Is THIS what's making my Camry vibrate like hell when accelerating? (pics)

[Comasleep]

I'm making a 1000-mile trip north in a week, so I've prepared my Camry as much as possible. It idles perfectly smooth, and runs fantastic at any speed ABOVE 30 mph (all the way up to 80mph, that's the fastest I've gone since getting it back from the mechanics).

It's got all new tires (all 4 corners), all new struts, all new rotors, new brakes, had everything aligned, transmission flushed and refilled + filter replaced, oil changed, cleaned out throttle body + IAC sensor, replaced air filter among other things. I've checked my lower engine mount and it looks fine, but my dog bone mount looks like it needs replacing:

Here's a pic from left side:


And here's one from right side (sorry for shitty quality, flash messed it up):


HERE'S THE PROBLEM: When accelerating from a stop or very low speeds (0-10 mph), especially uphill, the RPM's will lag around the 2,000 RPM range and the front end (dash, steering wheel, everything) will vibrate like hell for a few seconds, but then it levels out nice and smooth as I pick up speed. Bare in mind it runs great at the SAME RPM's at higher speeds, for example if Im going 70 on the highway but just cruising around 2000 RPMs, no vibration whatsoever. ONLY when accelerating from a stop or very low speeds.

Also If Im turning out of a parking lot onto the street and accelerate like that, vibration can sometimes be horrible here too, because I'm turning AND accelerating from low speeds.

So what do you guys think is causing the laggy low-RPM acceleration? Could the worn out engine mount cause that, or just vibration? Could it be the TPS sensor? Maybe she just needs a bottle of Techron fuel injector cleaner poured in? She had been sitting for over half a year prior to all this work, but I put over 3/4ths tank fresh fuel in about two weeks ago.

What do you guys think this could be? Desperately wanna get this fixed before driving 950 miles north (Florida to PA), don't feel like having my entire car explode that far from help. Thanks to any advice anyone can offer.

[BamZipPow]

I think the excessive vibration is causing the motor mount extra strain. You might want to double check all yer mounts. I think the worn out mounts may be a symptom of the problem. I believe you can replace the smaller dog bone with the newer bigger dog bone fer better performance/longevity.

Shoot some video of the problem and post it up. Please turn off all accessories so we can see/hear the problem as clearly as possible.

Is the check engine light on?

[Comasleep]

Originally Posted by BamZipPow

Is the check engine light on?

Nope, no CE light.

Originally Posted by BamZipPow

I think the excessive vibration is causing the motor mount extra strain. You might want to double check all yer mounts. I think the worn out mounts may be a symptom of the problem. I believe you can replace the smaller dog bone with the newer bigger dog bone fer better performance/longevity.

But if the extra vibration is putting extra strain on the motor mounts, what's CAUSING the vibration? Could the motor mounts cause the vibration AND also incidentally suffer from the vibration they caused, making them even worse?

Originally Posted by BamZipPow

Shoot some video of the problem and post it up. Please turn off all accessories so we can see/hear the problem as clearly as possible.

Yeah good idea, I'll take a video tomorrow when it's day light to help you guys see and hear what's going on.

[Comasleep]

Also: if the engine mounts were infact causing the vibration at low speeds, wouldn't that make the car vibrate even worse at higher speeds? It runs perfectly smooth at any speed over 25-30 mph.

[redgtxdi]

You can get that part at any auto parts chain or Toyota dealer and you will want to change it anyway, for sure so go ahead and change it outl. It's super easy to change and I can't remember exactly my symptoms but I believe it was a funky feeling at take off.

[Comasleep]

Originally Posted by redgtxdi

You can get that part at any auto parts chain or Toyota dealer and you will want to change it anyway, for sure so go ahead and change it outl. It's super easy to change and I can't remember exactly my symptoms but I believe it was a funky feeling at take off.

The dogbone mount? What do you think my chances of finding just a replacement bushing instead of the whole mount would be? I'd rather not replace the whole thing or spend the money to do that if I don't have to, but if I had to choose between buying a whole new mount or nothing at all I'd definitely take a new mount.

[bdy0003]

Yeah, that mount is no good. Chances are all the other mounts might be going or have gone bad because they all go bad if one fails and you leave it long enough.

If I am understanding your question right, you need to buy the dogbone and cannot just take out the rubber. I would suggest you buying a Gen 4 dogbone and bracket (to accommodate the larger dogbone) in addition to replacing all your other mounts. To be sure, maybe you can bring it in somewhere to see if the others need replacing.

[Judge2]

Originally Posted by Comasleep

The dogbone mount? What do you think my chances of finding just a replacement bushing instead of the whole mount would be? I'd rather not replace the whole thing or spend the money to do that if I don't have to, but if I had to choose between buying a whole new mount or nothing at all I'd definitely take a new mount.

The dogbone is only 11 dolars. 16 with shipping.

Amazon

Amazon

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe the dogbone will crap out if the other motor mounts are bad.

[hardtopte72]

On these Camry's the dog bone is rarely the first to go. It is usually the front and rear mount that go first which in turn stress and break the dog bone. I would look into the other mounts first.

Also be wary of aftermarket mounts. I installed some in a 93 V6 and they were off in a few of the bolt holes. This made reassembly very difficult.

[Comasleep]

Originally Posted by hardtopte72

On these Camry's the dog bone is rarely the first to go. It is usually the front and rear mount that go first which in turn stress and break the dog bone. I would look into the other mounts first.

Also be wary of aftermarket mounts. I installed some in a 93 V6 and they were off in a few of the bolt holes. This made reassembly very difficult.

Oops. WELL I went aead and bought just the dogbone last night before seeing this, and just picked it up at the store.

I guess installing a new dogbone with the other mounts potentially even more screwed up would only destroy the dogbone mount? If not, do I need to do the hydraulic jack with the piece of wood under the oil pan to hold up the engine when I remove the dobone mount?

[hardtopte72]

Originally Posted by Comasleep

Oops. WELL I went aead and bought just the dogbone last night before seeing this, and just picked it up at the store.

I guess installing a new dogbone with the other mounts potentially even more screwed up would only destroy the dogbone mount? If not, do I need to do the hydraulic jack with the piece of wood under the oil pan to hold up the engine when I remove the dobone mount?

Yes simply installing the new dogbone mount will probably mean a destroyed new dogbone fairly soon.

As far as replacing the existing one no you do not need a jack. You simply need to remove the 3 14MM bolts and disconnect the ground wire connectors to pull out the mount.

[Comasleep]

That's a damn shame, because I don't have the extra funds right now to be spending around $150 for two new engine mounts in addition to the $30 I paid for the dog bone :/

I went ahead and installed the new dog bone mount anyway, because the old one was so worn. Good thing I did too, because after removing it, this happened:


Granted I had to actually pull the middle piece out, but the fact that I was able to with one hand speaks for itself. I guess with or without the other mounts this one desperately needed to be replaced anyway. I took her for a drive afterwards and the vibration didn't seem near as bad, but it's still there, and the laggy acceleration that's still unresolved.

I took a couple videos, one of my engine being revved from outside (BEFORE I put in the new dog bone mount), and there was very little play in the engine movement which was surprising to me. I would upload the video but there's not really any point because there was so little movement.

The second video's from inside the car, and I drive down a short street, then turn and accelerate to about 3000 rpms. Unfortunately the sun kept shining in the lens so it's a little hard to see the gauges but more importantly you can hear the lag in the engine. Maybe I'm just crazy. Bare in mind when you see the needle stop accelerating, I'm still pressing down further and further on the gas, it's just becoming less responsive. I wish there was a better way to show what was happening and how it felt from inside the car, but anyway here's the video (don't mind the watermark):

Camry laggy response

Anyone notice anything unusual or is it too hard to tell?

Also, I got a good grip on the engine block with the dog bone completely off and jerked it around some, the thing barely moved. I got up under the car and looked at the lower front engine mount and it looked perfectly fine, but I know it can be deceiving unless you completely remove it and look it over. I'm just really baffled as to what's fucking with my acceleration like this. Maybe it's the tranny mount? I didn't get a chance to look at it while I was under there.

[bdy0003]

Well, you have to understand that I4 engines will have a bit of a vibration, esp this one. We, however don't know how bad your vibration is now, so it could be because of the other mounts or just normal.

See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inline-...and_smoothness

As for the laggy response, I can't really tell. Can you check to see if the throttle body cable is loose or not? My car is very responsive, albeit very underpowered.

[Comasleep]

Originally Posted by bdy0003

Well, you have to understand that I4 engines will have a bit of a vibration, esp this one. We, however don't know how bad your vibration is now, so it could be because of the other mounts or just normal.

See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inline-...and_smoothness

As for the laggy response, I can't really tell. Can you check to see if the throttle body cable is loose or not? My car is very responsive, albeit very underpowered.

Chances are it's just the other two motor mounts are extremely worn out as well, so for now I'm just going to deal with it. I should probably not use the term "vibration" so much as I should the term "shudder" as every car vibrates, but my Camry used to be the smoothest ride of all the vehicles I've ever owned and this shudder only occurs when within a specific acceleration range, and it's much more severe (sounds like it's tearing up my treads and the entire dashboard rattles) the harder I accelerate.

[ajkalian]

Well look at it this way. What would you have to do to shred the dog bone like the pic you posted. It would take a lot of torque to mangle it that bad. The engine weighs maybe 800 lbs and it's moving quite a bit to do that kind of damage. The 4cyl has IRRC 3 engine mounting points. One at the back, one at the front, and one at the drivers side transmission mount.

I'm betting that all of them are hosed. You can take the driver side wheel off, and then the inspection cover off and you will see the transmission mount. Get a big crowbar and wiggle it. If you can see any broken rubber as in the dog bone, you will need to replace it. It's easy, a couple of bolts and it's out, and the new one is in.

The front and back ones are a bit harder, but not a ball buster. They cost a pretty penny but I'm pretty sure, as others have said, they are toast as well. Unfortunately there is no way to test them. But when you remove them you will see immediately if they are shot.

Check the trans mount first, and replace if necessary. The front and back ones can be done as time and money permit. But it's best to replace them all at once.

The damage that can be done is severe. Everything will be out of alignment, and with bad mounts, you risk damaging the half shafts, the bearings in the transfer case, and on and on.

It's something that requires your attention. Don't let it slide.

.