On Monday, September 24, 2012 6:55:31 PM UTC-6, Ashton Crusher wrote:
> On Fri, 21 Sep 2012 15:01:02 -0700 (PDT), greybuck >
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> wrote:
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> >On Friday, September 21, 2012 3:13:21 AM UTC-6, Ashton Crusher wrote:
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> >> On Thu, 20 Sep 2012 13:27:20 -0700 (PDT), greybuck >
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> >-------------------------------snip----------------------
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> >> It's possible that if one of the balance shafts broke it just means
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> >> that the front half is still rotating while the back half no longer
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> >> is. Other then the vibration it might not really cause any further
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> >> problems. I don't think either of the half's can go anywhere. If the
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> >> engine is otherwise running the same then it seems unlikely any of the
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> >> gears or the belt is broken or messed up. The balance shafts are
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> >> there to make the engine "seem" smoother, I doubt they affect
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> >> longevity one way or the other.
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> >I am really begining to doubt that it has anything to do with the engine.. It is like someone has installed a glass pack muffler on the car. My brother did this on two of his cars, and the vibration is consistent with what I remember.
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> >Can a bad catalytic converter cause this? No check engine light has come on.
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> >KM
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> I suppose it's possible a baffle in the muffler broke loose and is now
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> vibrating.

I finally gave up, and took it to the dealer. It looks like the timing belt tensioner that was replaced 20,000 miles/3.5 years ago went bad, and it was flopping back and forth, trying to keep the belt tight, and causing the vibration in the process. Now, I get to deal with the cost of having this done, when the parts should have at least lasted as long as the originals.

KM