hi guys just bought a magna but found a problem later. its all fine when driving slow. but when accelerating then theres massive vibration for 3-4 secs before it really goes. doesnt matter what gear it is in. its automatic, so maybe something wrong with transmission? checked oil, color was not too bad and ca 3mm above max. its 96' magna altera automatic 3ltr v6. any thoughts?
cheers

Suspension could be causing vibration at speed or possibly drive shaft related (CV joints)

Hows your tyres pressure and tread condition?

Are you getting rough idle when stationary?

.....

I'd expect vibrations when vibrating... But that's just me! :P


Yep, just you. . . . lol

I would start by looking at the engine mounts.

Suspension could be causing vibration at speed or possibly drive shaft related (CV joints)

Hows your tyres pressure and tread condition?

Are you getting rough idle when stationary?


Its not that kind of vibration. Just when accelerating, specially at very slow speeds. More speed, not that bad anymore but still can feel that somethings wrong. But it changes gears very smoothly. Idle is fine. Just sometimes when braking fast, i can feel the first gear going in very rough before stopping.
Takeoff is a problem. Can go very quietly only.

oh man just saw my title. yeah i meant vibrating when accelerating lol

I have had a vibration in my TR which was attributed to out of balance tyres. It only happened when under load (acceleration)
Happening when accelerating at about 30-50kph. The vibration would disappear at speeds over 50kph

Do you know when was the last time they were balanced and aligned? I see you mentioned that this is a purchase you just made.

Uneven tread wear?
Thats a easy indicator if this causing your vibration trouble

I'd got with checking that first before thinking its transmission related.

oh if u'd drive it you'd know its transmission or engine. since engine revs up nicely, must be trans. i'm just not too good explaining. maybe u have another word for that in english. like massive vibration or shaking. like its not propperly in gear when taking off fast.

Drive shaft.

Ok.

More like slipping gears or not holding in gear properly?

Your right because im not driving it i cant tell you exactly.

My thinking is to check the basic stuff first then move onto the other more complex things (like gear box etc)

Its always great when its something easy to fix that is found to be the problem than when its something that would cost time,effort and labour to fix.

As a stab in the dark based on what your reporting as symptoms perhaps there is trouble caused by worn splines in the drive shaft CV joint. Anyone here think this maybe?

How many km's has this car done?

Drive shaft.

I just saw this post from Madmax after i typed my post.

If its drive shafts that are the cause then its probably cheaper and easier to get fixed than replacing the entire auto trans.
Cheaper still if you do it yourself (purchase new front drive shafts)
However time consuming and a little tiring replacing yourself. Took me 1/2 day to replace mine last year.

Sounds to me to be more like engine mount(s) allowing the engine and transmission to move about when the pedal is floored. Driveshafts would be noticeable on corners.
I'm not sure exactly how you would check them on a Magna apart from visually, but I'd guess you could grab the inlet manifold and try and move the motor or place a jack under the engine and lift it slightly to see if it moves independantly of the body - use a piece of wood between jack and sump.

oh this might help - when the car is doing this its not able to accelerate. its trying to go but just wont for few secs. so thanks guys for guessing but its just is the gearbox or something related to gearbox.

I have had a very similar issue. Okay so basically you put your foot down but instead of accelerating the car just shakes yes for few seconds yes?

I really doubt its the gear box........ Two things to look at at.

Your distributor cap & rotor, get a mechanic to look at it see its worn, that causes this issue.

Also malfunctioning or dirty MAF sensor (sensor that measures your airflow, located right after the air filer box), take it out & clean it with special MAF cleaner spray (dont touch it) you can get it from autobarn for about $25. if its borken then try getting second hand one, normal price is about $20-$40.

if you car struggles to accelerate (as in it feels like its missing), its nothing to do with your drive train (i.e wheels, drive shafts, CV joints & so on), id pretty much rule out the gearbox aswell

Didn't you drive the car before you bought it?? :S

It would help others to disgnose the problem if you were more specific with the description. Does the vibration change when you manually change gears (ie is it engine speed or road speed related)? Where & how do you feel the vibration? - Steering wheel, throughout the car? Where do you think it can be coming from? Is it worse when cornering or when going straight? etc