98 SL2 shakes when accelerating....?

My 98 Saturn SL2 (74K miles) has recently started to slightly shake/jitter
when I accelerate (usually only until 3500 RPMs). It's sort of hard to
explain, but I would best describe the feeling as similiar to what it
would feel like if the tires were slipping occassionally (although that is
obviously not it). I know very little about cars, but my dad used to be
an automechanic (70's). He has checked all the simple obvious things
(along with engine compression), but isn't familiar enough with newer cars
to investigate further. Any ideas would be appreciated.

 

Bad tires, bent rim, wheel/tire assembly not balanced, bad bearing,
are a few possibilities.

Ken

 

mine is doing the same thing. with our other car, it was the fuel filter.
anyone know where it is?

 

Driver's side. Down low on the firewall.

 

The words "when I accelerate" would eliminate the tire.
Fuel delivery, spark, motor mounts, or transmission would be more
likely.

 

Mine would have this hesitation at low rpoms, like the motor didn't have
any pep, and then 'kick in' as slightly higher RPMs. You could feel it.

New sparkplug cables fixed it.

 

It depends on what he means by that. If it happens at a certain
speed, and depending on where/how he drives, then he might
only experience the condition when he transitions through
that speed when going from a lower speed to a higher speed.
(IE, when he accelerates) If a problem happened to me at 55mph,
I would only experience it when accelerating because I don't
normally drive on 55mph roads. I drive on slower roads or
on the interstate (75mph limit) so I only hit 55 when accelerating.
I never actually sit at that speed.

Definite possibilities. He should rev the engine through 3500 rpm
in park or neutral to see if it might be motor mounts or spark.

-DanD

 

Not if the problem is from belts breaking. The symptoms can be very
variable.

Ken

 

That can be eliminated or moved by a tire rotation. If its felt in the
steering wheel its likely the front tire(s). If its felt only in the
seat its most likely the rear tire(s). Simple diagnosis to make.

 

The words "when I accelerate" would eliminate the tire.
No, years ago when I had a jeep I would get some serious shaking due to a
tire being off balance. The shaking only occured with in a certain range,
any speed below or above that range and I would be fine.

Mark.

 

No, years ago when I had a jeep I would get some serious shaking due to a
tire being off balance. The shaking only occured with in a certain range,
any speed below or above that range and I would be fine.

Mark.
[/QUOTE]

Dammit people. Like the post said during an "acceleration" it shakes.
NOT SPEED RELATED! The clue is that it shakes under "LOAD". If it shook
at a given speed or increased shaking with increased speed I would say
yes its the tire but he said at about 3500 RPM it shakes. And as I also
said in another post that can be ruled out or narrowed down by a tire
rotation.

 

Dammit people. Like the post said during an "acceleration" it shakes.
NOT SPEED RELATED! The clue is that it shakes under "LOAD". If it shook
at a given speed or increased shaking with increased speed I would say
yes its the tire but he said at about 3500 RPM it shakes. And as I also
said in another post that can be ruled out or narrowed down by a tire
rotation.[/QUOTE]

Extra strong coffee this morning? ;+)