Clutch / Torque Converter: tightening bolts on torque converter

[mjeansonne]

I have a knock at the rear of the engine. Thought it was the new exhaust system, then thought it was the starter motor. Sent it to a mechanic and while he had it in the air, checked the torque converter and says its loose. Is there a way to tighten the torque converter bolts without seperating the transmission from the engine?

[studebaker-R2-4-me]

I have a knock at the rear of the engine. Thought it was the new exhaust system, then thought it was the starter motor. Sent it to a mechanic and while he had it in the air, checked the torque converter and says its loose. Is there a way to tighten the torque converter bolts without seperating the transmission from the engine?

I would have that mechanic look a little closer at the torque converter. You can see the flexplate and torque converter through the examining plates at the bottom of the bellhousing. To get a really good look the starter has to come out completely and the bottom plate removed. You will see that the end of the crank is bolted to a flex plate and the flex plate is bolted to the torque converter. The movement of the torque converter is most likely a cracked and worn out flex plate. It's an awful job to replace the flex plate, since the engine needs to be supported at the rear and the bell housing needs to come off the back of the engine to remove the torque converter and the flex plate. The transmission is going to come out too. Nice thing about this is that a new flex plate will not have to be replaced for another 40 or 50 years. The last one I did myself took me about 40 hours on my back with the car 18" off the ground to get everything removed, engine supported and tilted down far enough to get access to the top bell housing bolts, exhausted removed, I took out the batwing for ease of removing and replacing the transmission and bellhousing, then putting it all back together. Not a nice job.

Allen

[StudeRich]

The answer to your question is YES, by removing the cover on the lower half of the Converter Housing you can get to the Bolts in the Crank and in the Converter.

If they are not loose, it is a broken Flex Plate.
If you do not know if your Engine and Trans. are a factory matched (Dial Indicated) original pair, the Engine never having been replaced, you may need to Dial Indicate the Housing centerline to the Crankshaft centerline to prevent further problems.

[mjeansonne]

Thanks for the information. I completely rebuilt the engine last April. I replaced the flex plate. Used the same engine and transmission that was in the car when I bought it 7-8 years ago. Had a friend help me put the engine back in the car and can't remember who torqued the torque converter and whether we just "tightened" it. Thus the reason for figuring if we have to seperate the engine from the transmission. Yes, it could stil be a broken flex plate.