Dashboard buzz/vibration & suspension clunk
Thread Starter
|
Amateur
Joined: Jul 2009
Posts: 25
Likes: 0
Dashboard buzz/vibration & suspension clunk
For those of you who are experiencing a very annoying dashboard buzz or have suspension noises (sounds like a clunk), I want to share my experiences with all of you.
Earlier in the year, a friend (05 neon SXT) asked me to look at her car because of a popping noise coming from the front end. I checked out this forum and decided to go with changing out the lower control arm (complete with new bushings/ball joint). I had already replaced the front struts & upper mounts because the struts were leaking. Tie rod ends were in good shape. The car had 86K miles on it. To my dismay, the lower control arm didn’t fix the problem. After I changed the right engine mount the problem disappeared, and yes the mount was torn.
A note here: the Neon uses a (as viewed from the driver’s seat) left engine mount mounted to the transmission, a right engine mount that bolts through the right fender and the tensioner housing, and upper and lower torque struts. Even if the torque struts are new, if the right engine mount it damaged you will continue have problems. I think a common mistake folks are making is that they will change the torque struts but not the right engine mount; this is causing the new torque strut to wear more quickly.
The next car was my son’s 2004 SXT, he was experiencing a horrible dashboard buzz. We searched everywhere to isolate the source. We pulled the dash board apart and put felt tape on contact points; these were wasted hours! Another symptom he experienced was his rear view mirror vibrated like crazy … made it hard to see; you could see the vibration in the steering wheel too. I had changed his timing belt/water pump, and upper/lower torque struts at 105K, but didn’t look at the right mount; big mistake!) After changing the right engine mount, the problem disappeared. The mount was torn but only about 3/8ths of the way through. It was separating from the metal insert where the mount bolt goes through.
Lessons Learned: (1) If you are about to change the timing belt/water pump make sure you pull the right engine mount so you can inspect it thoroughly! If there is any damage, change it. You can find a MOPAR mount online for $65.00, so what the heck … just change it while you’re in there. (2) There is a reason the Haynes manual tells you to disconnect the exhaust system when changing the timing belt/water pump (you’ll need to do it for the right engine mount too); doing so give you the ability to raise or lower the right side of the engine so you can pull the tensioner housing bolts (3 each). The tensioner housing must be pulled to change the right engine mount. (3) The left engine mount doesn’t seem to take as much of a beating as the right. With 120K miles on the car it was not torn at all.
Thanks to all of you who have posted pictures and information concerning this problem!
Earlier in the year, a friend (05 neon SXT) asked me to look at her car because of a popping noise coming from the front end. I checked out this forum and decided to go with changing out the lower control arm (complete with new bushings/ball joint). I had already replaced the front struts & upper mounts because the struts were leaking. Tie rod ends were in good shape. The car had 86K miles on it. To my dismay, the lower control arm didn’t fix the problem. After I changed the right engine mount the problem disappeared, and yes the mount was torn.
A note here: the Neon uses a (as viewed from the driver’s seat) left engine mount mounted to the transmission, a right engine mount that bolts through the right fender and the tensioner housing, and upper and lower torque struts. Even if the torque struts are new, if the right engine mount it damaged you will continue have problems. I think a common mistake folks are making is that they will change the torque struts but not the right engine mount; this is causing the new torque strut to wear more quickly.
The next car was my son’s 2004 SXT, he was experiencing a horrible dashboard buzz. We searched everywhere to isolate the source. We pulled the dash board apart and put felt tape on contact points; these were wasted hours! Another symptom he experienced was his rear view mirror vibrated like crazy … made it hard to see; you could see the vibration in the steering wheel too. I had changed his timing belt/water pump, and upper/lower torque struts at 105K, but didn’t look at the right mount; big mistake!) After changing the right engine mount, the problem disappeared. The mount was torn but only about 3/8ths of the way through. It was separating from the metal insert where the mount bolt goes through.
Lessons Learned: (1) If you are about to change the timing belt/water pump make sure you pull the right engine mount so you can inspect it thoroughly! If there is any damage, change it. You can find a MOPAR mount online for $65.00, so what the heck … just change it while you’re in there. (2) There is a reason the Haynes manual tells you to disconnect the exhaust system when changing the timing belt/water pump (you’ll need to do it for the right engine mount too); doing so give you the ability to raise or lower the right side of the engine so you can pull the tensioner housing bolts (3 each). The tensioner housing must be pulled to change the right engine mount. (3) The left engine mount doesn’t seem to take as much of a beating as the right. With 120K miles on the car it was not torn at all.
Thanks to all of you who have posted pictures and information concerning this problem!
Section Moderator
Joined: Sep 2008
Posts: 5,584
Likes: 7
From: Northern California
Good points indeed sir! I've got the dash vibration/buzz, mirror vibration, steering wheel is like a jackhammer at times and so on. I'm not even going to attempt to "fix" anything until I change the actual motor mount out. I am about 110% sure that's the problem, since I've changed every worn out part in the past year and a half. This post makes it sound very promising as well!
Section Moderator
Joined: Sep 2008
Posts: 5,584
Likes: 7
From: Northern California
Well, the other thing to make sure is that the torque struts are aligned and your car doesn't need the reflash (certain 03+ cars). I know the torque struts will cause vibration if they aren't aligned.