I posted a little walk around video of my Comet running, but I'm getting a bit of a whine from the back of the engine, which I think has to be coming from the trans. We drove the car down to put it away for the winter and it seemed to run and shift ok. Any thoughts on what we should look for? The car does not have power steering and has a roller 5.0L mated to the original C-4 auto using a new 50 oz. 157 tooth flywheel sourced from Summit Racing. This is the first time it has run under its own power for over 35 years.
Does the noise increase if you rev up the motor or stay the same? Sounds like fan belt or bearing noise from water pump or alternator? David
Well, it does increase with the revs. I don't think it's engine related as we did all new bearings, seals, timing set, etc. on the rebuild. New alternator, water pump, etc. We had the engine running before it went in the car and didn't have the whine. There was a little rust on the fan and crank pulley that I thought I got all of it off. I told my dad it almost sounds like it has a blower on it. I wish it did, that would be cool. I'm going to pull the engine back out in the spring to fix a couple of rust issues in the front aprons and to switch it over to the 5 speed then. I'll double check the pulleys again. - Matt
The other thought I had was that when we took the old motor out, that they had bolted it completely up and it was locked up because the torque convertor wasn't completely seated. I would think though if the front pump had been messed up that it would be leaking and wouldn't have run and shifted correctly. - Matt
Just to eliminate any possibility of water pump/alternator noise, try removing the fan belt and fire up the motor and see if the noise goes away. Suggest doing this when motor is cold, you will only be running for a couple of minutes, so no worries about overheating........ Maybe post another video with the hood open, motor running and maybe we can spot something? Good luck! perhaps even an alignment issue with the pulleys? David
You could remove the fan belt to see (or hear) if the noise goes away. If it does then you know it's either the alternator or water pump
Sounds kind of like the pump or possibly the weights on the flex plate are contacting the shim plate.
We had the engine running out of the car with the alternator and water pump with no noise. My dad also mentioned potentially the flex plate rubbing. I guess we'll have to do some more looking. Maybe if it doesn't snow this weekend. - Matt
That sure sounds like front pump whine to me. A quick line pressure test will tell the real story but my years of experience tells me that you likely damaged the front pump during the previous install. Drawing a motor and trans together too tight when the converter is not fully seated is a fairly well known death sentence for gears and precision machined surfaces. Converter notches/clocking lugs can even crack the rotor if the force gets high enough. Have also seen MANY decent mechanics forget to remove manual trans pilot bearings prior to install as well. I've probably done it more times than I care to remember too.. lots going on with an engine/drivetrain assembly plus it's one of those "out of sight out of mind" sorta things.. not to mention the old "chit happens" reality of life. I can only assume you'd have been diligent to replace the trans filter?.. but sometimes a clogged filter will starve the pump and can be corrected if caught early enough. Then sometimes the whine never completely goes away because the damage has already been done. Another thing to keep in mind is that compared to the last motor it was mated to, that transmission probably thinks its connected to a big block now. And after sitting for 35 years it probably really wishes it was bolted to a low torque little 6 cylinder for the last years of its life. lol
Well, we really wanted to get it running before we put it away for the winter, So I probably won't get a chance to look at it real good for the next couple months her in WV. I've got most of the stuff to change it over to a T-5, so that may be the cure come spring. - Matt
Jeff, that is too funny. It doesn't increase with her in the car, just with the more parts I buy for it.
