5S-FE vibration at idle in gear

[sanderso]

Hello, I'm new to the forum. I have a 1993 5S-FE, about 100K miles, all bone stock. For years it's given a vibration felt through the steering column, gear shift, and dash at idle in gear when stopped, which gets progressively worse (I usually just put it in neutral until the light changes). Neutral or just raising the rpms smooths it out, and having the brake pedal depressed doesn't seem to affect it. I read one time that there was a known balance issue with these motors, but can't find any shop that knows of it. Had all the usual stuff confirmed OK, dealers say no TSB issued.

Anyone else know of this?

[BLUEMEANIE]

Sounds like you might be idling a bit low...?

[sanderso]

No, actually I find this is a long time (91 on) complaint about the 5S-FE Camry. There's even a Toyota TSB about it, which details a revised engine mount material which absorbs the off-balance condition better. I intend to write Toyota customer service because although my car is FAR out of warranty the dealer was unable to fix it when it was.

[SpectraBlueCam]

You're right that it's probably a mount issue. I had the same problem and got the passenger side upper monunt (you can see it on the side of the valve cover) changed and no more vibrations.

[CorollaKen]

On 2001-09-27 18:30, SpectraBlueCam wrote:
You're right that it's probably a mount issue. I had the same problem and got the passenger side upper monunt (you can see it on the side of the valve cover) changed and no more vibrations.

Is that an expensive thing to do ? I have noticed my same mount is ripped and it probably doesn't do anything good anymore.

BTW 247,000Km, 5S-FE, 1992
CamryKen

[AndyinOmaha]

Originally Posted by sanderso

Hello, I'm new to the forum. I have a 1993 5S-FE, about 100K miles, all bone stock. For years it's given a vibration felt through the steering column, gear shift, and dash at idle in gear when stopped, which gets progressively worse (I usually just put it in neutral until the light changes). Neutral or just raising the rpms smooths it out, and having the brake pedal depressed doesn't seem to affect it. I read one time that there was a known balance issue with these motors, but can't find any shop that knows of it. Had all the usual stuff confirmed OK, dealers say no TSB issued.

Anyone else know of this?

Hello,
I have a 93 Camry SE with 86,000 miles and I began to experience the same sort of vibration at idle when the car is stopped and in gear (R or D). Took the car to a dealer, thinking it was the engine mounts; he replaced two sidemounts....the vibration persisted, so brought it back and he replaced the other two mounts [incidentally, there was significant rubber deterioration on the mounts after nearly 18 years]. But still, the vibration persisted....and there was an added exhaust noise and leak from the flex pipe just off the manifold.
Took it to a separate mechanic, who fixed the flex pipe noise problem, and also suggested a tune-up (perhaps the vibration due to misfiring of older spark plug, was the thought). Repair was done, still vibrates noticeably through the steering wheel when stopped in drive at a light....but runs smoothly in idle and very smoothly and with power at highway speeds. [He also confirmed that the motor mount replacement job looked to be in good shape.]
Anyone have any ideas about what could be the cause of continued vibration? the dealer mechanic said that Camrys from the 90s have a balance issue and that they "run rough" in idle. [Really?] The mechanic I took it to suggested it might be an issue with the torque converter in the transmission....but suggested that I save myself the $$$ if I can live with it -- and so I have.
But I'm wondering if there's something that needs adjusting/replacing in the transmission...maybe a transmission mount?
Not looking to invest a lot more in repairs on this problem, especially since both mechanics say it's not a critical vibration and that it's better just to live with it. But is anyone familiar with this problem -- and is there a simple and certain fix?
Thanks,
Andy

[Mike Gerber]

No, there is no certain fix. I am the original owner of a 94 Camry with the 5SFE engine. The car has had a slight vibration in drive at idle since new. I took it back to the dealer when it was new. They tried replacing an engine mount with a redesigned one, but that had no effect. I asked to drive another new 5SFE engine Camry back then and I did. It had the same vibration. It's just the nature of the beast for this generation (1992-1996) 5SFE engine. There are a couple of things you can try to minimize it, but it will always be there in some form. First I would do a thorough throttle body cleaning. This is something you can do yourself using the following DIY article:

How to: Cleaning Throttle Body -4 Cylinder Engines- With Pictures

Some people on this forum have had mixed results replacing the dog bone mount with the one from the later generation 4 (1997-2001) 5SFE engine. Do a search on this forum for "5SFE vibration" and you should be able to find that article.

Mike

[AndyinOmaha]

Thanks, Mike --that's reassuring to know it's a design issue....I just wanted to make sure that the vibration isn't an indicator of critical problem that's about to happen.
The car runs like a clock, and judging from the posts on this forum, I should expect to put another 200K on it!
Appreciate the quick and thoughtful reply,
Regards from Omaha,
Andy