Engine Shaking - Need advice

Hey, I wanted to ask for some help. My car randomly starts to shake when i really accelerate. At first i thought it was a tranny problem but then i made the very obvious discovery that it wasn't shaking when changing gears just while accelerating.

so as soon as i made that discovery and thought my car wasn't dying i went out and bought a new fuel filter, air filter, PCV valve, and spark plugs (what i considered normal tune up things) I put in the filters and PCV valve and the front 3 spark plugs. The back 3 look hard to get to. Do i just go in by feel or underneath? what is the best technique for you guys? i saw some posts that said in and out in 45 min.

the plugs are AC Delco irridium tip (sp) maybe 91-101? I read about all the copper ones in these threads but already bought these and like the idea of not worrying about them for a while.

On another thread AA mentioned shaking and it ended up being the wires. should i swap them too? milage wise i should at 130k, the new plugs and new filters made things feel a little better but the shake is still there. my gas milage has also gone from abotu 450 miles per tank to 330 (i used to use 87 a sin i know been using 93 for last year or so)

in another bizzare event my driver side door handle broke...it just flops uselessly now. i tookapart the door and found that a small piece of plastic broke off that pushed down to open the door...any ideas?

hekl97riv wrote:

Hey, I wanted to ask for some help. My car randomly starts to shake when i really accelerate. At first i thought it was a tranny problem but then i made the very obvious discovery that it wasn't shaking when changing gears just while accelerating.

so as soon as i made that discovery and thought my car wasn't dying i went out and bought a new fuel filter, air filter, PCV valve, and spark plugs (what i considered normal tune up things) I put in the filters and PCV valve and the front 3 spark plugs. The back 3 look hard to get to. Do i just go in by feel or underneath? what is the best technique for you guys? i saw some posts that said in and out in 45 min.

the plugs are AC Delco irridium tip (sp) maybe 91-101? I read about all the copper ones in these threads but already bought these and like the idea of not worrying about them for a while.

On another thread AA mentioned shaking and it ended up being the wires. should i swap them too? milage wise i should at 130k, the new plugs and new filters made things feel a little better but the shake is still there. my gas milage has also gone from abotu 450 miles per tank to 330 (i used to use 87 a sin i know been using 93 for last year or so)

in another bizzare event my driver side door handle broke...it just flops uselessly now. i tookapart the door and found that a small piece of plastic broke off that pushed down to open the door...any ideas?

In regards to the door handle: Check this out..https://rivperformance.editboard.com/Other-Stuff-c3/Exterior-f12/Door-Handle-t640.htm

You can get to them from up top thats how I did them. Just feel around for them. It might be easier from underneath but I didn't try it like that. Its a pain but it has to be done.

My car had a shaking problem that I thought was the tranny and it just ended up being the wires. With 130k on the clock I would definately try that out.


There was another member that had the door handle problem. I'll try searching around on here and see if I can find the thread about it for you.


Looks like Jimmy already beat me to the thread. https://rivperformance.editboard.com/Other-Stuff-c3/Exterior-f12/Door-Handle-t640.htm

you should change out the wires and if that doesnt help then you may want to try cleaning the MAF sensor. it can make all kinds of wierd things happen when it's dirty.
do you have any CEL's?
wires and plugs first then report back to let us know if the problem is gone.

the ac delco plugs are probably the OEM plugs.. I also read about people having shaking problems because of bad ignition problems.. I too had my door handle break, but to be perfectly honest, buying another handle isn't worth it at all.. you CAN rig something up, using screws and some sort of flat peice of metal.. my advice for that is to take the door panel off, and get the handle itself loose, there's a couple of hinges and connecting rods holding it in place, and pull the handle out a little bit from the outside, then look at how the handle itself, how it works, and what broke.. it's most likely this little plastic piece that is shaped like a U, and bends down to push down on a metal piece which moves the connecting rods.. but just take a look at it and you'll figure something out

Welcome John! For the rear plugs, it worked very well for me to lay out across the passenger fender and reach in behind the engine with my left arm. Removing the wires can be difficult, but mine came off fairly easily. If you lean way over and look behind, you can see the boots, and even the ends of the plugs once you have the wires off. Before taking any plugs out, I'd suggest getting an air hose out and blowing out around each plug in case there's any dirt/debris collected. You don't want to accidentally push any into the plug holes. I had more difficulty getting the new plugs tightened up, than I had taking the old ones out. Just didn't have the same leverage when turning clockwise. I still need to get underneath and recheck the rear plugs.

Ok going out today to get a new wire set, and going to work on the rear plugs. the plugs are identical to the OEM ones except irridium instead of platinum.

as far as the door.. it is exactly what happened to you. once i took the door apart i was dissappointed to find how the opening mechinisim worked. the plastic that pushed down on the metal part just seemed cheap and like it would definatly break. Anyway thanks for the tips i will go rig something hopefully today.

i will look for a link about the MAF and trey to find that if the plugs and wires don't workout, i don't know what CEL are??? the check engine light randomly goes on and off for the last few months but since i put the front 3 plugs in it has been off, which makes me hopeful

thanks everyone

CEL=Check Engine Light, but it's proper term is SES (Service Engine Soon). SES light on is caused by a DTC (Diagnostic trouble code) thrown by the PCM. A quick scan by a mechanic may tell you what the problem is.

Replace the wires for sure. If that doesn't do it, might be the coil packs. Have them tested before replacing. They're not as cheap as the plugs. Goos luck!

I do my plugs and wires from underneath, pull the Riv on ramps and use a long extension, get to them with ease.
Wires can cause that kind of problem, if they are bad it is most noticeable under a load, while accelerating.

i agree with most. The Maf could be dirty. Something similar to this happened on my town and country. the maf ended up being the culprict. After the wires and cleaning the maf, look into the coils.

John, if tune up efforts don't fix it, you might want to read this link about trans shutter. It doesn't happen at shift points, just when giving a little throttle...
https://rivperformance.editboard.com/Supercharged-3800-Tech-c2/Series-I-Engine-Transmission-f13/Transmission-Shutter-t46.htm

ok so i got the wires and swapped out but 2 of the back 3 (i think 4 and 6) i can't get the boots off of. changing out 4/6 plugs and wires did fix the shake though, but i realy don't want to leave a job 2/3 of the way done, any ideas for very stubbourn boots? they are really stuck on there...i tried for 45 min to get them off, I got a blister from trying to twist and pull and scracthed my hand up pretty good. there is a piece between the 4 and 6 that digs right into your hand when tryign to get the 6 form the passenger side

and the check engine light was one and off for a while...on when i started working on the car after i replaced the 4 it has been off every since the new wires went on.

the door i am still waiting till i have time to work on.

i'm pretty sure there's a tool to take them off if pulling on them doesn't work, you could probably rent it from a local auto parts store, if not, then i'm sure they sell one

twist and pull is all i can tell you. maybe some pbblaster to help work on the plug if you can spray it in there.
Ryan is right they do make a boot puller but i dont know if you can get it on the rear boots. local stores will cary it but this is what one looks like-


good luck!

Destroy the old boot if you have to. Yank like heck on it. You do have new wires, right? I've never had the problem you're speaking of, but I change my plugs every 20k. Whether it's a nut/bolt or a plug/wire, seems that when things that are attached for a long time, they don't want to come apart!

I had a problem getting one of the back boots off. It look a long time because you don't really have anyway to pull in the position I was in. Eventually I got it with twisting and pulling though.

If you do it enough, its easy, sometimes you just gotta sit on the engine to get in the right position. or you do what i do, and get rid of EGR, Power steering, stock manifolds, and move all the electronics from their origional location above the manifold.

Removing that engine lift bracket in the back helps a little, imo.

Some big pliars or some vice grips will get the old spark plug wire off. Just clamp them around the boot and try to pull straight out. You might as well clean the maf while you are at it. It is really easy to do it. Just unscrew the maf on a cold engine and then spray it with the special cleaner a couple times. Let it dry and put it back in and plug it in. There is a link to a thread on the Riviera FAQ website that is located in my sig.