With my car idleing normally, my 2001 idles pretty well. But, with the A/C on, the idle is pretty harsh. I can feel heavy vibration through the steering wheel and seats. It is a four cylinder, so some vibration is expected, and I know that the A/C puts extra load on the engine, so it will vibrate more. I looked at my engine mounts and they look pretty solid. The car only has 68000 miles on it. I was just wondering if there is any way to reduce the load on the engine with the A/C on (besides turning it off!) or reduce the vibrations through the car (besides the engine mounts). Is this normal for anyone who has a 98-02 2.3l? Thanks!

 

I would inspect the belt that runs your AC compressor and the pulley, perhaps one or both is damaged and causing vibration. You could also look into performance underdrive pulley kits which if i understand properly, reduce the load of the AC compressor, power steering, and alternator on the engine because the pulleys are a different size than stock. This option may require a shorter or longer belt. I've only ever read about them... Anyone else have any experience with underdrive pulley kits??