1388

My car is making a loud rattle and it 's not my exhaust or transmission. The dealer says I need to replace my torque tube or the noise will get louder. They want to charge me $1,000 for the part and $90/hour for 25/hours!! I feel like I'm getting ripped off, but I need to do it because the noise is so embarassing. Sounds like a redneck clunker car.

LT70ZR91

If it is a torque tube problem it will not go away and yes, it can only get worse. Torque tubes are usually rebuildable. 25 hours seems like a lot of labor to R & R a TT. I have only done a couple of clutches, which is a little more involved, but doesn't take that long.

I would suggest that rather than a dealer you look at a Corvette shop in your area.

PS If your CF Profile was more complete (home city) I think that someone from Texas could point you in the direction of a good shop.

Wayne O

Have you pinpointed precisely where the noise is coming from...what exactly is rattling? Are there any clues when you drive the car? Is the noise intermittent...does the noise increase/subside with RPMs? Does it happen only under power...at an idle...does the noise change when you turn, etc.? It's hard to speculate without knowing more. Sometimes a noise might not be what you think....

I recently had a mysterious metallic 'clunking' sound coming from midway under the car. At first I was thinking loose exhaust, loose CV joint, loose U-joint, etc. I could hear it at an idle but it did not seem to affect how the car drove. I couldn't find anything obvious (such as a loose exhaust). I finally used a stethoscope (with a thin metal rod attached) and tracked-down the exact location of the noise...it was coming from inside the exhaust pipe. I believe something broke loose from inside my after market, 2-stage cats and was rattling around inside the pipe. I contacted LGM and they confirmed this has happened to other cars that are tracked extensively. It's not common but they've heard of it happening before.

A little more information might help. Good luck.

Uncle Meat

Can someone explain how a torque tube goes bad? I mean isn't the torque tube just that? A long cylindrical tube that physically mates the bell housing to the transmission and houses the drive shaft? I'm having trouble picturing what would or could go bad with the torque tube? Educate me please!

Just curious...

U.M.

NYC6

Tq tube is really nothing more than an enclosed driveshaft. Its a complete one piece unit.

LT70ZR91

You a correct. The torque tube itself doesn't go bad it is usually one or both of the connecters that connect the drive shaft to the clutch and the transmission. It can also be the bearings that supports the driveshaft but it usually starts with the connecters. There are no
U-joints in the C5/C6 as we know them from previous models. When these connecters fail it is simular to a u-joint going bad and will make a clunking noise and if not repaired can end in a total failure leaving you stranded and with a much larger repair bill.

Excind

For a grand you could get a carbon fiber unit. That sounds like a ripoff to me. Not only that, the quote I got from my dealer here for a clutch change with parts and labor was $1500 and that is actually (slightly) more work than just removing the tube. I cant swear to it but I want to say they were going to charge for 8-9 hours of labor. I would shop around.

breecher_7

25 hours to replace a tq tube? Thats insanity. If it takes more then 10 they should fire all there mechanics......

78PC

I had the rear engine cover replaced in my 2005 due to an oil leak. This included removing the 6 speed trans, torque tube, enitre rearend/suspension, and of course, the clutch. I also requested they replace the slave cylinder while they had it torn apart. Total hours charged was 8.0 hours at 87.25 an hours. This was done at a small Chevy dealership. Go elsewhere.

JoesC5

The torque tube consists of the outer housing and the internal prop shaft. The prop shaft does not have conventional U-joints at the ends but a flexible connector similar to the steering shaft connector.

The original C5 torque tube assembly also has bushings mounted on the prop shaft that had a clearance to the ID of the housing. It's purpose was to prevent excessive flexing of the prop shaft. I believe they eliminated the bushings on some models of the C6, but I don't know if the OP's car has them.

In the OP's case, the dealer may be planning on replacing the flex connectors, if they are worn, not the housing. he needs to get further details from his dealer as to what they are planning to do.

Dave S

Becky....I would agree that you're getting ripped off. A total transmission rebuild wouldn't take 25 hours! Find yourself a reputable shop & get a legitimate estimate. If you don't know where to turn, try one of the local Vette clubs in your area. Can't help you from NJ, but maybe some others have knowledge of good shops nearby to you.

haljensen

A major difference between a C6 torque tube and a conventional drive shaft is that the torque tube always turns at engine speed and the drive shaft turns at the transmission determined speed.

basacowan

WOW! Does it even take that long to build a C6 at the factory?

keyplyr

Sounds exactly like what happened in my '05 A4. A torque tube *bearing* was bad. Couple hundred in labor just to replace a $3 part. Should probably replace all 4 while you're at it.

JoesC5

I'm afraid that you don't quite understand the difference between a car that has a torque tube with a closed driveshaft, and a car that has an open driveshaft.

haljensen

I understand perfectly. Do you understand the difference between a transmission before a driveshaft and a torque tube before a transmission?

The large driveshaft behind a trans has to take the torque multiplication of the trans, the torque tube before the trans. can be smaller since there's no torque multiplication.

LT70ZR91

The torque tube is a housing that connects the bell housing and the transmission. It has a drive shaft inside it.

haljensen

The common use here on the Forum is the complete assembly (housing, supports, bearing and shaft) is called a torque tube.
To be correct the shaft that runs inside the torque tube is called a propeller shaft.

Common use calls exposed shafts with U Joints driveshafts.

JoesC5

A torque tube has nothing to do with where the transmission is located. Are you aware that all Fords built before 1949 and all Chevrolet's built before 1955 had torque tubes, plus many other makes of cars. Every one of those Fords and Chevrolet's had the transmission attached to the engine, thus the prop shaft(aka driveshaft) was located between the transmission and the differential, but was enclosed in a torque tube. In all those millions of cars the prop shaft speed was determined by the transmissions output RPM, not the engine's RPM.

Do you understand the engineering principle between an application with an open prop shaft, v a torque tube v a torque arm?

haljensen

If you notice in my original post #12 that I specified a "C6" torque tube. I owned a '46 and a '48 ford so I'm familiar with their designs.