Nissan Repair: Car Vibrates At Stops, nissan altima, nissan repair

Question
Hey...

I had a question about my 1997 Mazda 626. I know this is a Nissan Repair section but I have a similar problem to one you answered a while back...
http://experts.about.com/q/Nissan-Repair-825/Nissan-Altima-vibration-stop.htm

Transmission: 4-SPEED AUTO OD TRAN 2W FWD
Engine: 2.0L DOHC 4-CYL ENG

Basically all this started 3 days ago... my car was working perfectly fine I went to school... came home... no problems... went to work parked the car and about 2 to 3 hours later I start the car and I noticed the whole thing shaking (vibrating).

The shaking becomes noticeably more when I come to a stop and seemed to ease off when going at higher speeds (30-40+). I managed to get the car home however I had to pull over a few times because the engine light started to blink. After turning off the engine for a little bit the blinking light seemed to stop and than it would start up again and I would pull over again.

Anyway I opened up the hood and noticed a burning smell like rubber but really couldn’t locate where it was coming from I also smelled oil/gasoline. Also the temperature monitor on my car was at the midpoint section, not sure if that’s normal or not.

Also the vibrations are noticeably as soon as you start up the engine, they are light when the gear is at park and you notice it a lot more when in drive. It is the most noticeable when you press the brakes or are driving in low speed, and it seems to ease off when you put the car in neutral. I did a bit of research online which led me to believe it might be the motor mounts however I am no longer sure at this point.

I just want to make sure of what it could be before I go to the mechanic. I’m hoping you can help me out.

THANK YOUUUU!!!!!


Answer
Sean,

You could have a broken motor mount.  But, I would be looking for a bad sparkplug or wire too since you say you smelled burnt oil.  I would go and check all the sparkplugs and wires.  Then have someone start the car so you can look under the hood when it is put in drive and reverse.  The engine will jerk and you should see which mounts are soft or broken.  There is one down below so you will have to put the car on a lift or jack stands to see how it looks.