Shuttering drivetrain during 1st gear acceleration

Eunos_Cosmo

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Joined
Oct 7, 2007
Messages
6,968
Location
Oakland
Car(s)
'84 Mazda RX7, '12 Mazda 2, '99 Porsche Boxster
My 2 has been doing this annoying thing where the whole drivetrain shutters (not insignificantly) when pulling away in first gear. It begins to pull smoothly but when the clutch is about at the point of full engagement the whole car shutters for a second or two, and it is more pronounced on inclines or situations where the car is under more load. It will do it slightly when shifting into 2nd on occasion, as well. At first I thought it was the clutch, but there seems to be no indication of slipping, and the car has barely 34,000 miles on it. The car had a fairly decent shunt to the front right which necessitated replacing a lot of passenger side components, and I'm sure the big passenger side engine mount was replaced at the same time, or in the least, reinstalled. My question is, how much should an engine move around just by....pushing on it with your hands? I grabbed the oil filler tube and I was able to push it front and back probably 1/4-1/2" each way, which seems a little wrong to me. Could a lose motor mount cause the aforementioned symptoms? I'm about to drive back to TX, a not so insignificant 1200 miles, I'd like to fix this before I leave.

Annoyingly, I have nobody around to help me diagnose. I wedged my phone into the battery tray and recorded this video. This is placing the engine under load by trying to reverse while the handbrake is on.

 
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Yes, one or both motor mounts are shot. One of the mounts might not even be connected.. I can hear metallic thumping?

I'm guessing your shifter also shakes really bad in nuetral (manual), or there are solid thumps when engaging reverse or drive (auto).

Replace the mounts, and have the transmission checked. That much flex is probably bending shit.
 
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Just to follow up. I took it to my dealership (warranty!) and had them look at it. Apparently it was a bad trans mount. Don't know why it broke at 35,000 miles, but it did.
 
It was probably actually a transverse mount, looking at the symptoms. I have known of dealers fixing a transverse mount and then telling the owner it was a transmission mount before because it's easier to understand.
 
Just to follow up. I took it to my dealership (warranty!) and had them look at it. Apparently it was a bad trans mount. Don't know why it broke at 35,000 miles, but it did.

The harsh ride of the Mazda 2 probably didn't do it any favors. The stiffer the ride, the sooner the rubber mounts shatter - especially driving on Detroit potholes. :p
 
The harsh ride of the Mazda 2 probably didn't do it any favors. The stiffer the ride, the sooner the rubber mounts shatter - especially driving on Detroit potholes. :p

The ride isn't that harsh. You've said this often before, but it's actually quite civil in my opinion.
 
The ride isn't that harsh. You've said this often before, but it's actually quite civil in my opinion.

Apparently your motor/transmission mount disagrees. :p A number of people I know that have driven or ridden in both have commented that my F-350 has a better ride than a Mazda 2... which considering that the F-350 rides like the old-school one ton 4x4 it is, pretty much says it all.
 
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Apparently your motor/transmission mount disagrees. :p A number of people I know that have driven or ridden in both have commented that my F-350 has a better ride than a Mazda 2... which considering that the F-350 rides like the old-school one ton 4x4 it is, pretty much says it all.

And I bet they were driving rental cars with granite-spec 1000 treadwear tires. It honestly feels no different than a Honda Fit or Kia Rio and actually rides far better than my brother's Focus ST and a friend's Fiat 500.
 
And I bet they were driving rental cars with granite-spec 1000 treadwear tires. It honestly feels no different than a Honda Fit or Kia Rio and actually rides far better than my brother's Focus ST and a friend's Fiat 500.

Nope. Mazda 2's at Town North and Freeman Mazda, respectively, and not the stripper/fleet spec either. Both of the last two people to make the comment were women who thought they wanted something in that class. Both thought the ride was terrible - and remember, girls come with two more accelerometers than guys do. :p
 
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