Grinding/loss of power

[seanmc87]

Automatic IINVES-II 99 VR4 with AYC


Developed a new problem over a long 200mile journey at the weekend, i diddnt notice it, because it only seems to occur with heavy or WOT, and most of the driving was motorway cruising.
However i now notice that when i appear to be at high torque i get a quick grinding noise accompanied by vibration through the throttle, this only last about 1 second and then dissapear, it happens mid gear, when apply alot of load onto the internals i guess, example at 70mph trying to accel quickly to 90. although will happen in all gear when under moderate/heavy load.

shift through gears fine in both auto/tip mode. drive fine if you drive like you are a fiat panda.



any insights?

thanks


sean

[Nick Mann]

That's confusing. I know of a few broken gearboxes but not like that....

Can you hear the grinding? Where does it come from?

Where abouts are you in the country - maybe someone local can have a look-see/listen and help a bit with diagnosis?

[seanmc87]

sounds front driver side. but its pretty quick and doesnt happen consistantly. im in southampton at the minute working here for a week, but i need to go back to york on friday

[bradc]

Obvious thing would be fluids. Do you know what is in there or if they have been changed at some point when you've owned the car?

[seanmc87]

would you expect a fluid change to actually cure a grinding, is it not just preventative maintenance?
not sure whats in, hasnt reached next service yet, so not changed. all work done at ralliart dealers so i guess its ok...

what exactly does the transfer box and torque converter do could they cause this?

[bradc]

I would hazard a guess at it most likely being broken, but at least dropping the oils will let you see if there is a ton of metal shards. If there is then of course you don't have to worry about putting new oil in, just start work on pulling the gearbox out!

[seanmc87]

you think most probably gear box even though it shifts fine?

[bradc]

It would make more sense that it is the gearbox than the transfer or ayc diff. If it was either of those parts you will hear them whining and making all sorts of noises all the time.

It isn't something silly like worn engine mounts that are causing the motor to bounce around?

[seanmc87]

think it will have to go into a local dealer see what they, dont feel like risking a 200 mile trip back on friday

[seanmc87]

*prepares pockets*

[VR4WGN]

do yourself a favour a quicker check is to clear the top of your box of any dust or dirt and remove your sensors 1 by 1 and look at them,theyr magnetic and if the box or TC sustains any damage these WILL have steel filings or chunks stick to them as theyr magnetized

[seanmc87]

i am in southampton in a b+b, i have access to nothing untill back in york which is 250+ miles away....my dilema

[VR4WGN]

swiss army knife? lol

[Turbo_Steve]

time to buy a cheap toolkit from Asda or similar.

Given what you describe, is it not more likely it's the propshaft bearing?
If you can get under the car, grab the propshaft, and see how much play there is in it...might be a bit more revealing: Hard load on the engine etc is liable to move it forward/back, and the propshaft to one side slightly....if the bearing is worn you'll get noise....especially if it's touching the bodywork or bracket.

Another possibility is the crank pulley.....on the Evos these have a dampener in them..if it goes, things can vibrate a bit at specific RPMs, but I wouldn't describe it as "grinding".

[seanmc87]

i have no way of getting under the car, its quite low, i am going to have to goto local dealer, see how they diagnose it and hope i dont get (prop)shafted(thats a terrible joke)

but thanks for the insights, how much work / how much cash would i be looking at for a propshaft bearing repair.


also noticed this morning that when starting from cold, untill the engine warms up after about 10min, when i am in D with foot on the brake the power seems to fluctuate...i can feel it wanting to pull forward, then almost want to stall, and then start to pull a little again, its not huge surges of power, but its noticeable. this wasnt happening before so i can only presume it related in some way.


cheers



sean

[Nick Mann]

Have you checked the ATF level on the dipstick?

[seanmc87]

yes looks fine, no sign of leaks either.

[seanmc87]

for reference ending up being offside track rod.

[peter thomson]

for reference ending up being offside track rod.

That must have been a nice surprise

[seanmc87]

:) less cash is always good (outgoing that is)