Engine shake - help!

[BAO]

Took a jump into modding, and having issues. I have spent a fair amount of time on these forums but haven't seen this issue pop up.

My engine shakes, sometimes, on half throttle and full throttle. It doesn't shake every pull, but it does shake about half the time when I give it a little throttle around 30mph in 3rd or 4th gear, and it shakes a little less than half the time when I go WOT. Sometimes the engine shake is a mild annoying vibration, and sometimes it feels like a major, bad vibration.

I did recently have a reputable local installer put in JA airscoops, a jb4, denso plugs, an addw1 dual inlet OCC, injen intakes, ark GTF springs, and a rear eibach swaybar. I also went from the stock 18" wheels to some stance sf07 20".

I have had the installer check the jb4 connections, and Terry himself has said my logs look fine. The installer gapped the densos properly. I had a professional alignment shop verify and set everything after the springs were put on.

A few other random notes for everyone mod-savvy, not sure if these will be helpful or not.

- The AddW1 dual catch can came with two blown check valves. I had them replaced. The shake was there when the check valves were blown, when the installer plugged the intake (ie disconnected the occ), and after the replacement check valves were installed.

- I ordered a set of sway bars, but the front Eibach sway was out of spec from the factory. The bushings were not to size, which resulted in lateral movement on the front sway. Eibach confirmed this was an issue and is sending a new one next month. Installer put the stock swaybar back on the front, and the alignment shop didn't notice anything with the stock sway after reinstall.

-The JB4 or the OCC (or something else) caused a few CEL the first few weeks these mods were on. It threw a p0068 (which we thought was JB4 caused) and a p0507 (which we thought was the OCC check valves, per this thread Vacuum Leak? Check your catch can). I have cleared all those codes, disconnected the JB4 for a week or so, reinstalled it myself with install pictures sent to Terry Burger who verified the connections looked OK, and everything has been running with no CELs since then.

- My own novice guess was an engine mount, but the installer checked and said that looks Ok, based off of some engine revs at park in the shop (no vibration during standing revs).

-Based off of all that above, installers newest guess is that the injen intakes are transferring the engine vibration to the chassis, given their setup.

Any ideas? Has anyone ever had an engine/chassis shake before with densos, jb4, and injens? Any way for me to run some tests at home or take to a local shop before I head into the dealer?

 

[BAO]

Forgot to mention. My impression is that the JB4 0-60 logs are not the most accurate, but I'm having trouble even cracking into the 4 second range with the above mods. Best jb4 log 0 to 60 time has been 5.025. I'm AWD, too.

 

[ChaneRZ]

Be sure to take all the mods when you go to the dealer.

 

[Deviate]

Be sure to take all the mods when you go to the dealer.

Not to interfere with the questions from OP ..The springs and sways should come off too?

 

[nhcowboy28]

Plugs.

 

[BAO]

On plugs- Gaps? Bad overall? Something else? Densos do seem to be the weak link in the chain.

 

[RogueIV]

Where did you buy the plugs? Please tell me it wasn't Amazon.

 

[BAO]

The plugs came from a reputable vendor.

 

[General_Vodka]

make sure all your coils are plugged in and in the right spot.

 

[nhcowboy28]

The plugs came from a reputable vendor.

Wish?

 

[General_Vodka]

not gonna lie hks is a much better choice for plugs

 

[ChaneRZ]

Not to interfere with the questions from OP ..The springs and sways should come off too?

Nope, just engine bay mods.

 

[oddball]

The JB4 performance metrics just use the phone's GPS, so yes, it's not very accurate. Get a draggy if you're really interested.

Here's the most important factor - what map are you running? And does the shake still happen with map 0? Map 0 disables the JB4 algorithms - it pretends it's not there. If it happens on map 0, then you have a hardware problem - likely a vacuum leak or plugs. If it only happens on a higher map, then it's an octane issue. Note that only maps 1 and 2 are OK with premium pump gas. Map 3, 5, and 7 need e85 mixes and, frequently, testing to verify ethanol levels.

 

[Kamauxx]

I'm going to go against the grain here and blame your new wheels/tires for the car shaking.

 

[hummus]

- The AddW1 dual catch can came with two blown check valves. I had them replaced. The shake was there when the check valves were blown, when the installer plugged the intake (ie disconnected the occ), and after the replacement check valves were installed.

(Is this a dual inlet can, or two cans? If it's a dual inlet single can, I would still be suspicious but most of what follows is based on a two-can system. If it's a single can dual inlet, disregard the green text in brackets.)

[
Two check valves? A second check valve sounds like trouble to me: best case scenario, one of them is redundant. All other scenarios could cause problems: any valve in the wrong place, or facing the wrong direction.

The only place you should have a check valve, if at all, is between the PCV side catch can and the intake manifold, allowing flow toward the manifold but stopping flow back into the can. If you have another (working) check valve between the can and the PCV valve stopping flow back into the PCV, technically that wouldn't hurt anything, but it is also not accomplishing anything productive.

Any check valve facing the wrong direction on the PCV side could prevent the EGR from working, and crank case pressure will go up. In a newer car, a dipstick popped up from its sealed position would indicate this.

Any check valve at all on the breather side can is going to interfere either with pressure evacuation (if preventing flow out from the breather port) or crank case pressure breathing/equalization (if preventing flow into the breather port).
]

If you received two faulty check valves out of the box, that would be a red flag to me that they are possibly using substandard parts. Given the choice between running with a questionable check valve--when would a replacement fail if you can get two bad ones in the same batch?--or running without one at all, I would personally go without any, or purchase some reputable ones.

Does the engine vibrate if the catch can(s) is bypassed, i.e., factory plumbing configuration?

 

[hummus]

Thought about this some more. Unless the plumbing for this kit has some sort of fancy routing with a t-junction, I am having a hard time seeing where a second check valve would go. If I understand how it works, you don't want to limit the flow from the breather port in any one direction--it normally flows both ways depending on load/boost conditions.

By any chance do you have a picture of the catch can installation?

 

[BAO]

(Is this a dual inlet can, or two cans? If it's a dual inlet single can, I would still be suspicious but most of what follows is based on a two-can system. If it's a single can dual inlet, disregard the green text in brackets.)

[
Two check valves? A second check valve sounds like trouble to me: best case scenario, one of them is redundant. All other scenarios could cause problems: any valve in the wrong place, or facing the wrong direction.

The only place you should have a check valve, if at all, is between the PCV side catch can and the intake manifold, allowing flow toward the manifold but stopping flow back into the can. If you have another (working) check valve between the can and the PCV valve stopping flow back into the PCV, technically that wouldn't hurt anything, but it is also not accomplishing anything productive.

Any check valve facing the wrong direction on the PCV side could prevent the EGR from working, and crank case pressure will go up. In a newer car, a dipstick popped up from its sealed position would indicate this.

Any check valve at all on the breather side can is going to interfere either with pressure evacuation (if preventing flow out from the breather port) or crank case pressure breathing/equalization (if preventing flow into the breather port).
]

If you received two faulty check valves out of the box, that would be a red flag to me that they are possibly using substandard parts. Given the choice between running with a questionable check valve--when would a replacement fail if you can get two bad ones in the same batch?--or running without one at all, I would personally go without any, or purchase some reputable ones.

Does the engine vibrate if the catch can(s) is bypassed, i.e., factory plumbing configuration?

It is the dual inlet single can design. Both check valves failed on install, and both replacement check valves failed. I'll be moving to a dual can design instead, but I have not had confirmation from the manufacturer that they will refund /replace yet.

The installer did cap/plug the passenger side intake for the time being. I believe the driver side intake hose was left as is. The installer has expressed these types of reservations about dual inlet designs with check valves, which is why I'd prefer to go to the two can set up.

 

[BAO]

I'm going to go against the grain here and blame your new wheels/tires for the car shaking.

I was hoping for this outcome, which is why I did an alignment immediately after my 20" wheels were put on yesterday. Problem still existed after alignment. It's also a shake only on acceleration, it does away immediately after I let off the throttle.

 

[hummus]

It is the dual inlet single can design. Both check valves failed on install, and both replacement check valves failed. I'll be moving to a dual can design instead, but I have not had confirmation from the manufacturer that they will refund /replace yet.

The installer did cap/plug the passenger side intake for the time being. I believe the driver side intake hose was left as is. The installer has expressed these types of reservations about dual inlet designs with check valves, which is why I'd prefer to go to the two can set up.

Is this a 3.3T? Plugging the passenger side (intake manifold) would be a strange choice if so.

 

[djerickd]

broken motor mount?