Car is shaking, idling funny, sounds weird. help.

[1993longbeachg20]

okay so i drive to in-n-out for someone n go back to the store their working at. everything is normal with my car. i get into it and it starts up and starts rumbling like its an sti. im like wtf? i put it in reverse and its kinda jerky. then i start down the street and its really slow compared to normal and it sounds soooo much like a scooby. and my gas mileage is really terrible.

anyone know whats wrong? i have an auto tranny with 90,000 original miles on the tranny. im due for an oil change but idk if that would be the problem.

1 of my friends thinks its either i have an exhaust leak which is making my car sound like that. or he thinks my tranny is done.

Another 1 of my friends thinks its the tranny. says ur tranny shows no signs of it breaking and u'll start it up and itll be out of no where. or he thinks it could be a motor mount came off or something and its not lining up right.

My car's idle isn't steady. if u look at the rpms u can see it going up and down too. and its shaky at idle also.

[jjacob]

My car's idle isn't steady. if u look at the rpms u can see it going up and down too. and its shaky at idle also.

Okay, so your last statement here tells you a lot. It is not a motor mount and it is most likely not your transmission. Neither of these would cause an unsteady idle.

I would look for the following first:

Disconnected or split vacuum line.
EGR valve stuck.
Ignition problem: Bad wires, plugs, cap, rotor.
Plugged gas filter.

[GDub26]

yea when was the last time u had a full tune up..start there first b4 u go blamin the trans or motor mounts..

[jasezero]

My car does that a bit too, though its not too terrible...ive noticed it a lot more lately, especially when its cold out and the engine is warming up on a cold day.

[Hadrien]

My car's idle isn't steady. if u look at the rpms u can see it going up and down too. and its shaky at idle also.

Are you getting a CEL "Check Engine Light"? That sure does sound a lot like a misfire or a bad sparkplug/wire and/or a vacuum leak. I would get under the hood, plug your spark plug wires out and check inside the wire end for corrosion and shine a flashlight into the plug well and see if the spark plug tip is corroded or if there is any oil in the spark plug well.

[1993longbeachg20]

so last night i was driving and my Brake light came on and my ebrake was down. so idk why that happened. same thing with my Anti-lock brake light. and my battery light came on. and i just got a new battery less than a year ago. And i was driving home and my speakers started to cut out. and when i got home i turned off my car. then put wiper fluid in and went to turn on the car to see if it would spray and my car started then died right there. tried to again and it wouldn't turn over.

looks like its time for that evo i've been waiting on. didn't think id get it til like Nov. 07 but Jan. 07 might be the month. tryna get a used evo8

[jjacob]

I believe what you describe is what happens when your alternator fails.

[Hamzer11]

so last night i was driving and my Brake light came on and my ebrake was down. so idk why that happened. same thing with my Anti-lock brake light. and my battery light came on. and i just got a new battery less than a year ago. And i was driving home and my speakers started to cut out. and when i got home i turned off my car. then put wiper fluid in and went to turn on the car to see if it would spray and my car started then died right there. tried to again and it wouldn't turn over.

looks like its time for that evo i've been waiting on. didn't think id get it til like Nov. 07 but Jan. 07 might be the month. tryna get a used evo8

Its your alternator. Not really a big deal but you gotta replace it.

[jjacob]

By the way, your alternator is probably causing your poor idle.

[jasezero]

I just had the same lights come on and my alternator went...most likely its that.

[1993longbeachg20]

okay. so, checked the plugs and 1 wasnt sparking. so i changed all 4 of the spark plugs. then the alternator was bad so we put a new one in. the belt was also bad so we put another 1 in. started up the car and its doing the same exact thing. The battery light and Anti-Lock brake light went out. but the Brake light stayed on.
I put it in reverse and it jerks back and forth. and it runs the same.

my friend told me his Ebrake light came on with his car and he said it was his transmission and he had to get a new one. my other friend told me the same thing.

me n my uncle did evertying today and he thinks its something with a fuel injector. thinks its not pumping fuel into the cylinder. We thought maybe it was a wire for the spark plug but as soon as we put the new ones in and checked them they were all sparking. so not sure whats wrong. any ideas?

[1993longbeachg20]

anyone know whats up?. as of today. its still doing the same thing and the brake light is ALWAYS on.

[gomd3]

check fluid level for brake, something simple but it can trigger it, I had a low level due to a rear caliper seal going out. fill it up a little and see if the break light goes out. Otherwise if the abs light is on then there's an abs malfunction. try reading codes off the ecu if you can...

[Scott]

I'm guessing it's something other than simple spark plugs, sure you may have changed the plugs, but that doesn't necessarily mean that all 4 are firing now. Check to see if they are all sparking again, then test the plug wires. Take off the cap and inspect, look at the rotor as well. It sounds like you've got an ignition problem, which causes your car to "sound like a subby"

[echandler]

could be bad gas....

[LiVEs4DRiFT]

where in long beach are you?

im home for the holiday break down here in long beach...have you checked your ECU to see if its throwing up any codes?

let me know what part of LB your at...maybe i can check it out for you

[1993longbeachg20]

i used to live in long beach, now i live in huntington.
and yeah i checked the wires. before a plug wasnt firing. so we put in new ones. and we checked the plugs after we put them in and all 4 were firing. so i dont think its the plugs or the wires.

[LiVEs4DRiFT]

no no....not your wires...your ECU...you could do the test to check what engine code it is throwing...

its when you turn that screw on your ECU and you count the blinking LED and it lets you know what engine code issues it has...


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[dennisjai]

1. brake light comes on - did you check your brake fluid?
2. jerking + rough idle COULD be mount issues, order motor mounts and tranny mount and get it replaced.

[kid94_G20_92]

jerking and stuff huh...another option could be a bad injector...i replaced mine a while back and it was causing jerky, shitty, almost dying idle....much worst in reverse