Standard Mustang

[iempwnage]

Changing gears is giving me trouble, between 3rd and 4th the stick vibrates

[vanskelig]

transmission

[tmkf_patryk]

first get the code read

your stick shakes erraticly? check the driveshaft (go under the car and move it side to side or up/down, if it doesnt move at all means its good, if you can move it, it needs new u-joints, and thats is literally 4 screws, pull out, change, regrease

i had that problem in my truck, bought it used off a guy who thought tranny was going so I got a real good deal, 40 dollar fix and its like brand spanking new with no problems at all

much easier to push clutch down? not sure to be honest

[iempwnage]

Thanks for the replies guys, much appreciated!

[tmkf_patryk]

Thanks for the replies guys, much appreciated!

Car was working fine one day but after it was driven last night its giving me problems. So I don't think its transmission either.

Hmmm erratically is too strong a word, what I mean is the gear stick vibrates depending on the load on the engine. It vibrates alot when I go from 1-2000 rpms on 3rd gear.

How do I check the drive shaft? I'm a broke 17 year old with basic car know how but maybe enough to maybe fix this kind of problem? :/ lol

that sounds identical to what i had, the stick shift vibrates most in 3rd and 4th gear



this is not the greatest picture, as its a FWD car, but heres some info:
focus on the cylindrical pipe, which does not touch any tires
do you see the driver door? the red cylinder up until that whitish ribbon closer to the driver door (as opposed to rear door) is where your transmission will be,
the driveshaft is going to be the one between the transmission and your differential, the thicker looking cylinder close to the rear door (and not touching tires) is the driveshaft.
go under your car and try moving it around, side to side, up to down, if it moves just slightly, then your u-joints went.
could be engine/transmission mounts (i checked mine) but it wasnt it, it was the driveshaft

let us know if you need more help/pics/how it is

edit:

what this guy is removing (his left hand holding)
is a driveshaft for a mustang (all look nearly the same)

[iempwnage]

Wow, that's it most likely! I'll have to check in the morning to be 100% sure.

How long do you think I can drive the car before I HAVE to take it to the shop? I'm a bit cash strapped and this is definitely something I can't do on my own. For that matter, how much would it cost to replace the front U Joints in the GTA? How much for the U Joints?

Thanks mate, your pictures were very helpful!

[tmkf_patryk]

Depends on how bad it moves, if it moves alot like my truck (ford ranger 03) then I would rather pay for your taxi then risk it. There are 2 u-joints in a drive shaft. Usually its the front one, if that one breaks off, your driveshaft will fall to the ground and any small hole/pothole it gets stuck in will flip your car over and it will be serious damage.

i bought 2x ujoints, cost me 18.## each at partsource. there are 4 or 5 bolts that you take off, then you can slip it out. I don't know how much it will cost, probably labour will be 1 hour (they round up) so its $90 + parts, probably will charge you more for parts, so a shop will charge you 150 for the job.

I think you can do it yourself without much problem, like the bolts are easy to take off, then you just undo the old u-joints and put new ones in, then hammer them in, then attach grease gun into the hole and press until grease comes out.


so, all in all, check how much it moves, if you can move it around then find someone on kijiji to do it. I am sure it can be done for cheaper. I would do it for you for $50 + parts.

[mr_raider]

How does that explain the CEL?

[tmkf_patryk]

How does that explain the CEL?

I did ask for the codes.... but from personal experience, what he is experiencing is from the driveshaft, and it is easy to check (just try to move the driveshaft) no tools required, nothing (maybe a jack/stands if the mustang is low enough, or ramp to get underneath)

The only thing I could think of is the codes popping something about drivetrain/differential? but I am not sure, it is up to the op to keep us informed

[r1lee]

sorry to hear about your problem, hopefully tmkf_patryk can help you out.

oh the chance to start trolling.. but won't

maybe they bent a valve? that would cause shaking, but mostly at idle.

Did you go on a test drive with them, how were they driving it?

[tmkf_patryk]

sorry to hear about your problem, hopefully tmkf_patryk can help you out.

oh the chance to start trolling.. but won't

maybe they bent a valve? that would cause shaking, but mostly at idle.

Did you go on a test drive with them, how were they driving it?

if a person needs help, i will help them mechanically, If i was in 'sauga I am sure it would take me 30 minutes and determine the problem, but I live across the country.

now on the other hand if there is a debate about engines, dream cars, or the like, you will most certainly get my opinion

[iempwnage]

Thanks for the replies guys!

I went underneath the car, but wasn't able to move anything except for the red rod going along the length of the car in this pic:



I was able to rotate the rod but not much (maybe 30 degrees I think) left and right, but that's it.

My mechanic friend had a look at the car and said he thinks something may just have become unplugged. He thinks the kids must have raced the car and a quick jump start could have made something come loose.

He looked at it for a good 30 minutes but wasn't able to find the problem. I'm going to take the car to his shop tomorrow so he could check the codes.

Side note: my gas mileage has gone to ****, today I drove only 40km but my stang used up a quarter tank.

Also the car is making a weird noise that is coming from the engine and car performance has become terrible, acceleration on it makes me feel like I'm driving a bus.

THANKS FOR THE REPLIES GUYS!

[tmkf_patryk]

if you could rotate but not move it (vertically or side to side) thats GOOD

means your u-joints are good,

the other thing that can cause vibrations are mounts (engine/tranny) but these also would not show an engine light, and its a bit harder to check. If it was an auto it could be the torque converter but yours is stick as you mentioned.

bad performance/acceleration and fuel efficiency sucks? could be blocked cat converter (wouldn't cause your stick to shake though) misfire/bad sparkplugs could cause all of it, but I think you would be able to tell easily (then again, its harder to tell on a 6-cylinder than a 4, but its still pretty noticable)

let us know the codes that pop up

[iempwnage]

Lol I don't know if I should feel sad or happy about that. Happy because I theoretically saved $150 but sad because now who knows whats broken

I did wash the car the evening they took it out. I didn't drive the car after the wash. I used the high pressure motor thing to wash it but I didn't wash under the hood but perhaps water may have leaked into the engine? I spent considerable time washing my car and hood and IDK, I may have dumped 500 litres of water on the hood alone.

My brother denies any wrong doing and says he just took it for a slow spin around the block. I don't believe him at all but still..

Anyways I'll get the codes tomorrow or if I get it fixed I'll let everyone know what was wrong.

THANKS EVERYONE AND Tmkf_Patryk!

[tmkf_patryk]

hmm, well i think the u-joint fix would probably be among one of the cheapest.

There is another person with a similar problem, but he actually washed under the hood and now has the engine light.

I would ask your brother to be honest, did he drive slow and did he see the engine light on or not, and i think the water may have something to do with it, as it depends on what angle you shot it at. You may have got water onto a circuit, but the way hoods are built, with the small gap for opening/closing hood, the gaps are usually above everything that is safe to be dealt with water incase it rains.

Is your mechanic charging you for the search engine light codes? I think partsource does free scans, and I picked up a tool from canadian tire to read them too (60 bucks on sale). Dealerships charge 100 just to read it...