Cracked flex plate

KCsTJ

KCsTJ

TJ student
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Farmersville, TX, United States
This is a flex plate from my 97 2.5L 3 speed 30rh transmission.
The pencil is pointing to the main crack, but look closer and you can see cracks around the circumference of the center hub.
I dont.know why this happened and I couldn't get a straight answer from the transmission shop that did a complete overhaul 1 month ago.
20180914_153325.jpg

From the looks of the other cracks it wasnt far from a catastrophic failure.

Initial symptom was a metallic noise coming from under the bell housing.
Other symptoms it caused:
...misfire cylinder number 3;
... a loping idle, as if it had a racing cam (it actually sounded cool)
... and a undulating driveline vibration at Hwy speed. It would vibrate for a couple secs then fade away then come.back, etc.
Now its fixed (it better be) and runs good with no vibrations. So far.
..
 
Not saying this is what happened. But it’s very possible when the rebuilt trans was reconnected to the motor things weren’t quite lined up. That or there was a bit of binding when the bell housing slid over the alignment dowels in the engine block. The mechanic MAY have inadvertently drawn the two assemblies together using the flex plate bolts that thread into the torque converter and stressed the flex plate.

The metallic noise and vibration you had could be explained by the cracked flex plate. I’m not too sure about the misfire?

Obviously this can’t be proven, but a reputable shop should at least give you a break on the replacement even though they are reluctant to admit fault.
 
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Regardless of admitting fault they should have checked that and saw it before they put the transmission in in my opinion, If it was cracked when they were there, but if it started making noise way after they worked in it, it will be hard to prove they were at fault. It is possible it cracked under the pressure of a new torque converter. That is unusual but I have seen it before.

My thought is that it has been cracked all a long maybe not as bad, but they didn't even look at it when they replaced the transmission, and it got worse with the new one. I would venture to bet that it is actually the transmission places fault, they should have tried to sell you a new one when they were in there. I would fight them for some kind of a refund if possible. You should not have had to pay for that twice. They should have checked that while there were in there.

I cannot think of anything that would cause a crack just by changing the transmission. Meaning I bet it was cracked all along.

I also think it is possible that since it was cracked and making noise it was out of balance which might have caused it to think it was misfiring.
 
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ac_ said:
Regardless of admitting fault they should have checked that and saw it before they put the transmission in in my opinion, If it was cracked when they were there, but if it started making noise way after they worked in it, it will be hard to prove they were at fault. It is possible it cracked under the pressure of a new torque converter. That is unusual but I have seen it before.

My thought is that it has been cracked all a long maybe not as bad, but they didn't even look at it when they replaced the transmission, and it got worse with the new one. I would venture to bet that it is actually the transmission places fault, they should have tried to sell you a new one when they were in there. I would fight them for some kind of a refund if possible. You should not have had to pay for that twice. They should have checked that while there were in there.

I cannot think of anything that would cause a crack just by changing the transmission. Meaning I bet it was cracked all along.

I also think it is possible that since it was cracked and making noise it was out of balance which might have caused it to think it was misfiring.
Click to expand...

X2. They should at least replace the plate, at your expense and only charge you the labor to replace it, not the labor to remove and install the tranny, you already paid for that.
 
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The cracked flex.plate ruined the torque convertor and internal pump.
Also the valve body had to be replaced. Ugh .
I found a used flex plate on EBay and crossed my fingers and bought it for $50.00.
The jeep dealer said he could get me a new Mopar flex plate shipped to me for $550.00. Gadzooks !
I went with the used and so far so good.

@jgaz the misfire was most likely due to the flex.plate wobble to the point the crankshaft position sensor recorded a misfire.
 
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KCsTJ said:
The cracked flex.plate ruined the torque convertor and internal pump.
Also the valve body had to be replaced. Ugh .
I found a used flex plate on EBay and crossed my fingers and bought it for $50.00.
The jeep dealer said he could get me a new Mopar flex plate shipped to me for $550.00. Gadzooks !
I went with the used and so far so good.

@jgaz the misfire was most likely due to the flex.plate wobble to the point the crankshaft position sensor recorded a misfire.
Click to expand...

Was it difficult to find the Flex Plate? I too have a cracked one and I am having difficulty in locating one
 
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