rattlesnakeracing

88 N/A belongs to my son that is an everyday driver. He was hearing a slight vibration that seemed to originate from below the gear shifter. Just loud enough to be irritating. Looked under the hood and below the car and could not find a source. Noticed the transmission fluid was at minimum. Turned the car off and the fluid level went up to half way between minimum and max. Filled it up to max and he took it out for a test drive. He had driven it a mile when he heard a loud pop and smelled a scent like a burning belt. There was an increase in RPM's to 6000 then it dropped back down, he shut it off thinking it may have broken the timing belt. I towed him back home and checked all of the belts including the timing belt with no problems found. Cranked the car and could hear directly in the center a continuous banging noise as if something had broken.

Auto trans level is not quite up to max. I put the car up on jacks and removed the muffler piping from the exhaust manifold completely to the muffler. I can see no leaks or problems with transmission fluid piping. Cranked the car while up on jacks and put it in gear, there was a slow movement of the rear wheels, but not enough speed as normal even with an increase of fuel.

Normally I would say that the problem is a universal joint at the front of a drive shaft, but I cannot see anything because it is covered by a central tube. The point I am stuck at now is should I try and remove the central tube with the complications of the transmission and rear axle, regulator & CV joints? Or, is there a simpler way to get to it at the front of the central tube and see what is making the racket?

Another thought is the oil pump inside of the transmission, but that does not explain the burning smell at the front of the central tube. This car is going to stay as an automatic and not be converted to a manual. Thank you for any help or ideas that may provide a solution.

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JET951

Being an auto and the description ,it sounds like a broken flywheel to torque tube shaft coupling , only the auto version has it ,and its bolted directly to the flywheel , its designed to dampen out the large capacity four cylinder firing impulses.
Regards .BB.

rattlesnakeracing

Thank you JET951. The tube shaft coupling makes perfect sense for the banging racket. On another forum a guy mentioned the rubber damper plate which is located in the front of the car, between the flywheel and the tube shaft. That explains the burning belt or rubber smell.

I am going out later this afternoon to look at what I have to do to take it apart and get in that area to replace the broke parts. Looking at the PET, pictures, diagrams, etc. right now and trying to figure out an attack plan.

I've already dropped the exhaust. It looks like the starter and a cover plate is going to have to be dropped to allow access. I also think the transmission, torque converter and other parts described before are going to have to be dropped to let me pull back the central tube, hopefully I am wrong.

Are there any areas in dropping these parts and completing repairs that I need to have special tools or are there places I need to look out for in moving small parts, springs, etc...

Thanks again for any help in advance. The cost may be as much as a couple of ounces of gold, but as much as my son & I love these cars, this knowledge is more valuable than a bucket of gold.

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931guru

Get a copy of the factory service manual, and study it long and hard before you remove anything else.

You will get to do it over if you don't follow all the instructions.