Flexplate Replacement PSA

[Neil_R]

Hey guys,

I work at an independent shop in a small town. We recently had an '02 4Runner with 213k mi in for a flex plate/drive plate/flywheel replacement due to a ticking noise.

Here is the extent of the cracks:

We ordered an ATP Z425 from Amazon. It's the same part that Advance sells, but we got it more quickly and cheaply from Amazon.

After installing it and replacing the transmission, I started it up only to hear a grinding noise. Not anything crazy, but unsettling to say the least. Lifted the truck back up and looked around in the bell housing from the access area in the bottom but couldn't find any trace of the plate contacting anything, and nothing made a noise when the engine was spun by hand.

So naturally I gave up and pulled the transmission back out. After a while of looking *everywhere* between the torque converter and the block, we decided to pull the torque converter out and look behind it. Lo and behold, it had a ring of heavy scratches around the outer rear area. I wish I had taken pictures.

After removing the new flexplate and comparing it's measurements with the original plate, I found that the ATP plate was causing the torque converter to sit approx. 4-5mm farther back in the bell housing than the original. Apparently this is enough to cause it to contact the housing fairly heavily.

Armed with this knowledge, we ordered a Balkamp 6005166 from NAPA and compared it's measurements with the original plate. We found it to be almost an exact replica of the original. I installed it today and now the truck is back together and drives great.

Moral of the story, don't cheap out on flexplates. For $50 more than the ATP you can potentially save yourself a lot of trouble. Camelback has the OEM plate for approx $200, so it may be worth it for some of you to order it depending on your local NAPA's pricing.

 

[Xinirgi]

Thanks for the post! Always great to see proper information like this in forums. Could you describe the symptoms and troubleshooting procedure by any chance?

 

[Neil_R]

Thanks for the post! Always great to see proper information like this in forums. Could you describe the symptoms and troubleshooting procedure by any chance?

Thanks man.

A severely cracked flexplate will make a tinny metallic ticking noise coming from the bell housing when the engine is warm. When you get back from a drive and step out, the noise will be obvious. It sounds much different than our lifter taps.

If you do indeed hear it making a noise, put 'er up on jack stands or a lift and remove the bell housing lower cover just behind the front diff. Look carefully for the cracks, they're harder to see from the engine side. You will have to turn the engine some to see all the way around.

In the case of this particular truck, the sound was so obvious we didn't even bother looking. Once you've seen a few you'll recognise the sound instantly.

 

[KTM311racer]

I am having an issue with my 97' Limited 4x4 automatic. I noticed a ticking/knocking noise the other day and then later that day I was driving back from my mom's house it acted like it was jumping out of gear. If I pulled over and shut it off for about 5 minutes I could crank it back up and drive for another 5 minutes before it would do it again. Luckily I was able to get it back to where I had my trucked parked so I could get home.

I went ahead and changed the trans fluid and filter thinking maybe the filter was stopped up. It drives and shifts as it should if not better than before. However I still hear the ticking/knocking/chirping noise when I put it in drive or reverse. The sound seems to go away after I take my foot off the break and pick up a little speed. After reading some other threads on here and other sites I am starting to think I might have a failing flex plate.

BTW: it has right at 250k miles on it.

Would a severely cracked flex plate cause the vehicle to act like it is jumping out of gear?

Also when you turn the engine off you can hear knocking for a few seconds as it shuts off. Is this consistent with a bad flex plate?

Thank you for the feedback/opinions. Just trying to determine if this is the actual issue before I pull the transmission out.

 

[rockyMTNvagabond]

I just had the same problem with my truck.

http://www.toyota-4runner.org/3rd-gen-t4rs/210248-mystery-noise-i-hope-its-not-real-bad-news.html

If you look in the first post there is a video that has the sound that the flex plate makes when it gets cracks in it. I ended up using oem as it lasted over 200,000 miles. I am just trying to help the next guy as this was a really tough one to diagnose for someone who had never heard a sound like that before.

 

[KTM311racer]

I just had the same problem with my truck.

http://www.toyota-4runner.org/3rd-gen-t4rs/210248-mystery-noise-i-hope-its-not-real-bad-news.html

If you look in the first post there is a video that has the sound that the flex plate makes when it gets cracks in it. I ended up using oem as it lasted over 200,000 miles. I am just trying to help the next guy as this was a really tough one to diagnose for someone who had never heard a sound like that before.

Thank you for the quick reply. Mine sounds like that too once it gets warmed up.....at first it is more of a ticking/knocking sound and then after it warms up it sounds just like yours. I am fairly certain I have the same problem. It isn't my primary vehicle so my plan is to fix it myself. Tomorrow I will try to remove the inspection plate and see if I can see anything.

Did yours ever act like it was jumping out of gear and did it make the sound immediately after shutting it off?

 

[rockyMTNvagabond]

Thank you for the quick reply. Mine sounds like that too once it gets warmed up.....at first it is more of a ticking/knocking sound and then after it warms up it sounds just like yours. I am fairly certain I have the same problem. It isn't my primary vehicle so my plan is to fix it myself. Tomorrow I will try to remove the inspection plate and see if I can see anything.

Did yours ever act like it was jumping out of gear and did it make the sound immediately after shutting it off?

In my case the only indication that anything was wrong with it was the noise. it never jumped out of gear or acted funny. I had an issue with jumping out of gear about a year ago but it was a linkage issue with the automatic shiftier that i adjusted under the truck to correct the problem. This was totally unrelated to the flex plate issue. You may want to try pulling the kick down cable that you see me pull in the video. When i did that it changed the pitch of the ticking sound. The only time it made the noise was after it was warm. The noise was getting worse so i just went ahead and paid a shop. I would have attempted to fix it myself but i was out of town for work and did not have the tools with me or the time. I would imagine if you get a big enough crack in the flex plate it would cause more issue but that is outside of my knowledge and would not want to offer advise.

 

[KTM311racer]

rockyMTNvagabond,

Thank you for sharing. I took a look at your build thread and I really like what you've done to your 4runner. When you have a chance can you add some pics of the homemade snorkel to your thread?

Thank you!