Sup2jzgte

since the weather has become cold i noticed a grinding/whirling/chattering sound coming from what sounds like the transmission. i let the car warm up for 5-10 minutes on really cold days to get the oil circulating and warm. Whether i let the car warm up or not the minute i put it in reverse or drive the sound starts, if i put it in neutral, 2 or 3 the sounds stop. after driving a few miles the sound will go away, but for the first mile it can be heard very well while waiting at a light. the oil level is good and its fresh.. any thoughts on what it could be? im think torque converter.

soarer13oy

iTrader: (13)

You can check the bolts that are holding the flex plate and the torque converter together. Sometimes they get loosen up.

Sup2jzgte

if it was bolts i would figure the sound would be present all the time.

Sup2jzgte

new development.....tonight while driving home from work the idel went down to the second line, then back up. the noise is most prominate at 2k rpm and when accelorating from a stop. there has been a few times yesterday and tonight when i had to press the gas more than normal to have the rpms go above 2k......the odd thing is the transmission does not seem to ****ing hard

Sup2jzgte

well tonight is going to be interesting, its about 20 degrees out and im letting the car warm up until the temp gauge reaches the middle and im going to cycle through the gears a few times before driving to see if that makes any difference

fishkeeper

Hello sup2jzgt, i am also having the same problem on my 94 sc400, my problem started after i had my transmission fluid drained and refilled. At one point the car would not go past 40 miles per hour, local mechanic who did the fluid suggested to take it to a transmission specialist, it really pissed me off as i has never had that problem until i had the fluid changed, the car stil drives i'n high speed but at times shudders when coming off a dead stop. Please let me know what you find as i will also update when i get the diagnosis done.

Sup2jzgte

So today I dropped the transmission pan to see if there are any metal shavings in the fluid or stuck to the magnets and thankfully there was nothing, fluid was red and the filter was free of metal as well. Here is the odd thing, after i put everything back together and put 1.90 quarts of fluid into the transmission let the car warm up and checked the oil level. Oddly the fluid level was just above the "cold" mark on the dip stick even though the car was warmed up. I let the car cool down and checked the fluid again and it was in the exact same spot.

Also my idle has gone from just below the 3rd line below 1k (rpm) to the second line just above DEAD LOL

good2go

iTrader: (6)

I don't know if you know it or not, and no offense if you do, but the tranny fluid temp is what that "COLD" mark refers to. You can let your engine warm up all day long and still have cold tranny fluid. To warm the tranny fluid, you pretty much have to drive it.

soarer13oy

iTrader: (13)

Last time i had a chatter my flex plate was shot lol. Mines was at first pretty quiet but by the 2nd-3rd day it got pretty loud. What happened was the bolts that held my flex plate to my motor came loose. Maybe its not even an issue with the transmission since you said that your idle has dropped.

Sup2jzgte

since im on my blackberry i cant really respond to each quote lol. g2g i did not know that thank you.

flexplate sounds interesting, did your only grind/chatter in reverse or drive? yeah the low idle is bothering me, but as i drive the idle seems to go back to normal

soarer13oy

iTrader: (13)

At first it chattered only when i was at idle. Once i was driving the sound went away, but it got worse fast. About 2 days later the chatter got so loud that i just stopped driving. The noise came really close from the bell housing. It got really loud.

When you talk about your idle, can you feel the difference in idle? My tach sometimes shows idle sometimes at 700, 500, and 0 rpm. I have no idea why it shows 0 but the car at idle feels the same. I have a wire coming from the ignitor to the cluster.

Sup2jzgte

when the car is in park or neutral there is no sound, when i put it into drive or reserve then the grinding/chattering starts....after cycling through the gears a few times the sound seems to quite down. after driving the sound goes away until the car sits for a few hours. when idle drops i cant feel any difference at all, if i didnt look at the gauage i wouldnt even know rhe idle went down

Sup2jzgte

Here an update.

I still have the sound, but after changing the trans fluid the idle has not dropped down.............coincidence, maybe.