I've had 2 instances of rough vibration with the brake on, at idle:

First Time: 2 Motor mounts were cracked/broken. The wife had had a
wreck a few years earlier and I knew one was broken, but I guess the
stresses finally built up on the other. This vibration was
moderate..smaller compared to #2 below.

Second Time: A spark plug wire was shorting out against the valve
cover(deep well spark wires). When the problem first started I checked
the plugs(nicely coated) and glancingly noticed the scortch mark but
disregared it. The car ran well at speed so. My father-in-law noticed
it later(the wire had really downgraded by the time he saw it)and we
replaced the wires and it worked fine.

Right now I'm investigating rather loud drive train/belt noise(water
pump?)

Good luck!



saylo1234@yahoo.com (HondaAccordManEX) wrote in message news:<7ad5aa83.0311122355.5c0af8c3@posting.google. com>...
> Dear all:
>
> Here are the four cars that I have owned in my short 32 years of
> life: 81 toyota corrola station wagon; 88 toyota corrolla station
> wagon; 96 Honda Accord LX Station Wagon; and now a 91 Honda Accord EX
> four door sedan.
>
> I love this 1991 Accord EX. It is the first car with a
> sun-roof/moon roof that I have ever owned. I love it. I bought the
> car for $900. It has 123,000 miles. For a Honda Accord, that should
> be nothing in terms of miles.
>
> I have gotten a tune up which included an oil change and spark
> plug change. The car runs great when it is on the road. However, I
> do feel a shake when the car is stopped at the stop light. When I am
> at a complete stop and I have my foot on the brake, the engine shakes
> and the dash board shakes at a frequency of about 120 Hertz. But if I
> put the car in neutral, the shake goes away. Does anyone know what I
> can do to get rid of the shake. More important, is it something I
> need to worry about? Is it going to shorten the life of the car if I
> don't get it taken care of? One person said that it may be that the
> cylinders don't have equal compression and the only way to get rid of
> the shake is to buy a new engine--NOT. . . not going to buy a new
> engine!
>
> Other than this little short coming of the shaking at idle, the
> car runs like a champ. It is steady and just hums at 80 mph on the
> highway. I love this purchase.
>
> This car was bought as is and I don't know if the car has ever
> had a timing belt or a water pump changed at all. I am tempted to
> tempt fate and just say that this is a $900 car that I am going to
> take a risk and see how long it will go for without throwing the $$$$
> to change the timing belt and water pump. I figure that the chances
> of the belt going out on me is slim and I am hoping that I will get
> some sort of warning signs if the belt is about to go. In terms of
> risk and benefit, I figure that spending $600 to change the belt vs
> the risk of the belt going at an inopportune time and blowing the
> engine are about equal. What I mean is the the benefit of throwing
> $600 into a this car may not be cost effective. What does everyone
> think of my thinking? Is it sound or is it kinda foolish? I am
> asking about honest opinions and I would like to hear input on this.
> I guess the question is: is it worth it to spend $600 to change the
> belt on a $900 car when maybe the belt it has on it can go for the
> rest of the life of the car as is?
>
> sorry for the long post. I appreciate any input. Thanks in advance.