Ive got a very loud tapping, Or clicking, Coming from the Converter.

It appears to be originating inside, because I have inspected the entire Area and Nothing is contacting that shouldnt be.

It is RPM dependant, And Seems to have originated after I bottomed out on a speedbump ( d'oh ). I Have the inspection Cover Removed, And Initially thought I had damaged the converter or Flywheel, But upon inspection they Don't show any sign Of Impact.


But It definately started the instant that I hit it, and I have driven several hundred miles since and its not getting any better


Anyone Have any ideas ?


Thanks Alot, I Suppose Ill track down a junkyard Converter If I don't get any better suggestions, I can't afford a Stall Now

On that Note, what would be The best Vehicle to get a converter Out of, one with the Highest stall ? This is a 700R4 Keep In mind.


Thanks, as always.




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60 Ranchero - Project ( Money Hole )
85 Sport Coupe LG4 - Daily Driver
Reader's ride -> My Ride

Just another Hot Rod kid, or thats what they all tell me.
Livin' the Stereotype

 

I think Corvettes had the highest stall converters, F-bodies were second highest.

 

Corvettes did for sure have the highest stall. Problem is there are not too many junked Corvettes in junk yards. also only certain year 'vette converters will work because of the different input shaft spline count. Sorry but I cannot remember the years for the proper 'vette converters. Check a corvette enthusiast website if you want.

 

To answer your question, it sounds like you have a cracked flexplate. It can have an invisible crack that will causing tapping and a nasty vibration from the area near the TC.

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91 Trans Am WS6
Bright White
5.0 TPI auto
Flowmaster 3" 2 chamber catback
Trans Go shiftkit
2000 stall converter

Built on Wednesday

 

Good point MrJ, something I hadnt Considerd.

By flexplate, You mean Flywheel/ring gear, right ?


what a PITA, haha But Im glad you mentioned it, I would have hated to spend an afternoon swapping converters, Only to Discover the noise still there.


EDIT: Just rememberd something I discoverd Today.

The Converter Wont Lock Anymore. Now this May be because My manual switch is Not working properly, but It is something to throw into the equation.

Still Think its the Flywheel ?


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60 Ranchero - Project ( Money Hole )
85 Sport Coupe LG4 - Daily Driver
Reader's ride -> My Ride

Just another Hot Rod kid, or thats what they all tell me.
Livin' the Stereotype

[This message has been edited by Bort62 (edited April 30, 2001).]

 

You know I was thinking about this question all day, all I can think of beside the flexplate is maybe you hammered that speed bump so hard you knocked a fin loose or right off the inside and it just keeps hitting other fins as the converter turns.

 

Your problem sounds identical to mine: Rattles, shakes, engine-speed dependant, no lock-up.

FWIW, I've been driving it like that for 17k miles, even ran it all last summer at the track. Bugs me a bunch, will get it fixed this summer, but probably won't fly apart on you or quit - if it's like mine.

You said yours is loud - mine's kind of muffled, so maybe it is a little different.

I'm having mine rebuilt locally. Would be interesting to know what they find inside.

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82 Berlinetta, orig V-6 car, now w/86 LG4/TH700R. 2.93 limited slip. Cat-back from '91 GTA, Accel HEI SuperCoil. AMSOIL syn lubes bumper-to-bumper. Daily driver, work-in-progress (LG4 w/'87 LB9 block, ZZ3 cam and intake, World 305 heads, Hooker headers & y-pipe, 3" Catco cat).
57 Bel Air, my 1st car. 0.030 over 396, 9.7 CR forged TRWs, Weiand Action+, Edelbrock 1901 Q-Jet, GK 270 cam, Magnum rockers, Jacobs Omnipack, 1-3/4" Hedders & 3" Warlock header mufflers, TH400 w/TCI Sat Night Special conv & Trans-Scat shift kit, 3.08 8.2" 10-bolt w/Powertrax, AMSOIL syn lubes bumper-to-bumper. Best 15.1 @ 5800' Bandimere w/open diff & slipping tranny.

 

Thanks For the suggestions Guys. Im gonna Swapout the Flexplate wednesday or So, Cause it alredy had damage to the Ring gear.

If the noise continues, Its the converter I guess, and ****it, Ill deal with that later then

Sure makes my car sound Ghetto Tho hahaha

Ill pull the converter out and shake it around, see if it clanks haha.


and 57, Its loud enough that with the car idleing, You can hear it over the exhuast ( wich is real ****in loud ) and In the car, at highway cruise I cant hear it in the car, But You can outside. if your standing like 50 feet away from the front, You can hear it along with the motor idleing.

If you stick your head under the car, its really really loud.



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60 Ranchero - Project ( Money Hole )
85 Sport Coupe LG4 - Daily Driver
Reader's ride -> My Ride

Just another Hot Rod kid, or thats what they all tell me.
Livin' the Stereotype

 

It may be the pump in the trans. I've heard these things buzz, click, whine... and it sounds like its the tc, but if you replace the flexplate and tc with no luck, it could be the pump...

 

wow and i thought i was the only person with this problem... i noticed mine is temp dependent, it only does it when its colder than 40* out... wierd **** man... just sounds like an rpm dependent tapping... goes away at higher speeds, comes back at low engine speeds

Steve

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86 Firebird, LG4, t-tops, 2.73 open rear, SLP 3 inch cat back exhaust, catco cat, 1 inch carb spacer, Fiberglass cowl induction hood, Formula wheels, vette servo.

Current Plans: Waiting on: rear end parts- upgrading to 373's, 28 spline axels, slp zexel torsion posi, and a disk brake setup. Also have lowering springs, front struts, and hopefully a new mild 350.


My Webpage- Battle of the birds, My own Thirdgen Page, still under construction, http://www.geocities.com/soares711/index.htm

88 Firebird Formula- deseased 2/9/99- 305 TPI, SLP 3 inch exhaust, SLP Intake runners, SLP cam, 3.45 BW disc brake posi, WS6, NOS, and all that good stuff, 13.8 on the motor, 12.89 on NOS and slicks! Hit by what else!?!? a FORD EXPLORER!!!!!!

 

Hey Damn Man, Mine seems to get better as the car warms up a bit.


Weird, hahaha



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60 Ranchero - Project ( Money Hole )
85 Sport Coupe LG4 - Daily Driver
Reader's ride -> My Ride

Just another Hot Rod kid, or thats what they all tell me.
Livin' the Stereotype

 

I've had the same annoying clacking in my car for the last 20k too. I looked for it everywhere... except the converter. I didn't hit anything though, just noticed it one day.

I'll be changing the converter in the next month or so and I'll post what I find here.

 

Bort62 PLEASE READ! Back when I had my '84 z28 it suffered from a similar problem. When I would start off from a dead stop I would hear a rattling sound from between the engine and tranny. I don't ever remember hitting anything (but that doesn't mean that I didn't, Ha Ha). The problem wasn't temperature related either. It was also an automatic. Once I reached cruising speed the sound went away. Well, it turned out to be one of the flywheel-to-torque converter bolts (it had worked loose). When a car starts off from a dead stop, you are putting more of a load on those bolts than when the vehicle is cruising at a constant speed. It's one of Newton's Laws-an object in motion tends to stay in motion, an object at rest tends to remain at rest, unless acted upon by an opposing force. When you're cruising along, your car will tend to keep on moving therefore, you're not putting as much a load on the drivetrain as when you just start off. That's why (in my opinion) the noise quits once you're moving. Before you lay down good money, you should check the torque on those bolts (that is if you already haven't). You can also put a dab of thread lock for some extra assurance.

As far as a higher stall converter. I know that the converters from the Buick Grand National had higher than normal stall speed (because of the turbo). Now, those trannies in those cars were the TH2004R if I'm not mistaken. I don't remember if the later models came with 700R4's. I'm not sure if the converters from the 2004R are compatible with the 700R4, though. You may want to look into it.

Hope I've been of some help. This is a wonderful and useful site isn't it? This is my first response; What do you think?

 

Y'all really got me thinking. In my last reply I mentioned that temperature didn't play a part with the problem that I had with my car. Well, we don't get a lot of cold days here in South Texas; maybe that is why I didn't notice it. I've been chewing on why the ambient temperature could be affecting the problem noise. Well, I've got a theory. It's about metal expansion/contraction. As you all know when metal is cold it contracts. When metal is hot it expands. Bort62 said that the problem lessens when the car warms up. Well, here's what I think is happening. When it is cold outside or the car hasn't been running, the flywheel is cold and the bolt holes' tolerances are larger, but when it warms up the tolerances tighten up. What that might mean is that if the bolt is a little loose, when the flywheel warms up the holes shrink (We're talking about needing a micrometer to check that small of an expansion/contraction) and tighten their grip on the bolts. So even if the bolt is a little loose, when the flywheel warms up, it heats up enough to put a tighter squeeze on the bolt. What do you think.

Please no Mr. Wizard or Einstein jokes. HaHa.

 

Good Call Coach!

I went over to engineboys house last Night, and It turned out One of the bolts was a tad on the Loose Side.


The interesting thing was, We still Thought it was a cracked flexplate. When I started up the car to leave, It still made the noise.


But This morning When I started it up to drive to school... No Noise ?


All day, No Noise.


Worse than a Woman, I swear!

Im about to Go crawl under there, and see In the light of Day what I can see, But Its very strange....


Ive also got some other weird scrapping and rattleing noises, that seem to Be coming from the Ypipe shakin around like a mofoker, We shall see.




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60 Ranchero - Project ( Money Hole )
85 Sport Coupe LG4 - Daily Driver
Reader's ride -> My Ride

Just another Hot Rod kid, or thats what they all tell me.
Livin' the Stereotype

 

As per my last reply. I may have the situation backwards. It may be that when the Flywheel is cold the bolt holes coud be smaller than when the flywheel has warmed up. If this is true, then when it is cold the holes would put more squeeze on the bolts; and when it warms up the bolts have a little more room to move. Just trying to figure this thing out. Forgive me; I'm not a scientist. :-)

 

haha, Well Theoretically as the Flexplate warms up, the Holes would Shrink, As the metal surrounding the Holes expands into the space left by the hole.

In Turn, as the Bolts warm, They themselves would Expand, tightenting the Joint.




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60 Ranchero - Project ( Money Hole )
85 Sport Coupe LG4 - Daily Driver
Reader's ride -> My Ride

Just another Hot Rod kid, or thats what they all tell me.
Livin' the Stereotype

 

As Ed Mcmahon would say to Johnny, "Yes! You are correct sir!" I could also argue that the flexplate and bolts could be made up of different grades of steel, each with it's own expansion rate. Hmmmm. That's food for thought. But I digress, we're getting into a whole other story.

 

Hmmm, I think when a metal plate with holes in it is heated the holes get larger.

 

I could easily be Wrong, thats just what Seems To make since to Me.

Any mettalurgists In the audience ?




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60 Ranchero - Project ( Money Hole )
85 Sport Coupe LG4 - Daily Driver
Reader's ride -> My Ride

Just another Hot Rod kid, or thats what they all tell me.
Livin' the Stereotype

 

could be the front pump on the tranny.

Also the holes get larger when heated.

James

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1985 Z-28 305 TPI 223,000+ mi., Original Eng.,T-Tops,Blue/Grey
STB,SFC,GW "wonderbar",145 Speedo

 

Allright, Someone wanna explain that, Cause I don't get it... Wouldnt expansion Cause the holes to get smaller ?


I don't think its the Pump, I Think it was that loose bolt )



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60 Ranchero - Project ( Money Hole )
85 Sport Coupe LG4 - Daily Driver
Reader's ride -> My Ride

Just another Hot Rod kid, or thats what they all tell me.
Livin' the Stereotype