What's causing my tranny to rattle???

[kdevore]

00 LS-8 62,000 miles

When I put the car in drive and hold the brake I can hear a rattling noise that appears to be related to the transmission. When I put it back in park it stops and the rpm increases slightly. I also notice it when I'm cruising around town and speed up a little. Also, when I accelerate to highway speeds it stops when the overdrive kicks in. First time I noticed it I thought a rod was knocking a little. Doesn't seem to have any affect on how the car operates but it is driving my wife crazy and therefore she is driving me crazy. Any ideas???

 

[2001LS8Sport]

Loose exhaust shield?

 

[OLLY00]

I had the same noise. The torque converter was coming apart internally. The dealership replaced it under warranty. At the time I had less than 50K on my 2000 LS8 sport.

 

[kdevore]

Took it to the dealership (stealership) yesterday and they said it was the torque converter. They claim it will be $1100 to replace it. This seems way high to me. I can see it being this high if it were a front wheel drive model but it's not. It's rear wheel drive and dual exhaust. So nothing is in the way. Just disconnect everything and unbolt it and drop it out. Anyone had this done and remember the price or does anyone know what the flat rate book shows for this procedure? I'm guessing it should take about 6.5 hours and I priced the part at $250. If I had a lift and a tranny jack I would do it myself and save $800.

 

[00NORCAL V8]

Took it to the dealership (stealership) yesterday and they said it was the torque converter. They claim it will be $1100 to replace it. This seems way high to me. I can see it being this high if it were a front wheel drive model but it's not. It's rear wheel drive and dual exhaust. So nothing is in the way. Just disconnect everything and unbolt it and drop it out. Anyone had this done and remember the price or does anyone know what the flat rate book shows for this procedure? I'm guessing it should take about 6.5 hours and I priced the part at $250. If I had a lift and a tranny jack I would do it myself and save $800.

I seem to have the same noise right now and have had it since I bought the car about 3 months. I took it to dealer and they said it sounds like the tube connecting the egr to the exhaust. I'm no mechanic but this is not an exhaust leak sound it's more like a rattling noise. Does yours get louder if you put it in gear and turn the wheel to get the rpms to drop? Mine does. I have a warranty on my car but don't know how to get them to investigate the converter.

 

[DLS8K]

Took it to the dealership (stealership) yesterday and they said it was the torque converter. They claim it will be $1100 to replace it. This seems way high to me. I can see it being this high if it were a front wheel drive model but it's not. It's rear wheel drive and dual exhaust. So nothing is in the way. Just disconnect everything and unbolt it and drop it out. Anyone had this done and remember the price or does anyone know what the flat rate book shows for this procedure? I'm guessing it should take about 6.5 hours and I priced the part at $250. If I had a lift and a tranny jack I would do it myself and save $800.

The only problem you're going to run into by doing it by yourself is you're going to have to find a way to get the fluid back into the transmission (not to mention all the special tools you are going to need). The rate is 4.2 hours........so roughly $500-600 labor depending on your labor rate. Throw in new tranny fluid (roughly 12 qts. I believe) and new gaskets for around $120 plus the torque converter and you end up pretty close to $1100.

 

[kdevore]

Does yours get louder if you put it in gear and turn the wheel to get the rpms to drop?

That's exactly what it does. I work for SBC communications and our fleet mechanic says he would be surprised if it were the torque converter, especially since I have under 100k miles (63,000 actually). I also confirmed this with a local transmission shop. They both said to check for something rattling in the exhaust. For example the heat shields, cat converter, etc. They also said to check for rocks sitting on top of the heat shields. I did this and couldn't seem to find anything. Maybe I'll check this tube your talking about. I crawled under there while it was running and it does seem to be coming from around the bell housing. Is this tube near this area? Are you sure they said it was a leak and not just rattling against something?

The rate is 4.2 hours........so roughly $500-600 labor depending on your labor rate.

Thanks for the info. Our labor must be cheaper around here. It runs around $75 an hour. Dealership rapes you though.

 

[00NORCAL V8]

That's exactly what it does. I work for SBC communications and our fleet mechanic says he would be surprised if it were the torque converter, especially since I have under 100k miles (63,000 actually). I also confirmed this with a local transmission shop. They both said to check for something rattling in the exhaust. For example the heat shields, cat converter, etc. They also said to check for rocks sitting on top of the heat shields. I did this and couldn't seem to find anything. Maybe I'll check this tube your talking about. I crawled under there while it was running and it does seem to be coming from around the bell housing. Is this tube near this area? Are you sure they said it was a leak and not just rattling against something?



Thanks for the info. Our labor must be cheaper around here. It runs around $75 an hour. Dealership rapes you though.

What I was saying is that I don't believe it's the EGR tube. It doesn't sound like an exhaust leak it's more of a rattling or vibration sound. I haven't actually gotten under the car but it sounds like it is coming from the rear of the motor more toward the bottom. I don't mind paying the diag. fee but I don't want these guys guessing and having to pay for things that wouldn't fix the problem. The noise definetly gets louder when I put it in gear when the rpms drop.

 

[Jim Henderson]

The price they quoted you doesn't seem far out of line. Dropping the tranny for any reason usually is around $500 more or less. The engine compartment on our LS's is tighter than most I have worked on so I would expect higher than normal costs to drop the tranny.

Replacing the TC with a decent one will cost several hundred depending on stock versus rebuild versus performance. If they are doing the job right they should also be flushing your tranny, lines, cooler, pan, filter etc. Other wise the junk in the rest of the system will just contaminate the new TC and you will probably just get to replace it again.

These cars seem to have more than the usual share of problems with the tranny, I hope I am not going to regret my decision. Already had the minor rebuild at about 14,000 miles under warranty. In my opinion A tranny should last about 100K for normal use and I would expect no less than 50K for typical abuse. I think we are covered to 50K after that we are at their mercy.

Just my opinion,

Jim Henderson

 

[kdevore]

The price they quoted you doesn't seem far out of line. Dropping the tranny for any reason usually is around $500 more or less. The engine compartment on our LS's is tighter than most I have worked on so I would expect higher than normal costs to drop the tranny.

Replacing the TC with a decent one will cost several hundred depending on stock versus rebuild versus performance. If they are doing the job right they should also be flushing your tranny, lines, cooler, pan, filter etc. Other wise the junk in the rest of the system will just contaminate the new TC and you will probably just get to replace it again.

These cars seem to have more than the usual share of problems with the tranny, I hope I am not going to regret my decision. Already had the minor rebuild at about 14,000 miles under warranty. In my opinion A tranny should last about 100K for normal use and I would expect no less than 50K for typical abuse. I think we are covered to 50K after that we are at their mercy.

Just my opinion,

Jim Henderson

I'm taking it to a transmission shop Tuesday for an estimate. I explained the noise and the guy thinks it's definately the TC. Especially since the noise stops when the TC locks up at highway speeds and in park with no load on the motor. He suggested doing all you mentioned above plus checking the pump and some other stuff to avoid having to drop the tranny a second time to do it. He also mentioned not driving any more than I have to until I get it fixed to avoid any damage to the transmission. So far it seems to be ok. The guy told me he just did a Taurus (FWD) and it took 11 hours and the charge was $1050. So, I'm expecting it to be less than that since he doesn't have to drop the entire front end out to get to a transaxle, and the book shows just over four hours of labor for the (RWD) LS. We'll see though.....

 

[bmoranmd10]

My wifes 2000 LS has been making this noise since before it went outta warrantee, It now has over 70K miles. I estimate it's been making the noise since about 30k, maybe less. Either way, I'm not going to worry about it til it breaks all the way.

 

[00HotRodLincoln]

My wifes 2000 LS has been making this noise since before it went outta warrantee, It now has over 70K miles. I estimate it's been making the noise since about 30k, maybe less. Either way, I'm not going to worry about it til it breaks all the way.

Same problem with my car! I took it to about 3 people and they said it was normal. Then the shop told me it was a pully. So the torque converter is going out? I also have a oil leak and the engine somewhere. I had valve covers done but it still leaks oil like about a quart. If it is warm and in drive with brake on it will go click click click like a knock. So is the mustang tranny suggested on supercharged ls out of the question??? Im guessing I will encounter this problem again replacing it with the same part with knowing this flaw encounter it again. I am only at 85k so I figure either go aftermarket or sell it.

 

[cpgoodman]

Ive been having the same issues. im going to get it checked out this friday. As you guys are getting opinions and what not, keep posting them. This drives me crazy and i would like to get it fixed. Thanks for all the good info so far everybody. Kinda gives me an idea of what to tell the guy to look for.

 

[northstar11]

Valve tap?