Thread: Flexplate, how much, how to, and where.

So, after researching this in other posts, listening to youtube videos, I've come to the conclusion that my flex plate is cracked or loose. Probably cracked. I'm going to crawl under the car tomorrow, which I've been avoiding because I don't have a concrete or asphalt pad to do it on, just rocks and sand, or grass and sand. Once I'm under there I'm going to check out the flex plate. Assuming that it is indeed cracked and not just loose, where would one get one of these, and how much do they run? I haven't been able to find much info on it from sites, the one place that I did find listed some aftermarket one for $400 which I thought was pretty ludicrous, I could buy a new damn transmission for that much. When I explained that I thought it might be the flexplate to a friend of mine he said I was talking about the flywheel, which confused me further. As far as the how to, I'm guessing that I have to drop the transmission to change out a flexplate, correct? I dropped a transmission on a 95 3.1 GP SE, and that wasn't alot of fun, especially with the aforementioned working area. I'm going to take a closer look at the harmonic balancer too because others have suggested that. I took off the supercharger belt and ran it, and it still has the same issues, so it doesn't appear to be the coupler. So, cost, location, and transmission drop, yes or no. Thanks for the replies.

I might have to take you up on that Bill, I'm going to take a look later tonight and see if that's what it is.

The flexplate bolts are torque to yield, remember to replace them when you change the flexplate

I'm just going to buy the parts from the parts store so I don't have to wait, much as I don't want to just change the parts out and hope that fixes it, that's about what I'm going to have to do.

partstores will have a listing for the flex plate? : s

I didn't find a listing for a flex plate when I looked, however, others have posted decent sources to get them.

In other news, I went ahead and replaced the CPS and the harmonic balancer tonight. No change. The vehicle still knocks inconsistently after it's warmed up and after stop and go driving. It doesn't sound like a constant tapping or knocking like a rod or lifter would be. It sounds almost like a rattle, it's very inconsistent and only does it at idle in neutral or to a lesser extent in drive or in park. The sound is most definitely coming from the harmonic balancer area. Another thread on a similar topic said he found part of his timing chain tensioner in his oil pan. Could this be a cause? What else could be making a rattling with all belts off and the car idling that's around the harmonic balancer?

Possibly unrelated, there is a popping noise coming from that same area when I accelerate but it doesn't always do it, and usually only after stop and go driving. After a friend mentioned that I should try holding the brake and giving it gas while it's in drive, essentially brake torquing it, I was able to replicate it on command. The only sound I can describe it to is like popcorn popping, or like grinding your teeth. It only does it in D, 3, 2, or 1st. It does not do it in R, N, or P. The sound appears to be coming only from that side, the same side that this strange knocking is. So, ideas? Would it be something as simple as a bad CV axle? That seems to fit if it's doing it at first acceleration, but would it intermittently knock while sitting still in drive and to a lesser extent neutral or park? I've suspected it was something transmission related, but what specifically? It almost sounds like metal rattling against either other, like a spring popping when I accelerate, but it can be replicated by brake torquing.

Appears to be the motor mount. Put the car up on ramps, had a friend hold the brake and give it gas, still heard the sound. Put a jack under the oil pan and transmission pan (with boards in between) and jacked it up a bit. No noise. In drive with the brake depressed, I lowered the jack and as the motor sat down it started knocking again. Gonna pull the mount and replace it tomorrow, will report back when it's replaced if this fixes the issue.

Confirmed, issue resolved by replacing motor mount and/or transmission mount. I say and or because just the motor mount might have been enough, but I had the cash to throw at it, so I got both. Looking at the motor mount side by side with the old one, the old one sits about an inch lower than the new one and the center pin was starting to be rubbed flat between the top two studs from the motor sitting on it. I replaced it with another hydraulic mount even though I wanted to get a solid rubber one. Orielly didn't stock and apparently couldn't even order the solid rubber one. It came with a lifetime warranty so if the ***** goes out again, I'll just pull it and replace it. It'll probably outlast the car though. One thing of note though, when I finally got the thing to line up and sit down and I went to put the nuts on, one of the bottom studs twisted off. I wasn't even really tightening it yet, certainly not strong arming it or anything and the damn thing snapped. I had to use a breaker bar to get the old one loose, so I figured I had a good idea of how tight to go, but apparently I was way off. It might have just been a bad stud, I don't know. I took it back to replace it and tried to get a solid rubber one only to find out they didn't carry it and couldn't order it. It was going to take another day to get one in, unless I went to another location. On my way to the other location I stopped at an Advance Auto Parts to see if they had a solid rubber one but they didn't, just the exact same part, but the studs looked like they were made of a different grade so I just bought theirs, and I'm going to take the other back and just get my money back. I'd of waited and ordered one from zzp or somewhere else, but I don't have time to wait. Thanks to all that replied, this site has become a major boon to me in the past few months.