Hi Jim,

Yes there is a steering shock (or dampener); that was replaced alittle over a year ago as part of front suspension maintenance check.

Update to the car's status:

After the fuel injectors were cleaned, the slight mis-fire (about 45 to 60 seconds) was fixed. This is NOT the problem though, it was just another little issue. This mis-fire was very, very slight. It would barely cause a ripple in a glass of water. The engine ran smooth before, now the response is even smoother. A love that engine!!!

For those you who have suggested the mounts; the tech checked all the mounts and said they were okay (there's more on this, read on). Also, keep in mind, the motor mounts were already replaced last November.

Some more observations about the vibration - in drive, the car idles at 500 RPMs with very little variance. With my foot on the brake, if a nudge the RPMs up to what looks like 550 RPMs, it goes away most of time. However, that throttle point you can tell there's more stress on system than usual. The vibration is gone, but the car just doesn't sound like its usual, happy resting point. Next, there is a slight, gentle shaking around 1100 to 1200 RPMs when the car is in nuetral or park. Finally, the vibration I'm ranting about has a 3 second cycle - while idling at 500 RPMs in drive, the vibration oscillates about 20 times per minute. Meaning, the vibration hits its high and low points 20 times. That's not 20 thumps, it 20 periods. I'd say there is probably about 20 to 30 little pulses in each period. That's really hard to count!!! So, it could be an exhaust vibration transferred through chasis at some point. - This is just my opinion and I'm not tech.

So, what's next...?...

This Monday we will pull one belt off the car at a time to see if the compressor, power steering or alternator are the problem. I doubtful about this because if they were the problem, I think the vibration would be same whether the car was in gear or not. However, we need to eliminate some variables, so what the heck.

Next, the exhaust will be loosened and then re-tightened will the car is on the rack (the type where the tires are NOT hanging in the air). On similars models they have seen problems where exhuast is slightly out of alignment, thus stressing the drive-line and created a vibration. This may have some merit; on occassion a weird vibration/rattling sound comes the tail pipe area when the car is first started (last around 60 seconds).

While they have the car in the air, any other mounts passed the motor will be checked again, and I'm leaning towards replacing them. I want them ruled out 100%.

Next, the wiring harness does not appear to be a problem. The idle is stable, there are no weird kicks or hic-ups under acceleration. However, we're cutting it open to take peek. And, those vacuum hoses are going to be checked.

All this will be done in my presence (they expect 2 hours) and I'll be the one saying whether the vibration is better or worse as we change or check eacy item.

FUN FUN FUN! If anybody has anything we should add to check list, please let me know before Monday. Thanks a million.