surprise: my tranny went out

Ok, so it came back . . . sort of. I was driving home from work when I thought I heard a "pop" come from the center of the car where the transmission is. I pulled over immediately, put it in neutral, hit the ebrake and checked for any obvious leaks. I didn't find any, and thought the noise was all in my head. So I drive home cautiously, parked the car, and let it sit for a few hours until I had to go pick up my friend in the next town. I get to his house and as I'm pulling into his driveway my tranny gives out with no warning, just the engine revving up and no go. I get out, scream obcenities at the car, and push it out onto the street. I have it towed home (another story altogether).

The car sits for about a week.

This morning I borrow my mother's car to head down to my work (an auto parts store) to pick up a case of ATF, some buckets, and a new pan gasket. These gotten, I start my car and get ready to push it over by the garage (I live on acreage). As I'm getting out, my arm hits the shifter and puts it in gear from neutral. The car moves like it should, except there's a rattle coming from inside the transmission when it's in gear. I pull the pan, drain the fluid that looks like crude, clean off the magnet (no chuncks thankfully), and put it back together, and fill to spec, and start the car again. The tranny goes into gear again, and the rattle is still there.

This rattle is the kind that you get when you put a big bolt and a small bolt into a coffee can and shake it. It's only there when the car is in gear (RD321), and not when it's not (PN).

I see 3 possibilities

1: Something in the bell housing broke and is hitting the torque converter when it's moving. Or
2: The tranny fluid pump (I'm assuming it's a corkscrew-in-a-cylinder type) broke and the pieces are hitting the gears as they turn. Or
3: This is all in my head, and I'm not taking right kind of medication.

Any thoughts?

[Rotorflyr]

3: This is all in your head, and your not taking right kind of medication.

j/k,

[oab_au]

Does the noise start when you pull it into gear, or do you have to drive it to get the noise?

Harvey.

The noise starts when I put the car into gear. I've only drove it about 20 feet with this noise (to the other end of the driveway) at idle. It's definately something internal; there was nothing in the pan other than some (read: not alot) metal shavings and very badly burnt fluid. I have a cooler and replaced 8 quarts of fluid less than 15k miles ago; the tranny itself has less than 30k on it. And the warranty is expired.

I'm seriously considering the 5mt swap, but it would be nice to get a couple more thousand miles out of this tranny as it was my only means of reliable transportation.

[oab_au]

Originally posted by TorG0d
The noise starts when I put the car into gear. I've only drove it about 20 feet with this noise (to the other end of the driveway) at idle. It's definately something internal; there was nothing in the pan other than some (read: not alot) metal shavings and very badly burnt fluid. I have a cooler and replaced 8 quarts of fluid less than 15k miles ago; the tranny itself has less than 30k on it. And the warranty is expired.

I'm seriously considering the 5mt swap, but it would be nice to get a couple more thousand miles out of this tranny as it was my only means of reliable transportation.

Well when you pull it into gear, the gear box stops rotating, along with the turbine. So if it makes the noise then, it leaves the pump as the only working unit.

If the oil is badly burnt, the gear set could be affected. This set could rattle, with the box not rotating. I think the box has suffered from lack of lube, may be the oil cooling system was not flushed out before the box was replaced, and the lube passages are blocked.

If you want it to last for a while, don't use 4th gear, stay in 3rd. This will prevent the gear set from working too hard.

Harvey.

[UberRoo]

oab_au's thoughts sparked another idea. I agree that since the noise occurs even when the vehicle isn't moving, the only likely culprit is inside of the bell housing. When the transmission is in gear, there is a differential in speed between the components inside the torque converter. When the torque converter locks up while cruising down the highway, the noise should go away. ...assuming the theory is correct, naturally.

[oab_au]

Originally posted by UberRoo
oab_au's thoughts sparked another idea. I agree that since the noise occurs even when the vehicle isn't moving, the only likely culprit is inside of the bell housing. When the transmission is in gear, there is a differential in speed between the components inside the torque converter. When the torque converter locks up while cruising down the highway, the noise should go away. ...assuming the theory is correct, naturally.

Yes, that could be the case also.

Harvey.

I'm going to drop the tranny sometime this week, remove the torque converter (or watch something fall out when I seperate the bell housing from the engine), and go from there. I plan on figuring out where the pump is after than (when the tranny is out) and seeing if it needs to be replaced. Hopefully that's not a very involved process, cause I've never done anything with an auto tranny besides the filter and draining fluid. Oh, and I put in the cooler, but that's not really a tranny thing.

On second thought, think I'll have a go at it right now with my brother following in case I break down. Can't hurt any more than I think it already is . . .

Will keep y'all informed. And thanks for the input so far.

Okay, so I chickened out. I had visions of the gears binding and the aluminum case exploding from the inertia of the steel gears . . . so I'll probably drop the darn thing tomorrow. Will keep this thread alive and let you all know what's up.

I crawled underneath the car today to see what I'm getting myself into my deciding to drop this tranny when I noticed that there is an opening underneath the torque converter/flywheel where the teeth that the starter catch onto can be seen on the very bottom of the front of the tranny. I don't think this is right. Is there an inspection plate or something that's supposed to go there? It looks as if it's been open for quite some time . . .

[oab_au]

Originally posted by TorG0d
I crawled underneath the car today to see what I'm getting myself into my deciding to drop this tranny when I noticed that there is an opening underneath the torque converter/flywheel where the teeth that the starter catch onto can be seen on the very bottom of the front of the tranny. I don't think this is right. Is there an inspection plate or something that's supposed to go there? It looks as if it's been open for quite some time . . .

That is the way they are. If you look under the RHS behind the front wheel, you can see the back of the flex plate and ring gear.
The under tray would protect that area, if it had one.

Harvey.

My undertray is on there, and It doesn't quite extend that far back. Must be a U.S. thing. On a good note the crossmember seems to be protecting it somewhat.

[oab_au]

Originally posted by TorG0d
My undertray is on there, and It doesn't quite extend that far back. Must be a U.S. thing. On a good note the crossmember seems to be protecting it somewhat.

There are two under trays. The rear one runs back under the transmission.

Harvey.

[wawazat??]

Originally posted by oab_au


There are two under trays. The rear one runs back under the transmission.

Harvey.

Not in our neck o' the woods Harvey

SOA felt it best to do a little cost down by leaving the extended panel off the USDM cars.


Todd

So I'm doing a little checklist of things I need to do before the tranny comes down. Here's what I have so far:

1. Exhaust needs to be dropped
2. Crossmembers need to be dropped
3. Axles need to come out
4. Looks like the steering rack needs to come out as well so the front of the tranny doesn't fall on it.

Also, I'm going to attempt to do this on my gravel driveway. Should make for an enlightening experience.