I have a 1993 Honda Accord that idles very rough. I recently replaced the clutch. When I got the car back I noticed when starting out a rough shutter that shook the whole car. I returned it to garage thinking it was something with the new clutch and he told me the rear major motor mount was bad. I had that replaced and the shuttering went away but I am left with a rough idle that is driving me nuts. When I turn on the AC it makes it 5 times worse. Could it be the AC compressor going bad?

 

get them to check that mount again or take it to a diffrent shop. Sounds like you still have a mount issue
edited for a tpyo...


Modified by MooGoCow3 at 12:32 PM 7/5/2006

 

maybe IACV (is that rite?)

 

when you say top check that rear mount, what does that mean? the major symptom was this terrible shuttering when I'd pull out in 1st gear, that is pretty much gone, now its the rough idle at low speed or stopped that is so noticable.

 

sorry just to check it. i hit an extra key.
With another person to help you. sit in the car, start it and place it in gear. With one foot firmly on the brake press the gas pedal about half way down. do this in drive and reverse. if the engine moves more than an inch in either direction you still have a mount problem

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by MooGoCow3 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">... do this in drive and reverse...</TD></TR></TABLE>It's a manual tranny, since she had the clutch replaced. Check for a bad engine mount a couple different ways...

Grab the valve cover & shake it. You shouldn't hear or feel any klunking. The engine should be held in place with some flexibility, but you shouldn't be able to move it much.

Or, if you trust yourself... Set the handbrake. Hold your right heel firmly on the brake, use your toe on the accelerator. Let out the clutch & use the gas like you're trying to start, but instead the engine is straining against the brakes. Have someone stand (to the side ) and watch for excessive movement of the engine.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by MissLeesa &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">... when starting out a rough shutter that shook the whole car...</TD></TR></TABLE>This part almost sounds like the clutch is shuddering. That can be caused by getting something (oil??) on the clutch disk. It can also be caused by improperly breaking in a new clutch. Either way, it's not related to the shaking while the car is simply idling.

But a bad engine mount can cause it all. Deal with that first, then see what's what.

 

So you guys are telling me if could be one of the other engine mounts, there are 3 all together, I replaced the rear mount. How do you improperly breaking in a new clutch? Is it possible that it could be spark plugs and wires? For some reason I have had to replace broken or burnt wires 2 or 3 times in the last year or so.

 

I came home from work and checked the plugs, when I pulled the wires out of the valve cover I discovered oil on 3 of the 4 wires. What does this mean and what is causing it???? Please help!!!

 

First, the clutch...
You should start out sorta gently for the first hundred times you start from a complete stop. That prevents the new clutch disk from being glazed by the heat. It's sorta like new brakes glazing the rotors unevenly; that acts like 'warped' rotors.

Mounts:
There's only 3? I don't have a '93 Accord but I figured most have 4.
If one is real sloppy, the engine can move around & hit the underside of the hood. That can damage the plug wires.

Oil in the plug tubes:
There's a round rubber seal around each tube, they can be replace easily along with the valve cover gasket. Some years have another seal farther down, which is harder to replace. But you can do the top seal & see if it quits leaking. Oil leaking onto the plugs & wires can cause misfiring; another reason for rough running.

 

Will I damage anything if I continue to drive it until I can have gaskets repaired? (would only be 4 or 5 days) I have paid attention and as far as I can tell I am not burning any oil, I don't see any colored smoke coming out tailpipe so I will assume that is a good sign.

 

Take a rag & try to dry the oil out of the spark plug tubes; it'll take awhile to leak more into there.

Loose engine mounts can allow the plug wires to slam into the hood any time, just be gentle while driving.

 

Thanks Jim, I noticed even wiping oil off of plugs last night helped it run slightly better this morning. I am a gentle driver, my poor Honda is 13 years old, I treat it with respect, just don't want to give up on it, but don't want it to continue to be a a money pit...

 

I'd worry about the engine mounts first. But it should be OK for a couple days.