!!!!huge problem!!!!

[fordkrazy]

ok im pissed!!! i just bought this car in may and it seems to be a piece of $hit!!! it has been stumbling a good deal and it had a rattle which i was told was the belt tensioner....replaced that to a tune of 150 bucks...today it started making another weird rattle and tonight right as i pull in to my apartment complex i hit the gas a little and the engine just revs!!! so i put it in neutral and back in drive and it still does it....while making a horrific noise i might add. well i coast into a parking space and now the engine is still running but making a horrible grinding sound like thin metal grinding. i turned it off and now it wont start.....it sounds and feels like the engine isnt even turning!!....any one else had this prob. ??? so much for the previous owners taking care of it....man its clean though....well any advice will be GREATLY appreaciated

 

[IAmTodd]

I had that same grinding noise with mine a while back, Except it was when i put it in reverse, i was on a hill, let it coast forward a little bit, went right in, no problem since, sorry to hear about your luck, could be the tranny going(not good) but good luck all the same!

 

[Naga Sadow]

Sounds like your shift linkage broke loose. Same thing happened to me a couple of days ago. I don't know if yours would be the same as mine but in the engine bay, adjacent to the long steeering thingy on the big round thing sticking out of the firewall, the shifter attachs to a cable that goes to the transmission. Mine popped loose off of a socket I'm still figuring out how to reattach it. Ironically for me, this happened when I was dropping off my truck for a lift. I had to limp all the way to the truck store in 1st gear. Because I tried to shift from 1 to D while going at about 35

 

[fordkrazy]

thanks naga sadow...i hope its that. ill check it out right now

 

[fordkrazy]

shift lingage is ok...
the heat and air guy at my apartments who rebuilds cars listened to it and says that it sounds like the flywheel got sheared off from the crank....CRAP!!!
has this happened to anyone else? please reply w/ some advice

 

[GR899V8]

If it's an automatic, how about the torque converter?

 

[Jag]

This sure sounds symptomatic of a cracked flexplate.

Had one go bad on a '88 Ranger. Cost about $600 to fix, which included a new flex plate, torque converter, labor, seals, etc.

 

[fordkrazy]

well i got the starter off and the flywheel just spins.....so im going to have to take out the tranny to see if its repairable within a reasonable cost. is there a key or anything on the crank that can shear off? if there is its sheared.

if the crank is ruined then im just going to trash the whole thing and get a v8....half of me is hoping its sheared and half isnt...lol

well thanks for all the responses

 

[fordkrazy]

ok...i just talked to the dealership and they said the liklyhod of the crank ruined is low....they think the flywheel cracked all the way around the bolts...

so now my question is when i remove the torque conv. do i have to worry about air getting in the system...im at the grand ol 80k mark for the tranny and would hate for an air bubble to send it to the grave.

do you guys think i should go ahead and replace the TC while its apart? there is a guy on here selling HD torque converters for like 125 bucks.

 

[Alec]

If you're already removing the tranny it would be a good time to replace the torque converter, install a shift kit, and inspect it.

 

[fordkrazy]

where do you think i should get the shift kit....and what does it involve taking apart....i know the old school trannys you just installed a new valve body seporator plate and some heaver duty springs for the valves. i would love to install a shift kit but ive always been a little scared of autos cause of all the little pieces.

any way... any advice and tips to ease my nervousness will be appreciated.

 

[verysweepy]

Im glad i'm not the only one with this problem, happened to me back in april and I fixed it and it did it again just yesterday, i'm in the process of fixing it now but sure would like to know what causes this to happen, someone told me I might have a vibration problem in my engine.

 

[fordkrazy]

yea i had a vibration like a month before and i was told by the dealer that it was the belt tensioner....i replaced that and seemed to be better but it still shook pretty good.....well recently the engine was shaking quite a bit at idol and i thought the balancer was going out....now i dont know what to think.....verysweepy....does yours shake at idol? maybe the balancer in ours is bad and causing the flywheel to break.

 

[verysweepy]

My truck has a slight shake to it at idol but not to bad. I just got my truck back together las night and it runs fine now, the old flywheel is another story though when I got it off it had four diffrent cracks coming out from the center, it was pretty bad. Lets just say im getting really good at pulling the tranny. As far as whats causing the problem im still stumped, the guy at napa said my tranny mount might be bad causing it to bounce around to much and put pressure on the plate but seeing that the tranny and engine are bolted together I dont see how that could happen. Good luck.

 

[chowchowjp]

Fordkrazy

you said at the start of your thread you had an engine rattle....... can you please describe it..... we have a rattle that the mechanic thought was the belt tensioer but once it was replaced it was not the cause...... the rattle is rather strange sounds like an exhaust clamp a tinny ting rattle but its comming from the engine......

 

[fordkrazy]

sorry all...i havent updated this thread.

chowchowjp....that is exactly how mine sounded....however i can remember back to the exact time that my flexplate cracked. it was a loud thump from the govener kicking in at about 110....i dont think it did what it is supposed to do.

the ford dealer said that it was the belt tensioner....well it turns out that the flexplate was cracked....it finally gave loose and totally stripped off. I ended up replacing the flexplate, and while it was apart i had a custom torque converter built by www.protorque.com , and on top of that the pass. side header-to-flange bolts were seized so i got bbk headers.....well $1,500 later its back in service and i like the new converter and headers(except the headers fit is less than quality but they were a 100 less than the jba's) all i need now is intake work and ill be making some pretty good hp.

 

[chowchowjp]

fordkrazy... thanks

thanks for your info...... not that we wanted to hear that the noise was the same as we described..... WHERE do we go from here.......................
did u get a severe vibration?

 

[fordkrazy]

well i wouldnt call it a vibration....more like a shake at idol.....but it was pretty bad. sorry to hear you have the same noise...does it make the noise at idol? if so crawl under the car while its running and see if you can hear it in the bell houseing. I heard mine making noise in there but the dealer said it wasnt there....i ignored my better judgement.

but if it is coming from there its up to you what you want to do.
it could be a variaty of things...TC, flexplate, front pump. all of which will require the same amount of labor if you take it to a shop. if it were me, i would just drive it until something went (unless its the pump but i highly doubt it, you would get akward performance due to uneven/low line pressure in the tranny)

here is a rundown of the parts that i bought for my job...you may or not need all of what i did but i would recommend doing at least the flexplate and the TC

Flexplate $90 with over night shipping from www.rockauto.com
Torque Converter- $500 with overnight from www.protorque.com (dealer wants 280 for a stock one...this one is custom finned, a larger friction area for the clutch, fully brazed fins, stainless input shaft, and machine welded under water...a real high quality part
pump seal- $7 local auto store
labor- $350 dealership(they have great labor just poor diagnostics)
bbk headers- $350 i would get the jba's...they fit better and are emissions legal. they are about 100 more though.

 

[chowchowjp]

Well the rattle noise seems to be the same sort u had, but ours is comming more from the front of the motor, around oil filter onwards. and its low in the motor. We have a vibration but its more at 2500rpms rather than at idle.... at idle it sounds wonderful except for the rattle... just wish I had a crystal ball to tell me the problem,lol

 

[fordkrazy]

which motor do you have? if its the sohc then i would say maybe cam tensioners.(there is a TSB out on them and i think a recall on some years) other wise you may have a bad rod bearing or oil pump. but i would definately say its internal....again i would drive it until it failed because the labor is most of the job and you may get another 5k out of it until it fails. there is no sense in tearing it down blindly to look for a rattle.....that will be almost as expensive as when it finally goes and they may not find the problem, then when it does fail your out the labor again to tear it down.