Bad vibrations...

[Dave145]

Yes. Hope that didn't screw me even more by messing something else up.

 

[PP1RT]

That blows my shock theory! Time to slide the tranny back and check things out. I wouldn't do the 80 thing on the stands again. Your problem might hit the floor and bring good parts with it!!

 

[khryslerkid]

Yes. Hope that didn't screw me even more by messing something else up.

Nope. That's one way to eliminate the drive line!

I'm no 318 expert. I'm not sure if they had cast and forged cranks like the big blocks did. With a big block, you mix a balanced torque converter with a forged crank or vise versa, it will shake everything to pieces.

Check your torque converter for a weight. Also check your flexplate for cracks. Cracks in a flexplate will look like rust stains, like in my video. (2.4 Chrysler)

 

[khryslerkid]

I was doing a little research on whether 318 polys are internally balanced or not. Wow, all over the place on this. Looks like most were. They had cast and forged cranks and even the cast cranks were internally balanced. One post that I read the op had found a blue harmonic balancer on his engine and that created a vibration?

We need some 318 Poly experts here!

 

[Dave145]

The motor is 100% original. The car did sit for most of it's life, so I don't really "think" anyone swapped anything out.

From the reading I have done, it appears as if "most" poly 318's we're internally balanced, except for the really early ones. My balancer is original, and I have checked the timing marks for accuracy (installed the electronic ignition kit from jegs and checked it then)...they are dead on.

Since I bought the car back in June, it's had a tick in the torque converter/rear engine area. Always worse when cold. I adjusted the valves, that didn't fix it. I checked for exhaust leaks, there aren't any. Sounds like dynamited torque converter or cracked flexplate to me.

A week ago I installed a new carb. Naturally to test out it's WOT response, I attempted a burnout. First off, due to a failing fuel pump, it failed miserably. BUT...after the attempt, the car drove better. Vibration was GONE at the low speeds, and gone up to ~75. Just had a slight shudder at 35-40 (only on acceleration). COOL!

...vibration came back the next day, a bit worse than before. Been getting progressively worse all week.


So much for going to any shows today...guess it's time to pull the trans.

 

[khryslerkid]

The motor is 100% original. The car did sit for most of it's life, so I don't really "think" anyone swapped anything out.

From the reading I have done, it appears as if "most" poly 318's we're internally balanced, except for the really early ones. My balancer is original, and I have checked the timing marks for accuracy (installed the electronic ignition kit from jegs and checked it then)...they are dead on.

Since I bought the car back in June, it's had a tick in the torque converter/rear engine area. Always worse when cold. I adjusted the valves, that didn't fix it. I checked for exhaust leaks, there aren't any. Sounds like dynamited torque converter or cracked flexplate to me.

A week ago I installed a new carb. Naturally to test out it's WOT response, I attempted a burnout. First off, due to a failing fuel pump, it failed miserably. BUT...after the attempt, the car drove better. Vibration was GONE at the low speeds, and gone up to ~75. Just had a slight shudder at 35-40 (only on acceleration). COOL!

...vibration came back the next day, a bit worse than before. Been getting progressively worse all week.


So much for going to any shows today...guess it's time to pull the trans.

Could very well be the flex plate. They make a ticking sound when cracked. Sometimes they squeak, rattle, sometimes like on my 2.4 they never make a sound at all.

 

[Dave L]

I've been reading your post.Maybe your stuck on your vibration being a suspension problem.You said earlier that your poly runs smooth now it not. I would look at a tune up, you may have a bad wire or a plug giving your headache

 

[Dave145]

Motor runs smooth as can be. Vibration starts at 1200 rpm and continues all the way up. Motor itself idles smooth. Recent tune up, gapped plugs, new electronic ignition. Seems like it's transmission related. Joy.

 

[Dave145]

Also checked the flexplate and all the bolts were tight. Didn't see any cracks in it. Nothing laying in the bottom of the bell housing either.

 

[Ski 61701]

If flex plate is still bolted to crankshaft, you might not see any hairline cracks because it's not under a load. How much play in the tailshaft with the drive shaft removed? You might have a rear bushing that is worn out. Throw that in and the driveshaft will really wobble

 

[khryslerkid]

Also checked the flexplate and all the bolts were tight. Didn't see any cracks in it. Nothing laying in the bottom of the bell housing either.

Yea I'm guessing you could see most of the flex plate from the front side, turning it for inspection. The only place on it that's not visible is closer to the bolt patteren. You could pry on it a bit to see if there is any excessive movement foward and back.

Trans specialist needed! Bad torque converter? Bad front pump?

 

[khryslerkid]

Hey Dave, what boot did you get from O'Reilly for your driveshaft. I had ordered one for mine and received the wrong one! Need help! Part #, application and pic would be greatly appreciated!

 

[miller]

If flex plate is still bolted to crankshaft, you might not see any hairline cracks because it's not under a load.

Could also, if the flexplate is bent, thinking it would create vibration, right?
Yes, it would make a good time to look at the trans pump bushing, if it is.

 

[Dave145]

The tail shaft does not have any play at all with the driveshaft off. I shined my light up in the bell housing and wiped off the flex plate and saw no cracks or issues. All 4 bolts were tight as well. I pried on each of the mounts and it would not bend at all. Really don't want to drop the trans on this thing.

My question is, it sat for a long long time unused. How could the tranny or torque converter go bad? It's only got 70k miles on it to boot. I drained the fluid and changed the filter in the pan, but not the torque converter. Guessing I'll drop the fluid there and see what I get (looking for metal flakes, etc).

Just blows because there's virtually no parts available for this transmission that don't cost a fortune ($200 to me is a fortune!).

Also, the boot I used for my car was Doorman part #614-002. I bought it from my local Oreilly. I cut the small end off and 2 levels off the upper end and stuffed it through the trunnion cup. Worked like a charm! For once....

 

[Ski 61701]

Not sure here, but it sounds like after you rebuilt your trunion things got worse. Just throwing this out there, if things did not get put back in same position, you now have wear patterns established and trying to break things in, kinda like putting a new wheel bearing on and using the old race.
Not sure if due to design of the flange on the tailshaft, the driveshaft might act as a counter balance eg: harmonic balancer?
Those transmissions could be 904 or 727, are pretty stout.
So my offer still stands if you want a good driveshaft its yours. Another thing to consider if you have cash, take your existing drivehaft and have balanced. That is if the driveshaft has to be bolted to trans .

 

[khryslerkid]

Not sure here, but it sounds like after you rebuilt your trunion things got worse. Just throwing this out there, if things did not get put back in same position, you now have wear patterns established and trying to break things in, kinda like putting a new wheel bearing on and using the old race.
Not sure if due to design of the flange on the tailshaft, the driveshaft might act as a counter balance eg: harmonic balancer?
Those transmissions could be 904 or 727, are pretty stout.
So my offer still stands if you want a good driveshaft its yours. Another thing to consider if you have cash, take your existing drivehaft and have balanced. That is if the driveshaft has to be bolted to trans .

Post #119 He removed the driveshaft and ran the car in gear up to 80 and the vibration was still there. I think that kind of eliminates the whole driveline, tires and shocks!

 

[PP1RT]

How about a pic of that balancer? Is it internal or external balance? Need to sort that out before moving ahead. Out of balance would more noticeable under load/accelerating.

Any plug wires crossed? Shorting out (run motor in the dark and look for blue arcs)?
Just thinking out loud...

 

[Ski 61701]

Post #119 He removed the driveshaft and ran the car in gear up to 80 and the vibration was still there. I think that kind of eliminates the whole driveline, tires and shocks!

I saw that part of the post, my question is does the driveshaft need to be installed so it acts as a counter balance to the trans? It sounds like when he ran it witgout the driveshaft, the vibrations are way worse than when it was hooked up to flange housing.

 

[miller]

Going by all the things he's looked at, and still having vibration, with the driveshaft off, the one possible thing is the flexplate. Okay, it's tight, looks good. One thing I'd try is, just idling, run the engine for a minute...same time, watch the flexplate, to see if it's turning true. I've seen times when someone would pull the trans, but not the converter, leaving it bolted to the flexplate. Warps the heck out of 'em!

 

[Dave145]

I've watched the flexplate spin while idling a few times just to check it, and haven't seen it spinning untrue. It would appear as if it's fine, but looks may be deceiving? The motor is internally balanced from all the reading I've done on it. The balancer is all steel and certainly appears to be original. The torque converter has no weights on the ring gear as well.

I've triple checked the firing order against my spec printout from Sun for this car. Firing order is correct, and my timing is set to 10* BTDC. The motor idles great and seems to run smooth. A week ago I replaced the stock Stromberg with a Carter BBD because it was worn out. The plugs are NGK's and gapped to .035 I believe. Plug wires are 3 months old and are regular old 7mm wires. The distributor and brain box (proform kit from Jegs) are new as of 3 months ago as well. The coil is new as of today, and it's an Accel super stock unit.

Running the stock ballast resistor, along with a new style alternator and 2 wire regulator.

With the transmission in Park the car still vibrates the same. Guess we are looking at engine.