Driveline Problem for the experts

[SHOTIME]

wheel bearings?

Lift the front end off the ground and with your hands at 12 and 6 try to wiggle the tire top to bottom, if you get much play then the wheel bearings are bad.

if you can go left to right (hands at 9 and 3) then it might be tie rods..

just have a buddy wiggle and watch what moves from below.

 

[Brian Smith]

same issue

I have the exact same issue as you...im hoping this thread comes to some resolution so i can troubleshoot my problems. I was assuming I was sold a bum cv axle...now the description of your experience is causing me to question this assumption... I will also be doing the "wheel wiggle" test to see if either the tie rods or wheel bearings are, in my case, at fault. Do please keep me posted as well emerald mtx when you do find the malfunctioning part, and ill do the same. The jerkiness is ******* me off and it seems to have increased in its intensity and magnitude the more I am driving. It feels a lot like the clutch is grabby and like you say, an annoying lurch whenever power is applied down the driveline.
Also a leak has developed around the driveshaft opening since my halfshaft replacement. I guess I will adress this when the tranny is dropped for a clutch job.

 

[Emerald93MTX]

I have the exact same issue as you...im hoping this thread comes to some resolution so i can troubleshoot my problems. I was assuming I was sold a bum cv axle...now the description of your experience is causing me to question this assumption... I will also be doing the "wheel wiggle" test to see if either the tie rods or wheel bearings are, in my case, at fault. Do please keep me posted as well emerald mtx when you do find the malfunctioning part, and ill do the same. The jerkiness is ******* me off and it seems to have increased in its intensity and magnitude the more I am driving. It feels a lot like the clutch is grabby and like you say, an annoying lurch whenever power is applied down the driveline.
Also a leak has developed around the driveshaft opening since my halfshaft replacement. I guess I will adress this when the tranny is dropped for a clutch job.

Will do. I do have to say that most of the lurching is gone, especially at low speed, but it's still kinda bad in 3rd and 4th gear. I'm thinking it must be in the tranny. I wish there was someone that lived near me that had a spare to try out. The other thing is that when I let off of the clutch in first, it seems like the engine bogs down under hard acceleration for a sec, but then kicks in once the secondaries open up. I don't know what this might be, though possibly a compression issue; I don't know. I'd eventually like to do a 3.2 swap and a new (used) tranny, but that's down the line. later.

 

[Emerald93MTX]

still looking for some more help here guys. Is there anyone in the SC, GA, AL area near I20, I85 or Atlanta area that could maybe drive with me and see what it might be? I'd take it to FPS in Douglasville, but they charge like 75 bucks just to diagnose the problem, then who knows how much to fix the problem. They are quite expensive, but I would definitely know it was fixed. I also know that I haven't had a valve lash in a long time, but when my mechanic checked them out (visually) the last couple of times that the valve covers were off, he said they didn't look pitted or anything. We didn't check to see if they were out of spec though (we had enough other stuff to do). Does anyone think this might be the cause? What about torsion bar bushings? My mechanic said that the right one looked a little rusted around the subframe which he said might be because it was moviing back and forth, but that was before we changed the motor mounts.

BTW, when I changed my axels, was I supposed to remove and reinstall the wheel bearing seals from the old axels to the new ones? I bought the Cardone ones from Oreilly and I figured they were a drop in replacement. The instructions on Autozone's website never said anything about it.

I'm starting to think that I just need a new tranny and toss the one I got. Thanks so much guys for your help.

Paul

 

[bmcreider]

The 89 has the same problem....I have changed the fuel filter, air filter, MAF, IACV, plugs, wires, nothing fixes it....hope you find a fix.

 

[Brian Smith]

rebuild?

Mabey bizzy or one of the other tranny experts around here could answer this one...would a rebuild or refresh of a tranny exhibiting problems like ours tighten things up? I dunno...mabey there is some wear item in the tranny which when worn exhibits itself as a lurchiness...I dont know what to think on this one, except I know I will be pulling the tranny soon for a clutch job and I have to make up my mind on what to try to accomplish while its out.

 

[Emerald93MTX]

Mabey bizzy or one of the other tranny experts around here could answer this one...would a rebuild or refresh of a tranny exhibiting problems like ours tighten things up? I dunno...mabey there is some wear item in the tranny which when worn exhibits itself as a lurchiness...I dont know what to think on this one, except I know I will be pulling the tranny soon for a clutch job and I have to make up my mind on what to try to accomplish while its out.

I agree with you that Beth would probably be the best to ask about this. If anyone knows transmissions on the SHO, she does. Calling all the SHO experts, this problem seems to be more critical than I thought and we need a resolution bad. If anyone can help us out, please do so. Thanks.

 

[CheckerSHO]

still looking for some more help here guys. Is there anyone in the SC, GA, AL area near I20, I85 or Atlanta area that could maybe drive with me and see what it might be? I'd take it to FPS in Douglasville, but they charge like 75 bucks just to diagnose the problem, then who knows how much to fix the problem. They are quite expensive, but I would definitely know it was fixed. I also know that I haven't had a valve lash in a long time, but when my mechanic checked them out (visually) the last couple of times that the valve covers were off, he said they didn't look pitted or anything. We didn't check to see if they were out of spec though (we had enough other stuff to do). Does anyone think this might be the cause? What about torsion bar bushings? My mechanic said that the right one looked a little rusted around the subframe which he said might be because it was moviing back and forth, but that was before we changed the motor mounts.

BTW, when I changed my axels, was I supposed to remove and reinstall the wheel bearing seals from the old axels to the new ones? I bought the Cardone ones from Oreilly and I figured they were a drop in replacement. The instructions on Autozone's website never said anything about it.

I'm starting to think that I just need a new tranny and toss the one I got. Thanks so much guys for your help.

Paul

I'd like to drive it...im curious myself as to what this could be. I'm a ford technician and have a long background with SHOs. I'm just up in Marietta off of 75, near 285. PM me if you want to meet up sometime.

 

[somedude_001]

I'd like to drive it...im curious myself as to what this could be. I'm a ford technician and have a long background with SHOs. I'm just up in Marietta off of 75, near 285. PM me if you want to meet up sometime.

that may be your best bet.

BTW my ATX has a lot of slack in the drivetrain, it isn't a big deal on the road but it is harsh (on the car) to have it slamming back and forth all the time.

correct me if I am wrong but you said it (the slack) was NOT there befor the clutch job? if this is true you may want to back track a little and maby talk to the teacher.

sway bar bushings should have no affect on the problem you are mentioning.

 

[Emerald93MTX]

that may be your best bet.

BTW my ATX has a lot of slack in the drivetrain, it isn't a big deal on the road but it is harsh (on the car) to have it slamming back and forth all the time.

correct me if I am wrong but you said it (the slack) was NOT there befor the clutch job? if this is true you may want to back track a little and maby talk to the teacher.

sway bar bushings should have no affect on the problem you are mentioning.

yeah, I didn't think the sway bar bushings had anything to do with it, but I really am going nuts over this thing. The other thing is that it's been quite a while since I had my clutch done, so I'm not completely sure what it felt like before it went out. I am pretty sure that when I bought the car, it drove silky smooth and it's never really driven the same since the clutch fell apart. It wasn't necessarily after the new clutch was installed, instead since the old clutch died. The only thing that my teacher didn't do at the time was regrind the flywheel, though that was because he said it looked fine, nor did he replace the TOB because the new one didn't fit, and this he also said the old one looked fine. I'm going tomorrow to let CheckerSHO check it out, so maybe we'll come up with something.

 

[Brian Smith]

Very interested in checkersho's analysis!

 

[Emerald93MTX]

Very interested in checkersho's analysis!

I'll definitely let you know Brian. I hope he and I can figure it out. Maybe for once, my car will run like new. Til then, wish me luck.

Paul

 

[DemonNeno]

I had a similar problem that was caused by a poorly aligned clutch. Try acclerating faster then usual in reverse. If you feel the same thing, then it's very possible that it was improper clutch install... My '89 is now doing this as well, but i believe it's cause by the broken pressure plate strap.... hmmm..

 

[CheckerSHO]

Well i had limited time at the shop to look at it, but it seems the problem is related to the front engine mount. the engine is definetly moving excessively at the front right corner. The driveline clunk being felt is the engine moving(for reasons unknown at this point). No cracked subframe, no loose subframe bushings, big bolt holding the mount to the subframe is tight...that leaves the 2 mount-to-engine bolts, or the possibility the bracket the mount bolts to is loose or broken(not sure if this is even possible?) He's probably going to come back down next week when i can get a little more time to investigate it

 

[Emerald93MTX]

Well i had limited time at the shop to look at it, but it seems the problem is related to the front engine mount. the engine is definetly moving excessively at the front right corner. The driveline clunk being felt is the engine moving(for reasons unknown at this point). No cracked subframe, no loose subframe bushings, big bolt holding the mount to the subframe is tight...that leaves the 2 mount-to-engine bolts, or the possibility the bracket the mount bolts to is loose or broken(not sure if this is even possible?) He's probably going to come back down next week when i can get a little more time to investigate it

I want to thank you again Ely, you've really been a great help. It's nice to meet someone who loves talking about these pieces of sh*t (I mean pieces of art, hehe). Who knows, maybe we'll figure this thing out next week and I'll feel all better about owning a SHO. Til then, I'll just keep dreaming of the M5 I'll someday have. G'night.

Paul

 

[Brian Smith]

hmm

I guess I will have to recheck my engine mounts...

 

[Emerald93MTX]

Ely, I check my mounts yesterday and found that the front mount did have a loose bolt. I tightened it up and I think it did get rid of that wierd vibration at idle, but it definitely didn't fix the driveline movement. The other thing I did was replace those valve cover bolts I told you about and in the process, found my intake air leak. The lower nuts connecting the runners to the plenums had been pretty loose. Tightened them all up and I have nice smooth revving and that wierd 1-2 shift is pretty much gone. The other thing I noticed is that there is no puddle under my tranny after sitting overnight so I don't think my tranny is leaking that bad. Who knows what's causing that driveline movement, but I think if I ever get it fixed, I'll again be excited that I own a SHO.

Paul

 

[DHMag]

mechanical = check the cruise control cable connection at the throttle body. cable may be stretched and need adjustment.

electrical = cruise control amplifier, improper settings. check diodes, relays, transformers, etc

 

[Emerald93MTX]

mechanical = check the cruise control cable connection at the throttle body. cable may be stretched and need adjustment.

electrical = cruise control amplifier, improper settings. check diodes, relays, transformers, etc

Where did the cruise control issue come from?

 

[Brian Smith]

also not sure what all this has to do with the cruise control...(bump)