Rumble strips in my transmission

turblediesel · **Posted:** Thu Jul 08, 2010 3:48 pm

I'm guessing my torque converter is bad. I get a rumble strip vibration between 35 and 55 with harmonics higher up. Looked at the mirror while passing and it was vib'ing too much to see anything. Changed the fluid and filters with no change. Found a bit of stuff on the magnet and a couple of drilling/tapping extra parts from manufacturing. I had the TC recall done which took a month and the thing came back 2.5 quarts low. Nothing on the dipstick.

Been looking through the threads for the hot pick for torque converter replacement and see I'll need a new pump just for unstocked seals. Wondering if anyone has converted their CRD to a manual transmission? The six speed seems to be the same as the gassers but it wasn't offered with the CRD if you wanted ABS.

Ideas?

warp2diesel · **Posted:** Thu Jul 08, 2010 5:08 pm

The manual trans made by Gertage is too weak for the CRD with out reducing the torque of the 2.8L. Since a bunch of us on this side of the pond are Gear Heads who like more power, plus the Acid Head Hippies who work for the EPA, only the 545RFE was offered. If you did do the swap, you would need to get a Euro ECM and do wiring changes too.
Check your drive shaft, U joints, and the vibration dampener before you yank your trans.
I would check the torque converter bolts too, loose bolts cause problems.
I went with SunCoast and Transgo to play it safe.
Even GDE is now admitting the latest SunCoast is stronger than the Euro, not that any one has torn up a SunCoast with out having loose bolts, bad front pump, or wrong fluid.

LibertyCRD · **Posted:** Thu Jul 08, 2010 6:53 pm

Well , Getrag makes manual trannies in Dodge Ram 3500 trucks with almost 700 lb/ft of torque....so there are manuals in the Chrysler lineup that would work fine in the CRD. Even the NV4500 would work fine.

And the suncoast TC might be stronger...maybe...but it also costs 3 times as much. Is it 3 times better? Nope.

warp2diesel · **Posted:** Thu Jul 08, 2010 10:06 pm

LibertyCRD wrote:

Well , Getrag makes manual trannies in Dodge Ram 3500 trucks with almost 700 lb/ft of torque....so there are manuals in the Chrysler lineup that would work fine in the CRD. Even the NV4500 would work fine.

And the suncoast TC might be stronger...maybe...but it also costs 3 times as much. Is it 3 times better? Nope.

Getrag made the KJ 6 speed to Chrysler specifications, the Bean Counter Engineers caused the problem. Have you Got out the tape measure to see if it would fit, even if it could ever bolt up.

SunCoast $650
Euro ~$350, yup they raised the price when they saw all the orders coming in for the Euro torque converters.

Want to check your math 3X $350 = $1050, even 3 X $295 = $885.
I would be happy to work out a deal with Ron if anyone wants to pay that much for a SunCoast.
Also factor in that if you have a front pump problem you can go for the $226.66 (old price) new pump or the $68 Transgo kit that takes an extra Half hour to install the two front pump valves. $226.66 (old Price) - $68= $158.66.
To figure out what your labor rate would need to be to justify the extra $158.66, $158.66 X 2= $317.32/Hour, wish I made that much. Plus get this, you have the new springs and valves for the valve body that makes it shift better, WOW.

Side effect of the SunCoast, I have to give my wife a back massage, she didn't get one when she went for a ride with me due to the reduced vibration.

Anyone want a Hotel Owner's Wife's Salad Recipe, throw in small lumps of coal instead of croutons, wait 24 hours and collect the Diamonds coming out the backside of the Husband.

DarbyWalters · **Posted:** Fri Jul 09, 2010 10:27 am

It is pretty clear that the SunCoast TC is built with better materials than the Jeep Euro TC...and the added weight of the unit (SunCoast) will smooth out the driveline. If you can justify the $695.00 (I can), the SunCoast is in all probability a better "match" for our CRDs. I figure if I am taking down the tranny (very soon I hope) and spending the time and effort...I am going to order the SunCoast TC...and the GDE TCM to my HOT TUNE...and then save for the TURBO KIT.

I should add that if you got lucky and the F37 included the Euro TC under "warranty-customer satisfaction" ... OR ... you got a Euro TC back when the price was near $170.00, you are just fine.

changingtime · **Posted:** Fri Jul 09, 2010 5:25 pm

Make sure they flush out the cooler lines for the transmission. Mine were so clogged, it was causing the trans to overheat. It also plugged up the tranny shops machine 3 times before it was cleaned.

I went with the New suncoast and Reprograming kit. It shift awesome now and the kit fixes a problem with the pump. My understanding is...even if you get a new pump, that problem of boring a hole in it will be back in 50-60k miles. The Transgo reprogramming kit fixes this issue.

Big Montana · **Posted:** Fri Jul 09, 2010 6:11 pm

This site is the best and the worst; now I have more to think about. I have been driving more highway the last three weeks and now I'm hearing a high pitch whine around 40-55 mph only with throttle. When I take my foot off of the gas it stops. I have not paid attention to whether or not it does it after lock up.... I'm pretty sure it does because I was on the expressway. If it does it after lockup, does that eliminate the tc? I was thinking rear u joints as I have been meaning to change them due to clunking withshifting into park, reverse, and drive.

Btw, I had the tc replaced about 50k ago with the f37

MrMopar64 · **Posted:** Fri Jul 09, 2010 8:13 pm

The whine you hear is 99.9% most likely axle whine caused by the fit/finish of the ring&pinion. This actually happens quite a bit more often than people realize.

When you take your foot off the pedal, the axle goes from the drive side of the gears to the coast side, and the surface of the metal is what makes it whine. It's just a nuisance and shouldn't affect longevity any.

Big Montana · **Posted:** Fri Jul 09, 2010 8:22 pm

Oh cool, so you're talking about the rear pig or could it also be the front dif? I ask because I was thinking that it was a bearing but I figured it would do it all the time. Then I started thinking drive line because of the throttle thing.

widowmaker · **Posted:** Sat Jul 10, 2010 5:02 am

MrMopar64 wrote:

The whine you hear is 99.9% most likely axle whine caused by the fit/finish of the ring&pinion.

This made my day. I have been noticing the same whine for a while...and the more I noticed it, the more I was thinking I might have a problem. Time to turn the radio back up, and quit fixating on that whine.

Thanks

danoid · **Posted:** Sun Jul 11, 2010 11:55 am

Mine had similar issues and at 70 mph sounded like a little rice burner with no muffler. I thought my front axle was toast. Turned out to be the rear driveshaft. New rear driveshaft - no funny sounds. (well funny for a lumpy 4 cylinder diesel anyway)

turblediesel · **Posted:** Wed Jul 14, 2010 2:57 pm

Thanks for all the info. Nothing's going to happen to the thing for a couple of months since I need it to keep pretending to be transportation.

Back when CRDs were new they did offer a six-speed manual but no ABS or traction control stuff. I was thinking they had problems on the traction control side of it all but mine has the limited slip rear diff so I'm hoping the ABS can co-exist as a stand-alone system. I think it will all fit but I'm not sure I can convince the five computers and there's no competency or cooperation at dealerships here in AK. Reluctant to get into a big Bleep project since I have so many other "hobby" bikes and cars to work on. Hate to do all the parts buying and wrenching to find out it's too confused to be anything but a paper weight... and I'll still need transportation.

52,000 miles, 19mpg, diesel sells for $3.82 here.

Love the torque; too bad it self destructs.

Anybody else have problems with engine mouts freezing-up at -25 degrees? Huge vibes; bad time to walk. Do they even test these things?

Good luck to all. Pretty cool what some of you CRD'ers have done.

BVCRD · **Posted:** Wed Jul 14, 2010 5:54 pm

lemon wrote:

I'm guessing my torque converter is bad. I get a rumble strip vibration between 35 and 55 with harmonics higher up. Looked at the mirror while passing and it was vib'ing too much to see anything. Changed the fluid and filters with no change. Found a bit of stuff on the magnet and a couple of drilling/tapping extra parts from manufacturing. I had the TC recall done which took a month and the thing came back 2.5 quarts low. Nothing on the dipstick.

Been looking through the threads for the hot pick for torque converter replacement and see I'll need a new pump just for unstocked seals. Wondering if anyone has converted their CRD to a manual transmission? The six speed seems to be the same as the gassers but it wasn't offered with the CRD if you wanted ABS.

Ideas?

What TC recall?

turblediesel · **Posted:** Sat Jul 24, 2010 7:09 pm

You don't remember the torque converter recall? Back in the beginning days of CRDs? My rumbles have migrated down the drivetrain and evolved to a nifty metat on metal screaming sound which I thought might be U-joints although they have no play or clunk to them so I'm thinking the gremlin has moved into the rear differential. Now it seems quiet and there's only a little vibe at around 50 mph. Yes... prayer is the answer with better results and competency than the dealer. It's a ticking bomb for sale or trade-in. Entertaining? Yes; Transportation? No.

It shines under the mud.

Good luck all!

turblediesel · **Posted:** Tue Sep 07, 2010 5:55 pm

The problem was deferred maintenance on the limited slip differential. It's acting much better with new oil and conditioner. Still gets a little strange sometimes but it helps when I do more slow figure eights and I expect it will all be OK after the next oil change.

salden77 · **Joined:** Tue Jun 01, 2010 2:42 pm **Posts:** 271

My crd just started rumbling today if I go half throttle right before it downshifts at 50 mph

salden77 · **Joined:** Tue Jun 01, 2010 2:42 pm **Posts:** 271

Wouldn't a trans go kit raise the line pressure on the trans and get rid of the shudder?

danoid · **Posted:** Wed Sep 08, 2010 6:40 pm

I don't believe so. The variable line pressure works (I think) like this...

1) time to shift? OK, 100% pressure!
2) done shifting? OK, a little less, make sure nothing slips.
3) still no slipping? OK, a little less, make sure nothing slips.
4) repeat until something slips? OK, put a little back in.

Fooling sensors (which is what a resistor in the Trans-Go does for line pressure) in closed loop feedback controls often has no benefits. The program doesn't care if 'loop until criteria...' is x or y. It still loops until... then does something else.

The same could be said for the rest of the Trans-Go kit. Shifting is accomplished through closed loop adaptive controls to compensate for build variation and wear in the transmission. If you change components in the valve body, the learned parameters are off and you will notice an immediate difference, but the software will eventually get back to where it wants to be.

salden77 · **Joined:** Tue Jun 01, 2010 2:42 pm **Posts:** 271

danoid wrote:

I don't believe so. The variable line pressure works (I think) like this...

1) time to shift? OK, 100% pressure!
2) done shifting? OK, a little less, make sure nothing slips.
3) still no slipping? OK, a little less, make sure nothing slips.
4) repeat until something slips? OK, put a little back in.

Fooling sensors (which is what a resistor in the Trans-Go does for line pressure) in closed loop feedback controls often has no benefits. The program doesn't care if 'loop until criteria...' is x or y. It still loops until... then does something else.

The same could be said for the rest of the Trans-Go kit. Shifting is accomplished through closed loop adaptive controls to compensate for build variation and wear in the transmission. If you change components in the valve body, the learned parameters are off and you will notice an immediate difference, but the software will eventually get back to where it wants to be.

i kind of understand what you mean, the software adapts over x amount of driving time to become what it wants to be, so it will fix it for a short time and then all my problems will be back, so what is the fix here? a suncoast TC, transgo kit, and a GDE TRANS tune to fix the software?

CATCRD · **Posted:** Wed Sep 08, 2010 10:35 pm

Skip the transgo shift kit. I have one and it's not impressive and has no effect on shudder. If you just want to get rid of shudder, get a suncoast or euro converter. The TCM tune will just change shift points, not cure shudder. In fact it lets you lug lower, which makes shudder worse with the stock converter.

Rumble strips in my transmission

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