Charley B

Bill Ball and I checked the flex plate on my '88 last weekend. It has about 100k miles. There were no markings or anything to indicate it had been checked previously. I'm puzzeled about a few things. We got about 2 - 2.5 mm movement when we released the pinch bolt. The plate had a slight warp in it but didn't seem to move toward flattening out once the pressure was released. Bill put a little pressure on the backside with a screw driver with no discernable change. Is this normal and/or acceptable?

When checking for endplay on the crank we couldn't get the slightest movement, forward or aft. Is this normal and/or acceptable?
I do have a fairly loud "growling" sound in the drive line that is rpm dependant and is there all of the time, whether in gear or park. With a stethoscope it is very loud anywhere on the torque tube and bellhousing but quiet at the torque converter. The forward bearings on the tube are the prescribed 10 inches from the front. I don't have any TBF symptoms, such as hard starting when hot, but when we released the flex plate tension, I could swear the growling sound was much quieter for a few days and now back to the previous level.

If I'm remembering anything wrong here, hopefully Bill will chime in.

RngTrtl

My guess would be either your TT bearings or one of the torque convertor bearings if you have an auto.

PorKen

My '86 had what sounded like a TT whine, especially around 35mph. It turned out that because the motor mounts are totally shot, the right exhaust manifold was resting on the vertical crossmember bracket.

A chunk of 3/4" rubber under the oil pan made the noise go away!

Charley B

Thanks Ken. Already have the speed mount though.