My 2000 Xterra V6 - 3.3Liter all of a sudden started 'vibrating' at idle. The RPM's look good, everything looks good, except the whole vehicle shakes. Its more than a minor shake too, its like the engine is off balance. I was thinking engine mount but are there any other possibilities? Is there a way to tell for sure if it is an engine mount that is the problem?

Seems to smooth out once the engine warms up. So perhaps not an engine mount? Any other ideas?

I was wrong about the warming up. It vibrates at idle all the time. I found info on another forum. Looks like it is likely the drivers side motor mount. Thanks for the help guys.

Ban him! Ban him I say! Traitor! Traitor! Traitor!

(Really, I'm glad you found the problem. Wish it could have been something easier to fix though!)

-G

The other forum was wrong . The TRUE problem is that one of the fan blades broke off. I'm guessing the bottom part of the shroud became tangled in it to make it break off, because that part is missing also.

Another lesson: Don't order the fan blade from rockauto.com. It looks like it fits, except that the fan blades are backwards.

LOL


Its funny how easy it is to hear a description of a problem as a vibration, and assume it something that allows the vibration...instead of assuming that its an impact noise instead, despite how its described.

Whenever people describe a problem to an online audience, they sometimes do not realize that its the same as calling your mechanic, and asking him to diagnose the issue over the phone...instead of bringing it into the shop, etc.

Online people will take a crack at the issue, but you do have to take it all with a grain of salt.



The blades are typically reversible, so they can be used in a push or pull mount position....so you can typically reverse it to what you need.