Diesel rattleing

[The_Dealer]

last time i had my trans out i had to replace my flexplate, it was cracked and the holes for the t/c were wallowed out due to a broke t/c stud and the rest loosened up. i noticed on the flexplate spacer that a little piece(about 1/4" wide) was broken off the "centering lip". put it back together and everything was fine. had the sound, but not really audible,drove it about 600 miles and i was getting a louder knock/rattleing sound comming from the bellhousing thats gradually getting worse. looking at pictures i saw that on the oem spacers the t/c pilot doesnt go in much farther then that centering lip, except on the sonnax ones. its a random mettalic rattle sound thats not steady. doesnt really sound like engine knock, doesnt do it bad when in park just idleing, and when i rev it in park or neutral it goes away. but when i put it in drive its pretty loud. when i take off(above 1500-2k rpm the noise goes away. i took a piece of hose to isolate the noise and its definately comming from the flexplate area. i am planning on a trans swap, but im kinda leaning towards a c5 swap. any ideas on what that noise could be? im thinking maybe the spacer cracked more and cracked the new flxplate. i checked all the motor to bellhousing bolts and they are all tight, and i checked the t/c to flexplate bolts and they are tight. i wouldnt think the flexplate to spacer bolts are loose i tightened them pretty good and used blue locktite. its really driving me nuts. the motor runs good, tranny is ok, it does funny stuff sometimes but mostly in od and 3rd. oil pressure is good and ive never had anything funny in the oil(metal or anything) and the oil is fairly clean looking for once. no milky junk in oil or antifreeze, so that leads me to think its not engine knock. its also not nearly as loud as engine knock either. engine runs smooth and timing is good. funny thing is with the old flexplate it didnt make that noise, just sort of a ticking sound. could it be the starter? is it safe to remove the starter with the engine running to see if thats what it is? i never tried anything like that.

i just want to make sure i know what it is as i really havent made up my mind on what new trans i wanna use when i swap, and this is my dd right now

thanks guys

[adsm08]

Dude, do me a favor.

Paragraphs. At least hit the enter key twice every couple lines, even if you are in the same thought. Makes it easier to read.


Now to the one part of that I was able to read completely:


I would advise against trying to remove the starter with the engine running. It's not particularly dangerous, if you are careful, but you stand a good chance of getting burnt, there are electrical issues to consider, and you MAY injure yourself severely if you aren't careful enough.

[The_Dealer]

haha sorry it didnt seem that long when i was typing it. i talked to a buddy today and he has a m5odr1 out of a 97 2wd ranger, and he said i could have it for free. how hard is it to swap the output shaft and tailhousing to make it 4wd? is there a place online where i could get what i need?

[adsm08]

Well, swapping output shafts on an M5OD isn't an auto trans overhaul, but it isn't an oil change either.

The parts are probably available on-line. The real trick is getting all the tools you need to tear the trans down that far. This is one of the few instances where it may be the cheaper option to either find someone to put the new output shaft in for you professionally, or take your buddy's trans and try to trade it for a 4x4.

[The_Dealer]

might try to get someone to put the new output shaft in for me once i get ahold of one. can i still use the 2.8 clutch parts with the m5 even though it has a 4.0 housing? how about the slave/master/lines, should i get one of those pre-bled units out of the same year rig as the trans to make sure i dont have compatability problems?

[adsm08]

Originally Posted by The_Dealer

might try to get someone to put the new output shaft in for me once i get ahold of one. can i still use the 2.8 clutch parts with the m5 even though it has a 4.0 housing?

Yes, you can. The 2.8, 2.9, and 4.0 all share an input shaft spline pattern. You just need to reuse your current block plate so that the starter is lined up properly. If you want to use a 4.0 clutch at any point in the future you will need the 4.0 block plate to reposition the starter.

For my part, I prefer the larger clutch. But that is an opinion. If you currently have an auto you will be buying most of the parts anyway.

how about the slave/master/lines, should i get one of those pre-bled units out of the same year rig as the trans to make sure i dont have compatability problems?

That is what I did. I think I spent about $200 for a pre-bled master and slave kit. A 91 should work well. I know that in 94 the master cylinder changed in the way it mounts to the fire wall. The bracket is different and I believe the holes move a bit. I'd stick with a 90 or 91 since I know they are compatible.

[The_Dealer]

i might end up just throwing the 2wd m5 in without my tcase and shortening an extra d-shaft he has, then looking for a 4wd one around here. because dropping that much money for the swap stuff and the trans would be kinda hard since christmas kinda got me this year. then at least i would be riding and already be set up for a 5spd. i might be having to buy another set of pedals anyways if i dont hear from the seller any time soon. went to the store earlier and the a4ld was slipping bad, and dropping from od to 3rd but feeling like neutral then slamming into 3rd, then slipping back into od kinda sloppily lunging faster (like on a 5spd when the clutch is slipping and u let off some and it grabs and starts pulling). trying to go to NC for the new years and i definately aint driving it like that

[The_Dealer]

so if i use the 2.8/2.9 flywheel and clutch parts with the 91 master/slave/lines i can use my 2.8 starter i have now? the part numbers are the same for auto and manual

[n_grimm]

I'll toss this in there since I recently went thru the a4ld broken flex plate replacement. I talked to a transmission shop about it and he agreed that the problem is that the torque converters don't go into the adapter far enough so they end up breaking the adapter. The adapter can't be much longer or it will cause the tc to bottom out when it expands. He said they are able to get a torque converter with a longer snout and that seems to solve the problem. Well being a cheap *&*&)*& I bought a new adapter from the dealer I believe for around $30 and welded thru the center of a washer the exact size to the end of the snout. I'm not recommending this to anyone else but it worked for me.

[The_Dealer]

well im done with the a4ld, but the sonnax spacer is a little taller allowing the snout of the t/c to go in further. im having some wierd problems it feels like it dont want to go sometimes, but not necessarily feeling like its slipping. also when it drops from o/d to 3rd sometimes it drops to 2nd and just revs rear high(pretty harsh feeling on the drivetrain too) then when it goes back into o/d it slips but kinda launches at the same time, kinda like lagging then pulls realy hard. not really sure what to make of it, doesnt do it all the time. i get harsh shifts under 3/4 throttle(above that its fine). im just getting tired of pulling the a4ld, and also the last time i pulled it my tcc lockup doesnt work, but feels like it does it on its on with my manual switch in the unlock position. all wiring is good but i dont hear the click when my switch is thrown