do this? 

 

So that's it for now. Also, in case anyone is wondering, when I got the car I had all of that EGR stuff from the 1975 American model removed. The engine runs cool (around 3 o' clock). It's lived most of its life in CA and has a bit of rust, but nothing like if it were out here the whole time. I keep it off the salt streets in the winter. Also, I don't have a garage to do work. Any work I do will be street side unless I ask Nick if I can do some work up at his shop in the Hamptons, which is a 3 hour drive. I know I really need to get a second vehicle so that I can work on this properly. I do not want to let go of this car. I know that there are and will be other 02s out there but I am completely attached and one day want to restore. Enough for now.

 

-Dion 

 

 

[Hans]

what is the idle rpm?

[DionM]

Have to double check tomorrow, but pretty sure around 1000-1500. 

-Dion 

[Simeon]

Try pulling each plug lead in turn to see if it gets better or stays the same. This will tell you if it is caused by a misfire. Compression test is next looking for consistent values for all cylinders. If one or more is a lot lower than the others and it corresponds to the plug wire test then that is your culprit.

When were the valves last adjusted?

Have you pulled the plugs? Do that and report back.

Ruled out problems with the ignition?

Does the problem smooth out when the revs increase?

[adawil2002]

Shaking could also be:

 

Bad guibo, the flex disk that connects the transmission to the drive shaft, could be missing chunks. This can cause serious vibration.

Bad motor mounts. When was the last time they were replaced?

 

Out of balance wheels & tires

Under/differently inflated tires

Worn out tires

Warped brake rotors, cause brake pedal shaking.

[DionM]

Simeon,

Thanks. Not sure what pulling the plugs means. Can google but an explanation wouldn't hurt. So obviously I haven't done that. Do not know when last time valves were adjusted. Probably when I got the new head, so two years ago. Yes, when I am going fast there is no problem. The faster I go the better. Lots of shaking in 1st and 2nd gear in traffic, but once I'm up to 35/40 mph in 3rd and above 3000 rpms it's totally fine. This is giving me incentive to speed at all costs. LOL. But seriously. I will see about plug pulling tomorrow. Still doesn't answer my question about the steering column which clearly needs to be diagnosed in a different manner. It is loose when I wiggle it up and down when car is off. Trying to figure out how to diagnose that too. Re ignition: I have a new starter motor. Dunno what else I need to check. Car starts right up. I've been told that $99 Petronix (???) somethingorother is a good investment for timing. Any advice about any of this greatly appreciated. 

 

Andrew,

Guibo was replaced last year. Sorry forgot to mention. Wheels and tires were also balanced last year (both around April). This is not shaking while driving. It's shaking while idling. No shaking when driving except in really low gears/in traffic stop and go. Motor mounts, however, as I cited in my post, might be an issue. To my knowledge they have never been replaced. Looking for advice on how to check them. Even it's obvious. I'm a total newbie at mechanical stuff so stating the obvious doesn't hurt at all. 

 

Thanks for responding guys. I already feel like I can find some solutions through this forum. 

 

-Dion 

[adawil2002]

Still doesn't answer my question about the steering column which clearly needs to be diagnosed in a different manner. It is loose when I wiggle it up and down when car is off.

 

Could be the steering column is not fully engaged on the splined gear of the steering box. My steering wheel did the same thing after I had the steering box replaced.

 

You may need the car on a lift to fix this.

 

Do you have a stock 'bus' wheel? If so, remove the center pad. It should pull off fairly easily, exposing the center nut.

 

Under the car you should be able to see the steering column go into a coupling, just below the coupling should be a nut that holds a splined shaft. Loosen the nut slightly. then take a hammer and smack the center nut on the steering wheel. That should drive the column into the correct position. go under car and tighten nut. Check steering wheel for play. 

[Simeon]

Not clear from your original post whether the shaking is present at idle or whether it is caused by something in your drive train being out of whack.

When I am talking about pulling plug leads, I am talking about removing and replacing each spark plug lead in turn to the engine while it is idling. Use a pair of insulated pliers as you could get a shock from your ignition which won't kill you but you will know it has happened. Doing this cuts the ignition from each cylinder in turn. A healthy cylinder will respond by making the shuddering worse as you will now be running on 3 (or even 2) cylinders. A cylinder which is not firing will not respond by making the shuddering worse as the cylinder wasn't doing anything anyway.

Pulling the plugs means removing the spark plugs themselves. If you take them out and examine each one looking for damage or carbonbuild up that could be shorting them out (to also prevent firing ). Google 'spark plug examination' and the first result for me is an NGK site showing lots of pictures of spark plugs. Do your plugs look like any of them? Any difference between the individual plugs?

If you have the plugs out, get a compression tester and complete that while you are there. Make sure you label the plug wires as you take them off.

[Simeon]

Time to practice adjustment of your valves too. If this was done 2+ years ago with a replacement head, now could be a good time to do it.

Once you have ruled out compression and ignition then we will turn to fuel. Sounds like your car could benefit from a tune.

[DionM]

Thanks guys. I have some time today to check things out and will report back later. Simeon I agree about the tune. Just want to see how much I can figure out myself before I take it in. Also I do remember checking the plugs with Nick in the Hamptons and they are not corroded, but I have not done the compression test, which I will attempt to figure out asap. Andrew, I have an aftermarket steering wheel (Lecarro I think) with three spokes and a bmw logo where the horn is. It's fitted on with allen screws that go in a circle around the horn. Will report back. Thanks again. 

-Dion 

[Mike Self]

Coupla other things from your original post:

 

Engine smoking when you back off the gas while driving is almost always caused by worn valve guides/valve stem seals, which should have been replaced when the head was replaced.  Smoking on acceleration is a sign of worn piston rings/poor compression.  

 

If you can wiggle the steering column up and down by grabbing the steering wheel at 6 & 13 o'clock then it's probably worn bushings inside the steering column housing.  Not a terribly difficult job to replace, but requires a lot of dismantling to reach.  They don't wear out very quickly (mine are original at 244k and 224k with negligible play) and are more of an annoyance than a real problem.  Just make sure the play is there, and not in the tie rods, center track rod or the steering box itself.  

 

The shaking at idle (car not moving) could be worn/broken motor mounts, a cracked left side motor mount bracket, poorly adjusted carburetor or as pointed out, bad compression in one (or more) cylinder(s).  

 

Shaking while underway could again be worn/broken motor mounts, out of balance or bent wheels and/or bad front end alignment.  So you've got lotsa things to check.

 

Don't be afraid to plunge in and do things for yourself.  Not only will you save lots of $$ (why I learned to work on cars in the first place, only to find out I enjoyed it as well) but you have the satisfaction of diagnosing and fixing things yourself.  And there's lotsa help available on the FAQ, so don't be shy about asking for it.

 

cheers

mike

[DionM]

Thanks to everyone for your advice. I've made a solid check list and copy/pasted all of your recommendations. I've also gotten in touch with an 02 owner/enthusiast/FAQ member in Long Island who is going to let me use his garage/help guide me through a tune up/diagnostic.  Yesterday I went through all of my receipts and wrote up a history of my vehicle to date. It was embarrassing seeing how much I've paid in labor for certain things that I could have learned to do myself. At least I'm not continuing down that road (not that I won't have to pay to get help in some areas—just that I want to avoid it if at all possible). After going through everything I think I may have run into a kind of snag (or a possible snag)—my vehicle has a salvaged title—I've been driving it for 5 years with no break downs and good handling, but I noticed that I've gone through two sets of tie rods in 5 years. This leads me to wonder if the body/frame of my car is possibly contorted in a way that makes it eat tie rods/ball joints/etc. As I said, however, I have not had any problems handling the car in a variety of driving situations. It doesn't pull to the left or the right when driving or braking. First thing is first and I am going to go do the tune up and have a look around at the engine mounts and also assess the current state of suspension and steering components. I will not hesitate to post on here with further questions and comments. At this point, if anyone has experience with salvage title cars/checking to see if a body is straight I'd appreciate the advice. From the research I've done so far a salvage title on a car this old can mean a lot of things—to some insurance people an over large dent or scratch can reduce the vehicle's worth by 50% and thus deem it salvage. I have not run into any legal problems with this title. My car is registered in CA and insured there. I will eventually have to get NY plates/NY insurance, but am holding out because it will up my monthly car costs by about 4 times (currently paying $47 a month for insurance). Thanks everyone for responding previously. FAQ rules. 

 

-Dion 

Edited June 27, 2014 by DionM

[jgerock]

Dion, the LeCarra brand steering wheels usually have a horn button that simply snaps into the center of the steering wheel. The button should come out with some gentle prying on the edges. The nut securing the wheel/hub to the steering column is accessed behind the button.

[DionM]

Update: I met up with the longtime FAQer in Long Island (Maurice--1971 Agave Tii and 1976 Fjord Blue 2002) and he showed me the ropes on how to tune up my car. We did a compression test--something going on not totally awesome with 1st cylinder but it's manageable for now--all other cylinders are fine--and changed out the spark plugs, ignition wires, distributor points, condenser, and cap and set the timing and idle. Engine is now shaking 90% less. As for the steering wheel, we found a bolt that had come undone in the car cabin that connects a sort of brace to the steering column. The bolt was hiding near my brake pedal! We put that puppy back on and voila! no looseness. Now with the steering wheel down and the engine not shaking at idle it practically feels like I have a new car. I also changed the oil and we adjusted the steering brake a bit. My car does leak oil from somewhere, so next up is cleaning the engine compartment and diagnosing the leak. At any rate I have never felt better about the car and really feel I'm on my way to being able to do a majority of my own repairs and diagnoses. Thanks to everyone for your suggestions. Will definitely post again if anything tricky comes up.