[2Seater2003]

My local mechanic is not sure about what is causing the vibration when my 2.2L engine is running. He is somewhat confident that the torque converter is worn and needs to be replaced. After the new part is delivered, I will bring the S10 to his shop.
. . .
This is a second diagnosis. The first time he checked, he found that the fan clutch was worn and needed replacing, which was done. That was a needed repair because before replacing the clutch, the fan could be wiggled with about 1/4" of forward/backward play.
. . .
Severity of vibration varies. At max, the rear view mirror in the cab gives blurred images. The driver side mirror, oddly enough, delivers unblurred images whether or not any vibration is occurring.
. . .
It vibrates the least amount in Park. Neutral is next. The most is when in Reverse or any of the forward gears, with the brake on.
. . .
Anther symptom I know about is a slow leak in transmission fluid. Now that I am aware, I check the fluid level frequently and top off as needed..
. . .
I can't tell for sure if there is any slippage in 4th gear, which the internet said was a possible symptom. Current guess = not slipping.
Another symptom from the internet is decreased gas mileage, but I haven't been checking mileage, so I don't know.
. . .
For the forum, I wonder what else might cause vibration - - Just in case vibration is still occurring with a new torque converter installed.

 

[oldeerslayer]

Cracked flexplate? Loose bolts?

 

[manbearpig]

Bad motor mounts.

 

[2Seater2003]

Cracked flexplate? Loose bolts?

Thanks, oldeerslayer ! I don't know about the flexplate (what it is, where it is). I will check all the bolts that I can locate.

 

[2Seater2003]

Bad motor mounts.

Thanks, manbearpig. That is a logical thing but it didn't occur to me. Will check them.

 

[2Seater2003]

Bad motor mounts.

I just looked it up. I will mention it to my mechanic when he is in there replacing the torque converter.

OH . . . Wait a second . . .

I will bet my booties and 2 weeks allowance that he already knows it is something to be checked, and he will do that, so I guess I won't mention it after all.

 

[Rhotpursuit]

I just looked it up. I will mention it to my mechanic when he is in there replacing the torque converter.

OH . . . Wait a second . . .

I will bet my booties and 2 weeks allowance that he already knows it is something to be checked, and he will do that, so I guess I won't mention it after all.

No no no....dfon't assume he knows to check it...mention it.

 

[Tranzman]

Sagging engine mounts can not absorb vibrations that are designed into the engine.
Does it have a bad fan bracket bearing?
I concur with @oldeerslayer flex-plate. Because the bell-housing is enclosed you can't really inspect the flex-plate without removing the transmission.

 

[PeteD]

My local mechanic is not sure about what is causing the vibration when my 2.2L engine is running. He is somewhat confident that the torque converter is worn and needs to be replaced. After the new part is delivered, I will bring the S10 to his shop.
. . .
This is a second diagnosis. The first time he checked, he found that the fan clutch was worn and needed replacing, which was done. That was a needed repair because before replacing the clutch, the fan could be wiggled with about 1/4" of forward/backward play.
. . .
Severity of vibration varies. At max, the rear view mirror in the cab gives blurred images. The driver side mirror, oddly enough, delivers unblurred images whether or not any vibration is occurring.
. . .
It vibrates the least amount in Park. Neutral is next. The most is when in Reverse or any of the forward gears, with the brake on.
. . .
Anther symptom I know about is a slow leak in transmission fluid. Now that I am aware, I check the fluid level frequently and top off as needed..
. . .
I can't tell for sure if there is any slippage in 4th gear, which the internet said was a possible symptom. Current guess = not slipping.
Another symptom from the internet is decreased gas mileage, but I haven't been checking mileage, so I don't know.
. . .
For the forum, I wonder what else might cause vibration - - Just in case vibration is still occurring with a new torque converter installed.

Did it ever run smoothly..........?

 

[2Seater2003]

Sagging engine mounts can not absorb vibrations that are designed into the engine.
Does it have a bad fan bracket bearing?
I concur with @oldeerslayer flex-plate. Because the bell-housing is enclosed you can't really inspect the flex-plate without removing the transmission.

View attachment 370654

Thank you, Tranzman. I will mention it, certainly. I should mention that when he replaces the torque converter, he will have to remove the transmission, so he will be right there.

I will mention the bad fan bracket bearing. Good to know other things to be checked. Thanks.

 

[2Seater2003]

No no no....dfon't assume he knows to check it...mention it.

I just told Tranzman but I will tell you, too . I will certainly mention the flexplate, I should mention that when he replaces the torque converter, he will have to remove the transmission, so he will be right there.

 

[2Seater2003]

Did it ever run smoothly..........?

This is a good question, PeteD. I haven't owned the truck very long. Maybe the newness of it distracted me so much that I did not notice the vibration. Or maybe it didn't vibrate when I bought it, and then later it started vibrating. I feel a little bit discouraged that I don't know.

 

[PeteD]

My local mechanic is not sure about what is causing the vibration when my 2.2L engine is running. He is somewhat confident that the torque converter is worn and needs to be replaced. After the new part is delivered, I will bring the S10 to his shop.
. . .
This is a second diagnosis. The first time he checked, he found that the fan clutch was worn and needed replacing, which was done. That was a needed repair because before replacing the clutch, the fan could be wiggled with about 1/4" of forward/backward play.
. . .
Severity of vibration varies. At max, the rear view mirror in the cab gives blurred images. The driver side mirror, oddly enough, delivers unblurred images whether or not any vibration is occurring.
. . .
It vibrates the least amount in Park. Neutral is next. The most is when in Reverse or any of the forward gears, with the brake on.
. . .
Anther symptom I know about is a slow leak in transmission fluid. Now that I am aware, I check the fluid level frequently and top off as needed..
. . .
I can't tell for sure if there is any slippage in 4th gear, which the internet said was a possible symptom. Current guess = not slipping.
Another symptom from the internet is decreased gas mileage, but I haven't been checking mileage, so I don't know.
. . .
For the forum, I wonder what else might cause vibration - - Just in case vibration is still occurring with a new torque converter installed.

Mo better to spend time on absolute vib source before R&R anything. Recall 2 Rat blocks in early 80s being warrantied for internal issues when both only suffered defective fuel pumps. As a tech I fished both from scrap bin as lazy parts people failed to render either useless as required. Expensive for GM , but really good for moi. Oh , & neither had over 6k miles.........

 

[2Seater2003]

Did it ever run smoothly...

Mo better to spend time on absolute vib source before R&R anything. Recall 2 Rat blocks in early 80s being warrantied for internal issues when both only suffered defective fuel pumps. As a tech I fished both from scrap bin as lazy parts people failed to render either useless as required. Expensive for GM , but really good for moi. Oh , & neither had over 6k miles.........

Thanks, PeteD, glad to have your help.

 

[manbearpig]

I've seen bad accessory bracket bearings, they usually just make a bunch of noise, not really vibration. I couldn't imagine how much noise one would make if it were vibrating.

I almost forgot about that though, since I removed the clutch fan and pulley almost 10 years ago on my '01.

 

[2Seater2003]

I've seen bad accessory bracket bearings, they usually just make a bunch of noise, not really vibration. I couldn't imagine how much noise one would make if it were vibrating.

I almost forgot about that though, since I removed the clutch fan and pulley almost 10 years ago on my '01.

Thanks, manbearpig, I don't know where or what accessory bracket bearings are. Instead of asking you for more info, I tried Google but it catches "bearings" and shows other stuff .
Can you tell me more (please of course!)

 

[manbearpig]

It's what the other guy was calling a fan bracket. It's called an accessory bracket because the alternator, power steering pump, and air conditioning compressor all mount to it, in addition to containing the bearings for the clutch fan.

 

[2Seater2003]

It's what the other guy was calling a fan bracket. It's called an accessory bracket because the alternator, power steering pump, and air conditioning compressor all mount to it, in addition to containing the bearings for the clutch fan.

Got it, thanks a lot, manbearpig. I will go look as soon as it warms up outside.

 

[Oh yeah?]

My local mechanic is not sure about what is causing the vibration when my 2.2L engine is running. He is somewhat confident that the torque converter is worn and needs to be replaced. After the new part is delivered, I will bring the S10 to his shop.
. . .
This is a second diagnosis. The first time he checked, he found that the fan clutch was worn and needed replacing, which was done. That was a needed repair because before replacing the clutch, the fan could be wiggled with about 1/4" of forward/backward play.
. . .
Severity of vibration varies. At max, the rear view mirror in the cab gives blurred images. The driver side mirror, oddly enough, delivers unblurred images whether or not any vibration is occurring.
. . .
It vibrates the least amount in Park. Neutral is next. The most is when in Reverse or any of the forward gears, with the brake on.
. . .
Anther symptom I know about is a slow leak in transmission fluid. Now that I am aware, I check the fluid level frequently and top off as needed..
. . .
I can't tell for sure if there is any slippage in 4th gear, which the internet said was a possible symptom. Current guess = not slipping.
Another symptom from the internet is decreased gas mileage, but I haven't been checking mileage, so I don't know.
. . .
For the forum, I wonder what else might cause vibration - - Just in case vibration is still occurring with a new torque converter installed.

Retired tech here, 40 years I never saw worn out converter or one that caused a vibration when not in gear at speed. If this vibration is there when not moving a simple way to pin point would be unbolt the converter from the flywheel, push it back toward the trans and run it again, if it's still there then you know it's not the converter. Surprised he hasn't tried this yet, just how good of a tech is he? Have you considered having another shop give it a look at? Good luck...

 

[2Seater2003]

Retired tech here, 40 years I never saw worn out converter or one that caused a vibration when not in gear at speed. If this vibration is there when not moving a simple way to pin point would be unbolt the converter from the flywheel, push it back toward the trans and run it again, if it's still there then you know it's not the converter. Surprised he hasn't tried this yet, just how good of a tech is he? Have you considered having another shop give it a look at? Good luck...

Thanks, Oh yea?, I will pass this on to him. I forgot to include a symptom that he thinks is related: there is a slow leak of transmission fluid, from the area around the front of the transmission. I know it is slow leak from the small stains on the ground overnight. I am regularly checking fluid level and occasionally I top it off, but it does not need very much fluid to get the level back up to the upper of 2 small holes in the dipstick.
. . .
Do you think the transmission isn't bolted tight enough to the transmission ? This just occurred to me. When the mechanic's workers (or he, himself, not sure) were checking on the cause of the leak, I would think that they would have checked this as well. Maybe I can look myself.
. . .
In checking on the source of the leak, they were also trying to diagnose the vibration, and for awhile he and I thought there were 2 separate problems. His torque converter theory could explain the leak, he thinks.