I would have tried a search but the search engine is down. I searched at camaroz28.com and came up with nothing.

I already know that I am having transmission problems. It slips when upshifting and on a long trip (about 400 miles) I had a problem with it not shifting out of 1st. It is drivable for now, but it will definately need some work soon. I'm not sure if the transmission is causing the current problem or not. Read on...
About 5 years ago, I lost traction while making a turn (it had been raining) and did several spins before running my back passerger side tire/wheel into a median. The car went on top of the median. Luckily nobody was hurt and the car didn't flip. I had to replace a couple bent wheels (i've upgraded to IROC wheels since) and the right axle. This may or may not have anything to do with my current problem.
The current problem? When I apply the slightest amount of throttle, I get a noise from what sounds like the rearend or at least from the rear of the car. The noise is hard to describe. It is a vibration I guess, lasting just a couple seconds. It happens at any RPM and at any speed (I say that but I haven't noticed it below maybe 30 MPH). The noise is not coming from the cheap plastic interior panels or from the junk in the trunk. It is something mechanical. It is not the transmission mount. i've broken enough of those to know what a broken mount is like. Also, I have been getting some uneven tread wear on the back tires. Could I possibly have a bad rear suspension componet which could cause the rearend to be misaligned? Could it be the transmission? Is the rearend on it's last leg? I know I don't have a whole lot of information, but any thoughts would really be appreciated. My car used to be in perfect condition but things have added up over the past few years. i'm trying my *** off to get it back to showroom condition. Any help is appreciated greatly.

 

Anybody?

 

TTT

Anybody have a clue?

 

What kind of mount do you have for the motor,trans,rear,troque arm mount? Polyuerathane or stock rubber?????????

 

The transmission mount is an Energy Suspension polyurethane mount. I was having some vibration problems and I found out here that if you take out the extra plate that comes with it the vibration will go away. The extra mount screws with the angle.
As far as I know (I have had the car since 2000), all of the other mounts are the stock rubber-type.

Thanks!!!

 

first mistake is mixing poly bushing with stock rubber. They dont work well together. 2nd, your not supposed to leave out that upper plate on the poly tranny mount, theres a reason Energy suspension tells you that you must use it.
I had that mount and just recently took it out. if you wanted to keep it then you should shim down you tranny crossmember the width of that top plate, thats what i had to do to mine and it really didnt help much as far as vibration.

when i bought my '84 it had 65,000 orginal miles and all orginal and that bird drove so smooth, i mean real smooooth.... The bigest mistake i ever made was replacing ALL of the bushings with polyuerthane from stock. The car ran so rough and the body took suck a beaten
For the past week or so Ive been replacing all of the bushings back to stock rubber and i can tell you it makes SUCH a diffrence. I had the most ANOYING vibration, for a year or so, and could never figure it out. I DID EVERYTHING, even balanced the drivshaft twice and changing the rims. Replacing the tranny mount back to stock made 90 percent diffrence, right away.
Polyuerathane bushing are OVERRATED. dont get me wrong though, they can take a beaten and perform well and ill stand by that but for comfortability. NO GOOD. Not on third gens.

Another question, you never told us what tranny you have. So?
Chang that tranny mount first and let us know.

~Vinny

 

Thanks for the info. I will try a rubber mount and see what happens. My transmission is a 700R4. I have heard many people say that poly causes problems, so I guess it is worth a try!

 

I have heard many people say that poly causes problems, so I guess it is worth a try![/QUOTE]



I 2nd that, poly causes problems. Ive noticed that ALOT on our thirdgens.
But i cant knock then too much. I just finished my restoration on my '79 Trans am and do have Poly bushings from front to back and surprisingly, my '79 rides really smooth and responces really well. For now. keep in mind though, its a diffrent kind of uni-body.

Also, now that you've mentioned that you have a 700R4, auto, let me pass on a tip a drivshaft guy gave me. He told me that inside the tail shaft of the tranny, where the driveshaft slides in, theres a bearing kinda looks like a rod or main bearing surface and that bearing tends to wear out on autos, when driven hard, and that would cause alot of chatter and vibration. Mostly on take off. Im not sure how to check it without removing the driveshaft but if i had to guess, id say while your under the car just shake the driveshaft up down and back and forth. Judge for yourself, if theres alot of play id check it out...... Let me know how you make out...

~Vinny

 

I swapped back to a rubber mount. It took forever because I couldn't find a nut. Anyway, it made no difference. I couldn't tell any change in any aspect. Maybe next I'll check for things like bushings (maybe the one betwen the body and the coil spring) and u-joints. Any other ideas?

 

Sorry to hear the tranny mount did nothing.

i went back and re-read your problem.

Now, when you say "slightest throttle" and "vibration" exactly what do you mean?

Slightest throttle from start? slightest throttle while cruzing, 55 and up? or both?

Vibration like humming? vibration like chatter, is if the whole car is jerking/jumping? what speeds and RPM?

Also, is your torque arm bushing polyuerathane as well? How are your u-joints? Motor mounts?

~Vinny

 

It only happens when the car is already in motion. I can be coasting or just maintaining a steady speed. If I give it a little gas, I hear noise from the rear of the car (I could be wrong but it sounds like it's coming from the passenger side). It sounds like something is jumping around, like something it out of whack. The past few days, the problem has gotten worse. The noise used to only last a couple of seconds, now it can last as long as 7 or 8 seconds. It stops as soon as I take my foot off of the gas pedal. Last night I noticed something else. When this is happening, the car seems to hesitate, like the power just isn't getting to the wheels. This kind of makes me suspect u-joints or differential problems, but I'm not a mechanic so I really can't be sure. The transmission does slip. Could this all be caused by the trans? The vibration is kind of like a chatter I guess. I can feel it throughout the car, just a little, but the main problem is in the back of the car. I have no idea about RPM because my tach has the typical thirdgen Camaro tach problem. I have no other polyurethane bushings anywhere on the car. Thanks for your help

 

Yeahh this is a tuffy without getting to look at the car.
As far as it being a tranny only problem, im not sure. Im no tranny expert. But i do recommend checking out that driveshaft input bearing i was talking about. The driveshaft guy told me it would cause simular problems like this.

From what you just explained in your last post sounds like a few things could need atention. It could be, starting from front to back, torque arm bushing badly worn-(25% chance), U-joints badly worn-(65% chance), U-joint straps bad bent or loose, need rear fluid, ring and pinion gears badly worn or chiped or posi-unit going bad (80% chance), rear axle bearing(s) going bad (50% chance). It could be one or a combonation of these.

Also make sure the rear brakes arent hangging up. You might also have to much play in the driveshaft wich would also indicate a worn ring and pinion.
To check this you need to jack the rear up and support it on jack stands, chock the front wheels, put it in nuetral and then turn the drive shaft back and forth. Notice the distance it takes for the drive shaft to start turning the wheels. I dont remember exactly how much play is ok but I think 1/2" is good. GOOD LUCK MAN

~Vinny

 

something else you may not have considered is that impact may have bent the housing of your rear end causing a wear issue in the wheel bearing on that side .. over time it would have gotton worse and if the housing is misaligned (even a slight amount it will cause noise) and abnormal wear I have seen this happen alot in cars that have been crashed in one way or another we would do the body work and a few weeks to months later they would come back with noise and or unusual tire wear .. the tire wear is the tip off ...

 

Did you ever fix this problem