Transmission Rattle

[Guest imported_REATAMANZ]

1990 Reatta

When I start the vehicle I get what appears a Transmission Rattle

If I put in neutral no noise

If I put in any gear and hold the brake and rev the Engine, Rattle goes away

The sounds like gears grinding or what I would call gears stripping.

Any suggestions as to cause and what one can do to fix??

Thanks in advance as always

[shoreice]

I'm probably wrong, but is the starter hanging up on the flexplate and not releasing cleanly?

[2seater]

Any number of things can rattle at normal idle speeds, heat shields on the exhaust and catalytic converter. The common one is the harmonic damper, but your experience is a little different than typical for that. It isn't common, but it is possible the torque converter to flex plate bolts are loose. You need to pull the plastic inspection cover on the bottom of the converter enclosure and check the torque value of all three bolts. If loose, it will rattle like crazy under certain conditions, and can damage the flex plate over time. Also look for cracks around the bolt holes. You won't be able to see if there are cracks where the flexplate mounts to the crankshaft flange. You will also be able to see the starter gear if there may be a hangup there. You might try narrowing the search a little by listening under the hood while a helper creates the situations when the noise occurs. A mechanics stethyscope or even a big screwdriver held to your ear while contacting various areas near where you suspect the problem to be may help. Noises can be tough to find since the source may not be obvious and the sound may emanate from some other item. If you indeed determine it is coming from the transaxle, and no external cause is obvious, the next step would be to drop the pan and see if there are unusual parts in the pan.

[leroycook]

I also have a "rattle" in Park and neutral. In gear no problem. This sounds as if the chain is slipping on the gear. I am planning to take it to Cottmans Transmission the first chance I get. I have a NEW motor and after 40 Miles the engine stop running and would not start. This turned out to be the computor. Now it runs but I need to replace the rear brake lines due to some rust.

Any thoughts on the transmission sounds?