2001 L200 vibration while accelerating

[jsudweeks]

I have a 2001 Saturn L200 Sedan with about 52k miles on it. The car has developed a pretty bad vibration above 45MPH while accelerating. Once I let of the throttle the vibration goes away. I checked the CV boots, and I don't see any cracks or tares in them.

Does anyone know what might be causing the problem?

thanks

[unkle bik]

Any number of things.

Bad balanced tires. (cheap fix)
Out of alignment.
Bent rim.
Tread seperating.

The L-Series are known for vibration problems. A shim kit may be required to properly align the car.
Do a search here under "vibration."

BTW, welcome to the forums.

[L200Pilot]

Yeah, I've had similar problems. A wheel balancing fixed it right up. $20 at the dealer.

[jsudweeks]

Thank you both for your quick replies.

I got new tires about 3 - 4k miles ago, so they were recently balanced, but I guess it's possible that a weight fell off.

But what makes me think that tire balance isn't the issue is that I can get the car up to 75MPH, then let off the throttle and the vibration is gone. I would think that if a tire is out of balance or a rim is bent, the vibration would be there on or off throttle.

I think I might have the alignment checked. Thanks.

[Neville]

I just went through the exact same thing with my 01 L200. It turned out that the CV boot was fine, except for a very small (less than half inch) tear in the back of the insided boot. This had let out just enough grease to run one of the three bearings dry. In order to find the tear, I had to pull the whole shaft. Luckily, I work for a string of salvage yards, and had a used shaft delivered to the house that day for $25. I'm sure you could find one similarly priced in your neighborhood, and the replacement is ridiculously simple.

Aaron

[L100]

Being that your vibration starts at around 45 mph and only seems to occurr during acceleration, I would look at the motor mounts. I bet that is your problem. 52k miles is a little early for that problem to set in, however. Have them checked.

[maddog2040]

I have the same exact car with the same exact problem of vibration. I jacked up the car and noticed the motor actually moves back and forth when spinning the front wheels forward in back. I am guessing that the engine should not move back that easy. Are engine mounts a known issue with the L-series? What mounts should be replaced? I also noticed more vibration from the muffler lately not sure if this is related.


My Car:
2001 L200 2.2L with 110,000K on it.

[maddog2040]

Bump.

Has anyone replaced motor mounts on an L series. What do you look for?

[Robsinno1]

Does anyone have a video or advice on changing all motor mounts on a 2000 L-series Saturn?

[ultravioletnk]

Originally Posted by jsudweeks

I checked the CV boots, and I don't see any cracks or tares in them.

cv joints still can wear out even if the boot isn't torn, it's not as common but it does happen. i have that problem on janus right now, no torn boots but the passenger's side cv is vibrating pretty severely, especially from a stop with a full car. i really need to throw in one of my spare cv axles!

you can inspect the cv axles by jacking up the front of the car (both wheels off the ground) and putting it in gear with the engine running. the cv axles should turn nice and smoothly with no runout, if there's runout (wobbling back and forth) there's your problem.

[Rj 2000 LS2]

Rotate your tires and see if the vibration problem changes.

[pierrot]

Originally Posted by Robsinno1

Does anyone have a video or advice on changing all motor mounts on a 2000 L-series Saturn?

What model Saturn do you have? Please specify the engine size and transmission type.