1998 Ford Escort

JOE1979

MEMBER
1998 FORD ESCORT
4 CYL
2WD
AUTOMATIC
12,700 MILES

I have a 1998 ford escort. When in idle the steering wheel vibrates, but runs fine when accelarating. When I turn my ac on or the heat the vibration gets alot worse. Do you have any ideas what could be causing this?

Thursday, August 12th, 2010 AT 5:11 PM

5 Replies

JACOBANDNICKOLAS

MECHANIC
108,244 POSTS

It sounds like a very low idle. What RPM does it idle at? Also, have you checked for vacuum leaks or has the check engine light come on?

Let me know.
Joe

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Friday, August 13th, 2010 AT 9:01 PM

JOE1979

MEMBER
4 POSTS

Im not sure what it idles at, I dont have a rmp gage. I have not checked for vacuum leaks, not sure how to do that. Yes, the check engine light is on. I took it to autozone to have them check why the light was on and they said it was the egr.

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Saturday, August 14th, 2010 AT 4:45 PM

JACOBANDNICKOLAS

MECHANIC
108,244 POSTS

Remove the egr and check for carbon build up in the intake and the egr valve. That could be the entire problem. Also, there are vacuum hoses on the engine. They run from the intake to various components. Many times they dry rot, crack, come disconnected. And a rough idle is what you get. Take a look and see if everything looks okay.

Joe

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Sunday, August 15th, 2010 AT 12:12 AM

JOE1979

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4 POSTS

I cleaned the egr valve, that doesnt seem to be the problem. I also checked for vaccum leaks, didnt find any. I found that my front motor mount was bad. I replaced it, the vibration got better in park and neutral but still the same in drive. I noticed when im in drive idling, when I turn my streering wheel left or right the vibration gets much worse. Do you have any more ideas what the problem is? Thanks for your feedback

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Sunday, September 5th, 2010 AT 11:41 AM

JACOBANDNICKOLAS

MECHANIC
108,244 POSTS

You are placing more of a load on the engine when turning. That causes the RPM's to drop making the vibration more pronounced. Have you checked all motor mounts?