new skid plate now vibration

50harleyrider · Feb 17, 2014

I just put a new Evolution skid plate oin my B5.5 and now have a bad vibration when I put it in reverse and load the suspension. It really vibrates bad. I watched the engine tilt forward when all this happens so I suspect the front motor mount is causing it. The two oil hydraulic side mounts were recently replaced but not this one. Should I go ahead and replace it since the car is at 200k and see if that fixes it? At this point it seems the logical thing to do as the plate was installed per the instructions and doesn't appear to be hitting the engine. It's really a nice plate and I hate to remove it especially with all the ice on the roads now.

thundershorts · Feb 17, 2014

I don't think the front snubber mount would control the engine tilt you describe, its possibly the trans mounts either being too soft or the engine mounts being aftermarket not being correct oem ones.

50harleyrider · Feb 17, 2014

Got the mounts and Thor plate from Bora. Aaron doesn't sell crap. I'm gonna have to look closer and see what mounts are causing this tilt.

auntulna · Feb 17, 2014

You may need to do some selective cutting on the plate. I have the panzer, and it rubbed against the horizontal bar (stabilizer?) on both of my Passats.

50harleyrider · Feb 17, 2014

Thx-I'll check there and see if the Thor is doing the same thing. It had a couple of 1/2" nylon spacers for better tranny cooling which I used to lower it in the back. I'm gonna call Aaron at Bora later today for his input.

Tom_B · Feb 17, 2014

My panzer plate will vibrate/rattle if it's not put on in just the right position. Might also look at the thread below - related to the panzer plate but still may help. There's a torque mount adjustment you may try without altering the plate. Easy adjustment and it worked for me but my plate is still sensitive to how far forward it's mounted to stop the vibration in reverse. Good luck in any case.

http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=258984&highlight=vibration

50harleyrider · Feb 17, 2014

Are you talking about the mount on the front of the engine? vwztips told me to loosen it and try moving it up. Looks like that's the correct fix in the link below too. Thx so much Tom B.

Tom_B said:
My panzer plate will vibrate/rattle if it's not put on in just the right position. Might also look at the thread below - related to the panzer plate but still may help. There's a torque mount adjustment you may try without altering the plate. Easy adjustment and it worked for me but my plate is still sensitive to how far forward it's mounted to stop the vibration in reverse. Good luck in any case.

http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=258984&highlight=vibration

Tom_B · Feb 17, 2014

50harleyrider said:
Are you talking about the mount on the front of the engine? vwztips told me to loosen it and try moving it up. Looks like that's the correct fix in the link below too. Thx so much Tom B.

Yes it's on the front, sounds like one and the same. Give it a try, hope it works.

db52282 · Feb 20, 2014

50harleyrider said:
I just put a new Evolution skid plate oin my B5.5 and now have a bad vibration when I put it in reverse and load the suspension. It really vibrates bad. I watched the engine tilt forward when all this happens so I suspect the front motor mount is causing it. The two oil hydraulic side mounts were recently replaced but not this one. Should I go ahead and replace it since the car is at 200k and see if that fixes it? At this point it seems the logical thing to do as the plate was installed per the instructions and doesn't appear to be hitting the engine. It's really a nice plate and I hate to remove it especially with all the ice on the roads now.

I installed the same skid plate on my Passat a year or so ago. Had the very same problem. Adjusting the front bumper did little to no go since the engine seemed to tilt and move the plate. Probably what is happening is it is contacting with the skid plate and causing the vibrations. I had to cut my skid plate some and finally installed rubber grommets between the front bolts to lower the plate slightly in the front.

I changed my motor mounts and trans mounts but still had the vibration. You will probably have to do something like what I described otherwise it will continue to drive you crazy. It did me.

Hope that helps.

50harleyrider · Feb 21, 2014

I bought a new front bumper mount from VW (only $18) and will install it this weekend along with checking the vertical adjustment on it and report back. It's not very dense material so I should have replaced it when I did the MMs. I can see why these mounts can be problemmatic. Got to fix it or take the plate off. I'm gonna glue rubber on the plate too for sound deadening. Wish me luck.

50harleyrider · Feb 24, 2014

Finally, the new bumber mount is installed, beat a couple of places down with some heat and a ball pein hammer, cut the top off the cutout off for tranny cooling and I have no more vibrations. Hopefully, the vendors who sell this Thor Evolution unit will upgrade their installation instructions.

sirpuddingfoot · Feb 24, 2014

The rest of the B5 world calls these "snub mounts."

50harleyrider · Feb 25, 2014

sirpuddingfoot said:
The rest of the B5 world calls these "snub mounts."

Not VW. I wonder what they call the actual bumpers that hit other cars?

Montezuma · Feb 28, 2014

I had the same problem and has mostly been remedied with washers and I believe a longer screw. Bora said they had not heard of the problem but it was REALLY bad.

50harleyrider · Mar 3, 2014

Yeah,definitely should be addressed by Bora and the other vendors. I had to use the big plastic bushings that came with the plate too and the installation instructions said to use them if you wanted more transmission cooling.

50harleyrider · Dec 17, 2014

Mine is still vibrating. I'm replacing the tranny mounts Friday and if that doesn't stop it, I'll try some rubber grommets in the front bolts of the Thor skid plate. If that doesn't work, Thor will be in the attic! He's sure been a troublesome turd.

1854sailor · Dec 17, 2014

Not sure if the mounting locations are the same, but my Panzer Plate came with some thick washers to use as spacers at the rear mounting points. After I had some work done on the car I had a vibration. I checked, and the shop hadn't put the spacers in when they installed the plate. Got some new washers, slipped them in, and the vibration went away.

vwztips · Dec 17, 2014

Weird. I have a plate from a car I bought and no spacers or anything and no vibrations.

50harleyrider · Dec 18, 2014

vwztips said:
Weird. I have a plate from a car I bought and no spacers or anything and no vibrations.

Agree-weird. That's why I'm doing tranny mounts Friday. I'm also gonna lower the front of the plate too with more rubber to space it down. With all new OEM motor mounts,snub mount and tranny mounts, hopefully this will go away once and for all. If not, back to the plastic. A skid plate is a bit of overkill on a B5.5 as the oil pan doesn't protrude near as much as an A4 anyhow. I just hate those crappy oe plastic ones-always cracking and breaking loose. If it weren't for the sound deadening they provide...

50harleyrider · Dec 23, 2014

Tranny mounts replaced Friday. They were in bad shape. The webbed parts had all broken loose. Replaced and glued rubber onto the plate at all contact points. Vibration was less but still some at the passenger front door card idling in drive. I took it off and made sure all the plastic mounting plugs were in properly and most of the vibration is now gone. I recently had a GLX V6 that I reconstructed and was driving and I guess a TDI is gonna have some vibration when compared to a gasser but at least the noise is gone from the door card vibrating and I can live with it. No problem at all when driving. Time for another 100k.

new skid plate now vibration

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