i dont know if this helps but my zetec has engine shudder ever 3 seconds or so when im parked, sounds like the engine slightly struggles to stay running for a split second then it runs fine, then 3 seconds later it happens again. dunno what it is i think i might have to unplug the battery and relearn my ecu

 

Well not quite, mine has a constant vibration rather than a pulse but thanks. I figured I'd ask for help here since this site is dedicated to the focus. After further doing research I have a feeling its the engine mounts.

 

Welcome to FF !!

[ffrocks]

Let's go a bit deeper in identifying the symptoms before we throw out "possibles"

1. Does the vibration occur all the time? When the engine is cold? When the engine is warm?

2. Does the car shudder/vibrate under acceleration or ONLY at an idle?

3. Is the vibration confined only to the steering wheel or does it radiate across the dashboard?

4. Have you measured your gas mileage to determine if there is a drop off?

5. Is there a noticable drop off in performance (i.e. stumbling, slow to accelerate?)

6. when was the last service done to the car? (I see you only have 19k on the odo, but sometimes people put plugs in the car etc.)

Let's start with these and see what else the car tells us. [thumb]

 

First off, thanks to everyone for taking the time out to look at this thread, I really appreciate it. And thanks Weasp for giving me these questions to answer!

1. I haven't really noticed a difference in when it happens temperature-wise. But on some days the vibrations are stronger than others. Sometimes its strong enough to shake whatever is in my center compartment.

2. If it does vibrate while accelerating its not enough for me to feel it inside the car. However, I do always feel it when idle.

3. I feel the vibrations mostly in the steering wheel, center console, and under the driver seat. If you put your hand on the dashboard you can slightly feel the vibrations too.

4. I do keep track of my gas mileage and it did drop 2 miles per gallon two months ago but at the same time I did change my driving habits as I got a new job.

5. No there's no drop in performance.

6. I haven't had any type of special service to the car except my regular oil changes and tire rotations since I first bought it.

And no I do not have any mods and it hasn't snowed for nearly 11 months hahaha.

 

do you have any mods that could've caused this before it happened?

um perhaps since ur in New jersey did this car ever plow through or sit in a good pile of snow stiffening up lubricated bolts mounts or parts? lol i donno sorry just throwing out some possibilities

the cars seems to new still
so good luck with your solution
Welcome to FF!

 

Wow. Excelent thread. I'm having the exact same problem. I'm going to see if there are any other threads/posts/forums anywhere that will show where the transmission, and engine mounts are.


<--- car noob

 

Thanks for this thread guys. My car is at the garage as we speak for a collapsed PCV hose and valve replacement (it was sputtering). I also have this same vibration that you describe here. It is really bad at startup when the car is cold. It vibrates the whole front of the car mostly along the dashboard area. My mechanic told me it was the engine mounts.

Where are these? Are they difficult to replace? For a guy who is handy but doesn't have a ton of car experience where would this rate on a 1-10...? I have replaced a couple of alternators and an 02 sensor among other small things. I am not that experienced...

 

Yeah my vibrations don't seem to be consistent. The vibration wasn't strong when I first started up my car today but once it got warmed up they got stronger.

 

Interesting, I am having a similar problem , but only at start up in the morning and it goes away after engine has warmed up. Here is the strange part when I start up the car first thing in the morning I can here what seems to be a rough idle, I get out of the car pop the hood in the dark , no signs of anything unusual, sit back in the car and noise gets louder,get out of the car and the noise gets less. Checked the power steering fluid level and it is ok. Any ideas anyone.

 

Figured I would bring this thread back. I just bought a 2001 Focus ZX-3 with 116,000 miles in stock condition and I am having this exact problem listed in quote. I thought it was a bad flex-pipe so I changed that and the vibration is still there! It is very strange as you cannot hear it outside, only inside the car. It shakes my dash and sounds like poop. I checked all my motor mounts, the one on the back of the tranny is on its way out but not completely gone. The others are fine. Any help or suggestions?


PS just realized there is another dj elite....that is not me!

 

Mine is just like Pezlam's. It is a vibration of every 3 sec. Any ideas ??? It vibrates constantly, but there is this kinda dip every 3 seconds.

 

So I went to the ford dealership today to see if they'd take a look at my car's engine and they basically sent me home without looking at my car.

Bobby, the nice fat guy behind the counter, told me it wasn't uncommon to experience engine vibrations inside the car but was stumped when I told him there were no check engine lights on. He said if there was a check engine light on that it could possibly be an engine missfire. He also told me that it could be dirty fuel injectors or a bad tank of gas.

I asked him if they'd look at my car anyway and he said it would cost 90 dollars even if there wasn't anything wrong with the car. He also told me that since I didn't go to their dealership to get my oil changes that its possible something could be broken (assuming my mechanic broke something) and that would void my warranty.

Basically, I don't think Bobby wanted to even step outside his office that day so I told him I'd come back if it got worse.

Does anyone think that getting my fuel injectors cleaned or going to a new gas station would fix this problem? I normally go to BP for my gas.

 

I had a similar issue and turned out to be the pass. side engine mount. the first dealer I took it to couldn't figure it out because it does not show on the computer. The second dealer had heard of this before and inspected the mounts.

 

They threw most of the list of "we don't want to bother looking at that" excuses at you. It's possible to get a bad tank of gas, but I point out that my gas cap has the words "Ford recommends BP" printed on it, so they can't fault you there.

The fuel injector cleaner will cost $100 to do basically nothing for a 3 year old car.

Taking your car somewhere other than the dealer for maintenance does NOT void your warranty, there is a federal law against this.

Time to complain to his manager, and if they blow you off, file a complaint with the better business bureau.

 

Yeah seriously, and I don't know about you guys but I DO NOT think this guy's eyes are worth 90 dollars.

 

i have the same problem car idles slightly lower in a throbbing pattern and slight vibrations more like its bucking as if it will stall headlights dim also, as for the constant vibration problem i had the same thing replaced drivers and lower motor mount then replaced and passenger side one and of course problem solved no more bad vibrations.

 

for that first problem... the throbbing pattern and bucking/stalling... check your MAF sensor first. i left mine disconnected the other day by accident [?|] and it did the same thing pretty bad- with a CEL and bucking and dying if i was stopped for too long. if its dirty it would be similar. get some MAF cleaner.

also, i had a similar issue in my old golf and it was a *really* dirty throttle body. it would happen more noticeably when the A/C compressor was on. my car which i just picked up a few days ago has a very very slight hesitation like this at idle every few seconds, similar to what two other people are describing further up in this thread (malin & pezlam). when i finally get a chance this weekend im throwing some seafoam deep creep into the throttle body and engine, cleaning out the TB and the MAF sensor. that stuff is like magic. if that doesn't help, im inclined to think fuel filter, but im not sure...

 

So after looking at my car and having friends look at my car, I've discovered that the top engine mount on the passenger side of the car is cracked.

I'm bringing my car to be looked at by ford tomorrow.

Does anyone know if the motor mounts are covered by Ford's power train warranty?

Any suggestions as to what I should do about this before I leave for ford tomorrow morning?

 

Did you end up replacing the mount? Did it fix the problem? I'm having a very similar problem and looking for ideas.

 

i was hhaving vibration problems and idle problems on my 2003 zx5 zetec engine. after many months and much work here is what i found to be the cause. there was a combination of 3 things. the major vibration i assumed was the motor mounts so i replaced the dogbone and the main mount (pass side). this seemed to help tremendously at first but gradually returned after about a month. it started back at just idle and after warming up it went away but eventually became constant. turns out the brand new mount from autozone had collapsed almost immediately. replaced it and so far this one is holding up(they are hydraulic so sometimes when they are failing the engine heat will expand the fluid and temporarily the vibration goes away making diagnosis more difficult). there remained an aggravating rattle noise only at idle usually in gear and with air on it was even worse. that turned out to be caused by another autozone part that i had replaced a while back when my alternator went out ;the serpentine belt. i read else where on this forum that it might be the prob so i got a ford part from rock auto ( half the price of my dealer) and prob solved. apparently there are slight difference in the length of these belts depending on your particular model and if you dont get exactly the right part number there will be just enough slack to cause this low rpm rattle.finally the idle problem (severe drop in idle rpm when fans and compressor switching on) was the connector that plugs into the resistor on the fan shroud was fried. hope this helps some people to avoid the time and frustration i have had with mine.ps i just remembered 1 other thing. bad rumble or road noise while under way that changes while turning wheel from side to side was a bad front wheel bearing. now my car runs and sounds like new.

 

The rough idle sounds like what my 2005 with 60000 miles does. The rough idle causes a vibration in the seat, dash, center counsel and steering wheel and very annoying hum! Mine is worse when cold and gets slightly better when warm.
I had the fuel injector service done, it ran quieter and smooth for two days than right back to the way it was. Mine has had a little surge at 30 to 50 mph. The fuel filter has been changed and it makes no difference.

Good luck, hopefully you will get it fixed.
Out in NH

 

what is this, the complain thread of the similar problems,lol? ford are you listening!?!?!

lol but seriously, i own an 01 zts and i have the same exact problem. im suspecting its the pass. side top mount, seeing how everytime i turn my wheel to the right it shakes terribly.

 

like everyone and their brother i have this problem too. very annoying start up idle vibration that goes away(not always completely) and makes the dash squeek(SOOOO annoying) and recently the pass. door panel has been makin noise. being a professional technician i was able to do a complete fuel system cleaning for free, replaced the collapsed pcv hose and valve, driver's engine mount and bottom trans mount for $90 with slight improvement after the two mounts but it's still there and getting worse with time. BUT... i was reading this thread to seek a solution and saw a mention of the pass. engine mount being hydraulic, remembered that i knew this, then smacked myself in the head cuz i've seen the same freakin thing happen on so many different cars in the shop. so needless to say i'm gonna change that with confidence and be done with it till i do my duratec head swap on my zetec. Thanks guys!

 

OK, on the pass side mount. Can it be bad and not be leaking?

 

Bump time........

The bottom dogbone motor mount can easily be visually inspected to determine if it is defective. Is the only way to determine if the passenger hydraulic mount is defective by a leak?

 

I just bought a passenger side mount at the dealer, but had it put in at pep boys for $65 , was thinking about doing it myself , but thought otherwise. My old mount had definitely gone,albeit there was no leaks. So far so good, but then again the engine has warmed up, but at least I no longer get the vibration when putting the ATX into reverse. The acid test will be tomorrow morning , when I start the car when it is cold. Will post again with my findings.

 

I My old mount had definitely gone,albeit there was no leaks.......

Bump for what???? It was answered in the post directly above yours.

 

Thanks for the verification.

So the only way to know if that mount is bad is to know what you are trying to feel for in terms of engine vibrations?

 

Started the car this morning ( Cold) all the problems have gone away. So for me it was the passenger side Engine mount. I checked at Auto Zone and Pep Boys, they were both selling it for $49 , I got mine at the dealership for $129.

 

So I read through all of this but mainly this seemed to be Zetecs and it seemed a random collection of when the vibrations occur. On the first page someone mentioned that they had the problem on startup and I really only notice it while moving and it goes away in <1mi. The first time I noticed it last fall at first I thought it was a low tire or loose lugnuts until it went away so soon. Several pressure checks and a tire rotation later I've found those aren't the cause. I think my A/C clutch is out because there is noise coming from under the hood that gets even worse when I have the A/C or defrost on. And recently I've developed yet another noise that I wonder if is clutch chatter (at under 50k?!) that only can be heard when the engine is in gear, clutch engaged and the engine is actually "working" in the 2-3k range. Worst in 3rd gear at 25 or so. Oh, and the car doesn't want to immediately start most of the time right after being turned off. I took it to Ford for that though and was told that it's common for the MTX Foci to have delayed warm starts. (As other people on here have been told by their dealers.) I do have a "rough" idle but am under the impression that Duratecs are just that way. I had a loaner with a d20 and less miles and it was the same way as far as rough noisy idle.

On a positive note, no CEL and zero actual driveability issues. Is there anything of particular interest in the PZEV system that could cause any of this? I know there's a motor in it, can it get noisy?

Is any of this related?

 

OK, I found a Ford passenger side motor mount for $75, I should have it in a few days and the install looks pretty easy. For something like this i am definitely sticking with OEM parts. Hopefully it will remedy my engine vibration issues being transmitted and resonating in the cabin. I will report back when installed and tested.