I recently had my rear engine mount replaced on my 2004 Acura TSX. It was originally identified by the original dealer as requiring replacement and when I took it to anther Mechanic he also verified this and during the replacement he showed me the original engine mount which had a definitive crack.
After installation the Mechanic indicated that the car would feel a little stiff for a while and would smooth out over time. What I found after the first couple of days is that the engine seems to have a significant vibration when I am in idle or after I brake. When the car is in motion there is still a vibration but it is not very noticeable. I just remember from prior feel of the vehicle. This vibration did not exist prior to replacing the rear engine mount.
Is this expected to be normal until I put miles on it. The Acura is a 2004 but only has 75,000 miles. I don’t drive it very much but I am concerned that the vibration I feel when I brake may be creating additional damage. Anyone have any thoughts on this.
There’s other things that could cause this symptom, but I guess we’re assuming it is something that happened during or a result of the mount replacement. Since we’re not able to feel the vibration, it’s pretty much guess-work. But assuming it is only slightly more of a vibration than before, it is quite possible the vibration will go away or at least diminish over miles driven, as the engine/transmission better mates with the mount. Sort of like when you have a tooth worked on, like a cap put on, it’s painful at first, then the pain gradually goes away as everything adjusts. So it’s probably sensible to not form too rapid of a judgment on this. Take a wait and see attitude for a while. If there’s still some vibration remaining after a month or two, take it back and ask the mechanic to snug up all the mounts, not just the one worked on, to the spec’d torque.
It’s also possible you are perceiving the vibration to be more than it is. One time I had a VW Rabbit and I did some work on the fuel injection, suddenly I noticed a high pitched buzz coming from the engine compartment when I accelerated. It turned out to be the injectors making the buzzing noise, the same as they always had. I just become more sensitive to it b/c I had been working on the FI.
It’s also possible this is an unanticipated consequence of the first job. Replacing a mount usually requires loosening other mounts to gain the needed clearance. Maybe they forgot to tighten one of those after finishing. It also requires temporarily moving stuff out of the way, like removing the battery, air intake plenum, etc. Maybe in doing that either the stuff wasn’t quite put back right, or there was an electrical connector or vacuum hose that didn’t get put back on, or switched. One thing to do along these lines is have the diagnostic trouble codes read from the ECM’s memory.
Aftermarket mount are available in both solid and hydraulic versions. I am guessing that you had a hydraulic mount and a solid one was put in. Tester taught me about this.
You state that you feel the vibration when braking. Maybe this problem has nothing at all to do with mounts and is related to a suspension or brake issue.
Tire balance is not going to effect vibrations felt while sitting still, which I assume is what you’re doing when you say you are “in idle.”
Do you happen to know if the engine mounts were replaced by original equipment mounts? Or did he maybe reuse the mounts and replace the rubber with a polyurethane insert? If he did that, you’d definitely notice extra vibration.