Dear god my car is eating itself

[geldartb]

Are your torque converter bolts loose?

Rod bearing noise get louder under load... this is a no load situation so I highly doubt its a bearing. It could be internals in the transmission though, but I'm sure if that were the case it wouldn't be shifting all that right...

I also put my video's on Photobucket.. That way I don't have to listen to the ass holes of the world making comments on my car.

I should post up my most recent vid, Just to see what happens...

i threw one of mine up there awhile back and its not doing bad as far as comments. 3 comments all good but its only been up since july.
i threw it up for the hell of it. i figured if it became a problem i could just delete it from youtube anyway.

but to the topic starter. have you drained the oil to see if theres anything that comes out that shouldnt be there before you pull the pan.

[LeftVentricle]

Alright, so I changed the oil. Nothing amiss in the old oil, so I don't feel the need to drop the pan. The sound did not go away, even with the heavier oil, leading me to believe the engine is in fact fine. While it was running, I again crawled under there to determine the source of the sound, and narrowed it down to the end of the transmission, which would be the flywheel or torque converter. Torque converter was replaced at the same time as the transmission back in April or May. Other sources say the bolts that hold the torque converter in may have come loose.

I'm relieved, to say the least, that the likelihood that I'll need a new engine has fallen.

[IsaacHayes]

You can disable comments for videos on youtube...

[LeftVentricle]

You can disable comments for videos on youtube...

No big deal, I like seeing what the mouthbreathers come up with.

[robertisaar]

No big deal, I like seeing what the mouthbreathers come up with.

ain't that the truth... at least every 3 comments is some smartass who apparently knows your vehicle better than you do.

[1988GTU]

Alright, so I changed the oil. Nothing amiss in the old oil, so I don't feel the need to drop the pan. The sound did not go away, even with the heavier oil, leading me to believe the engine is in fact fine. While it was running, I again crawled under there to determine the source of the sound, and narrowed it down to the end of the transmission, which would be the flywheel or torque converter. Torque converter was replaced at the same time as the transmission back in April or May. Other sources say the bolts that hold the torque converter in may have come loose.

I'm relieved, to say the least, that the likelihood that I'll need a new engine has fallen.

Have you tried what i suggested?

[fieromadman]

Timing chain? Anyone? Bueller?

[LeftVentricle]

Have you tried what i suggested?

I replaced the tensioner a couple months ago.

Timing chain? Anyone? Bueller?

The noise is not coming from the front of the engine.

[60dgrzbelow0]

Is there the slightest chance that the tranny/TC cover has come loose and gotten wedged up inside the bell housing... you know...sort of banging and bouncing around up in there ...not knowing the transverse engine and gearbox interface...is there anything else that could be caught up or snagged and dragged up inside that is near that part of the flexplate?

I'm not certain of a parallel here...but on the only day the wife and I had a chance to see a live NFL game over in Tampa last year... the Magnetic A/C Clutch bearing seized and was making the same kind of racket yours is making....until it finally shredded itself on the slowpoke trip home across the Howard Franklin Bridge and pieces spun out of balance, severed the aluminum A/C pressure lines and finally destroyed itself. The car shook like an earthquake all the way home...but for reasons I'll never get...that serp belt hung in there with the tensioner doing likewise...That was in my F-Body with the LT-1 engine..so I'm not sure yours would behave this way with the 60* engine.

[LeftVentricle]

Is there the slightest chance that the tranny/TC cover has come loose and gotten wedged up inside the bell housing... you know...sort of banging and bouncing around up in there ...not knowing the transverse engine and gearbox interface...is there anything else that could be caught up or snagged and dragged up inside that is near that part of the flexplate?

I don't know. This isn't something I've encountered before, so I'm really flying blind.

I'm not certain of a parallel here...but on the only day the wife and I had a chance to see a live NFL game over in Tampa last year... the Magnetic A/C Clutch bearing seized and was making the same kind of racket yours is making....until it finally shredded itself on the slowpoke trip home across the Howard Franklin Bridge and pieces spun out of balance, severed the aluminum A/C pressure lines and finally destroyed itself. The car shook like an earthquake all the way home...but for reasons I'll never get...that serp belt hung in there with the tensioner doing likewise...That was in my F-Body with the LT-1 engine..so I'm not sure yours would behave this way with the 60* engine.

As I said, the noise is not coming from the front of the engine. It's coming fron the other end, in or about the transmission bellhousing.

[60dgrzbelow0]

Harmonic Balancer Elastomer Failure between the Inner and Outer metal masses? The vibrations being handled there are more longitudinal along the length of the crankshaft than one might suppose...so it could have a bad outcome way back in the engine block, too. ? Its an easy one to check.

[Superdave]

pull the inspection cover and the starter and try to see if there is any converter bolts loose or if the flywheel is loose. Also look for any rub marks on the inspection cover.


removing the valve covers and checking for loose rockers would be a good idea too, you'll need to pick up a set of valve cover gaskets though.

[LeftVentricle]

pull the inspection cover and the starter and try to see if there is any converter bolts loose or if the flywheel is loose. Also look for any rub marks on the inspection cover.

I plan on doing this in the morning, since I'm out of daylight now.

[dskopek]

I had one that sounded a lot like this and it ended up being the flywheel bolts had loosened up and it oblonged the bolt holes in the flywheel, it would be quiet at speed but would make a hell of a racket at a idle. Had to replace both the bolts and the flywheel to fix it. Mine was a 2.8 in a S-10.
EDIT- I said flywheel, sorry should of said flexplate

[LeftVentricle]

Guys, I just wanted to say thanks for all the help here. I was shitting myself thinking I was needing a new engine, frantically trawling craigslist for something cheap to get around in until I could fix the wagon. I posted this at A-Body and Something Awful as well and was pretty surprised to hear a concensus between all three. SA was the first to bandwagon rod bearings, and I got the usual trolls telling me to junk the car.