transmission death rattle at low idle

[Austin.Moore 94]

I recently bought a 1966 corvair monza 110 with a powerglide transmission after a week of driving the car started to rattle in gear at low idle. Any help would be amazing.

[Wagon Master]

Possibly torque convertor to flex plate bolts are loose. Remove front upper sheet metal, bell housing inspection cover and check bolts.

[bbodie52]

Welcome to the Corvair Forum!

I'm trying to properly interpret your description of the Corvair's "death rattle at low idle". Are you saying that the engine is stumbling or running rough, because it seems to be idling too slowly with the transmission in DRIVE? While holding your left foot on the brake pedal, does a slight pressure on the gas pedal smooth things out? (Increasing the idle speed slightly). Or, does the death rattle in DRIVE only occur when the engine is fully warmed up and off of the automatic chokes, or does it also rattle with the engine cold and still operating with the automatic chokes set? If it only occurs when warmed up, perhaps the idle speed is simply too low. When cold, the fast idle cams are set to increase the engine idle when cold, and the idle speed would be slower when the engine is warm and the automatic chokes have released the fast idle cams on the carburetors.

If the sound you hear is a mechanical rattle sound, do you hear the sound in both NEUTRAL and DRIVE?

If a mechanical rattle that occurs at idle in NEUTRAL and DRIVE, it is important to try to locate the source of the noise. If you think it might be related to the cooling fan, alternator, etc. you can confirm this by temporarily removing the fan belt and then see if the rattle sound disappears when you start and run the engine briefly at idle.

If the problem is a loose torque converter, as suggested in an earlier post, here are some pictures to help you to locate the access opening to check the attachment bolts.

The flex plate is in the shape of a triangle. There are three bolts securing it to the torque converter. There is a small access opening near the top of the bell housing — accessible from the engine compartment.

In the first picture below, the bell housing is shown with the side that bolts to the engine facing up. The opening to access the torque converter bolts is at the one o'clock position. The large opening to be used for inspecting the torque converter and ring gear is at the five o'clock position.

If you can narrow-down the source of the "death rattle" or provide a more-detailed description, and need help to resolve the problem, please let us know.



This next illustration shows the flex plate access hole and cover, and how the flex plate attaches to the torque converter.



This picture shows the access hole cover, that can be seen when the forward sheet metal shroud is removed.



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I would like to encourage you to expand on your initial post and tell us more about yourself, your Corvair, and your goals for your Corvair. If you can describe your personal assessment of your mechanical skills and abilities, that would help a lot. Members of the Corvair Forum love to be helpful in assisting other Corvair owners with technical support and advice, but it helps a lot if we have some understanding of your technical background and mechanical abilities, Corvair-related knowledge, etc. Helping us to know more about you and your Corvair will help us to write comments to you that are tailored to your needs and experience. Pictures are great too, because pictures of your Corvair will help us to visualize where you are with your Corvair and its condition at the present time. Knowing your location is also useful, because knowing where you live can sometimes suggest possibilities to resolve some issues or problems.

[Austin.Moore 94]

Yes ir did but before I could get her home something went wrong and now she wont move.

[Wagon Master]

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There is another rather large, uncovered opening in the bellhousing at about the 7 o'clock area.
Start the engine and in neutral with parking brake on, take a flashlight and see if the torque convertor is spinning. It should be. If not you've either sheared the bolts or they fell out. Rare, but the flex plate can also crack completely in two pieces.

[72BBNova]

I've had both of those issues happen on two different car's. First the torque converter bolts were loose, I would get a loud rattle in park when I would give it gas. Second was a broken flex plate where it bolted to the flange on the crank, same type of noise doing the same thing, in park and giving it some gas. Jeff