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TR2/3/3A TR2/3 Guru Final Exam

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or maybe the inspection plate is reversed? Engine mounts broken or loose? Rear mount NG?
 
The pilot bushing does the most work and compensates for the greatest speed differential in first gear. Just a thought.
 
Very interesting thought! I'll have to put you on the back burner with the tranny guys to check it, though...
 
AND...the initial results are in! We still have no winner!! So keep the the ideas coming.

1. The brakes are all excellent. Nothing loose, nothing worn, nothing mis-adjusted.
2. The U-joints are smooth and silent, with no play, clicks or clunks.
3. The drive shaft is clear and unobstructed.
4. The pinion is tight with no end play. The axles measure spot on for end play. The diff is smooth and silent.
5. It DOES start to make the noise earlier if I warm the engine with the clutch in.
6. The clutch inspection plate is free and clear of the crank and flywheel. There are no marks on the paint indicating it has ever hit.
7. The engine and tranny mounts are tightly installed and fully intact. No splits or other signs of failure.

The hint I’ll give is a bit of a refinement of the noise description. I would best describe it as a gravely sound...sorta like if you put a bunch of rocks in a metal pale and sloshed them around. Not shaking, mind you, but sloshed them in a circular motion.
 
Oh, That's it ! It's that pail of gravel you left in your boot. It tipped over and is sloshing around all over the place !!
 
I thought about your noise yesterday and thought I wonder if he checked the generator bearings and generator fan and I thought he must have, but again I had to post to be sure.
 
The generator was actually rebuilt twice. I fried the first one by running those 6 volt headlights that drew way to many amps. But, no, not the generator. The second one is cranking along silently and at full power.

And, for full disclosure, I did already find and fix the noise. So, I can say to all those thinking tranny that the transmission came through with flying colors...no tranny issue.

As another hint...I can tell you that it took 30 minutes to find the problem and fix it...at no cost!
 
CJD said:
The generator was actually rebuilt twice. I fried the first one by running those 6 volt headlights that drew way to many amps. But, no, not the generator. The second one is cranking along silently and at full power.

And, for full disclosure, I did already find and fix the noise. So, I can say to all those thinking tranny that the transmission came through with flying colors...no tranny issue.

As another hint...I can tell you that it took 30 minutes to find the problem and fix it...at no cost!
Click to expand...

Aw come on. You are still waiting for the correct answer? I give up.

Tom
 
OK...another hint, since the class appears restless.

I personally thought that a nut or bolt had come out and fallen into the bottom of the bellhousing. Due to the slope of the housing, it would tend to rest forward against the clutch inspection plate, and then roll back against the teeth of the flywheel under acceleration. If you remember, this flywheel had come loose from the crank under previous management, so I re-drilled and upgraded to larger bolts to hold it. In my mind I pictured that I screwed up the upgrade so a flywheel bolt came out. Of course, there are also tranny front cover and clutch bolts which could also end up in the bottom of the bell housing. None of those would be good things!!

Much to my surprise, the bell housing was clear of parts. But that got me thinking a train of thought...which...eventually....got me to the real culprit....!

PS...to this day I occasionally find myself wondering what kind of racket a loose flywheel had to sound like! It was apparent the motor ran for some time with the flywheel loose. Fortunately it was not a loose flywheel this time either!
 
Possibilities:
A piece of metal had to fall into someplace - right?
That place may have moving parts - right?
1. Distributor.
2. Fan belt pulley related?
3. U-joint?
4. Fan moving backwards, forwards or sideways?
As an aside, the old Alfa noise was a fanbelt pulley. Cured in Florida before car came up.
5. Heater fan?
Am I on the right track or way off - as usual?
 
Distributor is only the usual whirring sound.
Fan belt is original style fat belt, and is adjusted snug with no noise.
Fan pulley/water pump pulley are tight and silent.
U-joints new, lubed, tight and silent.
Fan is clear of obstructions, rubber mounts are new and firm, so no rattling there.
Heater fan is off. The rattle is definitely located from the forward to mid underside.

No, although all your guesses are good ones, in this particular case they are cold.

As another clue...most systems have been mentioned now. This one, strangely, has not?!
 
****! That leaves the intake/exhaust system - loose clamp? something hitting the manifold? Air cleaner loose? My 68 years of messing around with cars is letting me down? Gimme a hint...
 
You have a one of the geared starters. One of the bolts that hold The pieces together sheared and rattled around every now and then. Had that happen.
 
pdplot said:
****! That leaves the intake/exhaust system - loose clamp? something hitting the manifold? Air cleaner loose? My 68 years of messing around with cars is letting me down? Gimme a hint...
Click to expand...

Not intake or exhaust. I did have to remove the air filter to check, fix the problem...so you are much warmer, at least location wise!
 
donbmw said:
You have a one of the geared starters. One of the bolts that hold The pieces together sheared and rattled around every now and then. Had that happen.
Click to expand...

The starter is not a geared one...but you are red hot Don.

You are so hot, everyone else give him a minute to, perhaps, elaborate on your thought....
 
It sounds to me like the bolts holding the starter on the car were loose.
 
So on my TR4A, the ring gear somehow lost all of the bolts holding it to the flywheel. Sometimes it would stick enough to the flywheel that the car would start with the stater, other times the starter would just spin the ring gear around on the flywheel. I was actually able to fix it by removing the starter, getting the gear lined up, and putting bolts in one at at time. I think as I got one side on, I rolled the car, in gear, to get the gear pressed back on.
 
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