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Anybody that's had a failure in the torque tube, what were the early symptoms? M6 car sounds like rattling from under the car, weird vibration at 1500rpm and 4000rpm along with lots of movement in the shifter. Recently it's also started. Weird vibration/noise when taking hard right hand turns. This sound like couplers or bearings?
Usually you will hear a hollow scraping noise as an early symptom. When it starts a "marbles in a can" type noise, that's usually the "it's done" moment. The RPM vibration for the manuals I've heard of being a sign as well. It's hard to say without hearing it, but based on your description it sounds like yours is failing unfortunately.
It's possible, but check your transmission mounts. Could have failed and be causing your issues. Rattle noise could be the drivetrain vibration hitting the broken mount together somewhere and the vibration/noise under load could be caused by the drivetrain moving. This is just a theory, but worth checking out. Good luck!
Last edited by VetteofSD; Aug 29, 2019 at 12:30 PM.
clutch in or out it sounds similar to the clutch discs rattling. the vibrations at 1.5 and 4k rpm are present clutch in or out as well as in or out of gear. also a weird creak/clunk from where im assuming the front bellhousing is whenever i try to take off quickly or if im not careful enough with clutch release and it bogs.
i need to get underneath it tonight and check all the fasteners.
Mine was turned in this Tuesday, service rep just told me its the torque tube like I stated to him before they even looked at it. TC replaced at 6000 miles give or take , triple flush done with new fluid this June so now I will patiently wait for parts.
Thanks for listening to the noise. I'm not sure that it's shifter rattle...I've already swapped out the shifter...plus when the noise shows up I've tried firmly putting pressure in all directions and it doesn't affect the rattle...
I have gotten under the car with the engine running and put the stethoscope all over the place but the freakin rattle only seems to show up while the car is under load and moving.
It seems to start up after the car reaches operating temperature...
I've had one transmission shop ride with me and they were "sure" it's not the transmission or torque tube since the car runs and drives perfectly fine otherwise. They said a failing torque tube would sound a lot different (though I'm not sure how much experience they have with corvettes) They told me that it's probably something behind the dash.
This week a different shop actually took the time to put the car on the lift, turn off traction control and try to listen for the noise while revving. Unfortunately the noise only seems to happen when the car is under load.
Lastly, here's what I tried and my thoughts: 1. I've tried using my quickjacks to visually inspect and tighten anything that might appear lose under the car, under hood, any bolt I can get to behind dash (which isn't many)
2. I've read that a faulty harmonic balancer can cause rattle (but a friend says the harmonic balancer wouldn't be influenced by certain RPM)
3. I've read the the catalytic converters can fail and or mufflers and cause a rattle (but the videos I've listened to online make a distinct noise different that what I hear)
4. I've removed the plate that cover the torque tube to visually check for anything obvious (the link has my photos of that and the videos are labeled for reference https://photos.app.goo.gl/5sHKyzA5oD8jmez46)
5. I've banged around the dry sump oil hoses under the hood but doubt it's that.
6. I've read some folks had a broken o-ring inside dry sump oil tank but the few videos I found sounded like a much different type of rattle
7. I've gotten under the car with it running using the cheap harbor freight stethoscope and tried to listen to anything out of the ordinary but noise only shows up while under load..
8. I noticed the power steering reservoir looks like fluid somehow leaks out of it but no drips or anything and I don't see how that could possibly be related but I did read in some corvette forum online about a guy that had a failing power steering pump or pulley replace it and got rid of his rattle so that's why I bring this up...
9. I've repeatedly tried to adjust the shifter as seen in Froggy's tutorial but doesn't seem to make a difference. The weird little rattle/ shows up once the car is warmed up and through all the gears at various RPM...
Have you checked the springs that hold the exhaust? It can cause a rattle. I had to replace mine before. They are located in front of the trans at the back of the torque tube. Do you have an aftermarket axleback? If so check the clearance on either side of the trans by the frame. Sometimes they are too close an can hit the frame and cause a rattle.
Check the 7 screws under the top front edge of the inside of the glove box. A loose one of those can cause an intermittent vibration-sensitive rattle.
Also, I don't think it's good to spread this conversation across dozens of old threads. You're more likely to get useful suggestions in your own dedicated thread. Post your updates there and it will stay active.
Have you checked the springs that hold the exhaust? It can cause a rattle. I had to replace mine before. They are located in front of the trans at the back of the torque tube. Do you have an aftermarket axleback? If so check the clearance on either side of the trans by the frame. Sometimes they are too close an can hit the frame and cause a rattle.
These exhaust springs?
You mean these springs right?
I think so. I've even lubed them up, shaken them, wiggled them... they SEEM fine...
The exhaust is all stock. It does have the NPP mild to wild though it doesn't make a difference which mode it's on...
Check the 7 screws under the top front edge of the inside of the glove box. A loose one of those can cause an intermittent vibration-sensitive rattle.
Also, I don't think it's good to spread this conversation across dozens of old threads. You're more likely to get useful suggestions in your own dedicated thread. Post your updates there and it will stay active.
Thanks for the tip on those 7 screws. I went to the garage and tightened them but the noise I'm here is more of a metal-on-metal vibration type of rattle...
You mean these springs right?
I think so. I've even lubed them up, shaken them, wiggled them... they SEEM fine...
The exhaust is all stock. It does have the NPP mild to wild though it doesn't make a difference which mode it's on...
Anybody that's had a failure in the torque tube, what were the early symptoms? M6 car sounds like rattling from under the car, weird vibration at 1500rpm and 4000rpm along with lots of movement in the shifter. Recently it's also started. Weird vibration/noise when taking hard right hand turns. This sound like couplers or bearings?
Im going to go out on a limb abs suggest that could be your problem...
I had no symptoms and just decided to rebuild the torque tube since I was having the transmission rebuilt and the clutch went out...
but when I took the torque tube apart... this is what I found..
i had a similar sounding rattle and it was the front flanges of the exhaust mid-pipe just barely touching the torque tube plate under load. The contact was so slight that there was no real discernable mark. I use an angle grinder to round off the edge.
I also had the OE shifter rattle under load (only 6k miles!)...replaced it.
And finally, also another tapping sound that was even harder to chase down...a missing screw holding the plastic rear valance (faux-diffuser) on near the exhaust
Thanks guys. I will check the exhaust again for any hint that it can be that.
I am starting to strongly suspect that it's the torque tube after all...
It's gonna be slow process. Being a fulltime teacher with a woodworking side hustle the time I have is super limited. This might drag on for a while. I did buy one of those 6 channel chassis ears stethoscope sound detector tools from eBay for 55 bucks. I thought it would be a gimmick but it seems to work better than those normal mechanic stethoscopes. I hooked one of the probes to the shifter (removed shifter ball thingy) while driving home from work and the rattle noise is definitely amplified strongly from there.
I'm gonna figure out how to clamp various other areas and drive around as soon as I get a chance (the cables seem long enough and the clamps strong enough to do this experiment)
Torque tube issues?
