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It’s now been a few thousand miles since I had the triple flush done on my 2016 Z06 / Z07 A8 and I’m still getting some significant vibration. It isn’t always there and the onset isn’t consistent but it happens more frequently at higher speeds > 60mph and even more so > 90 mph.
To make sure it wasn’t a wheel balance problem I had them all checked using road force balancing and they were all good. It also makes no difference whether or not I have the Range device plugged in.
So does this mean I need to have the torque converter replaced or could the cause be something else? Has anybody had this done, if so what would a typical cost be?
It’s now been a few thousand miles since I had the triple flush done on my 2016 Z06 / Z07 A8 and I’m still getting some significant vibration. It isn’t always there and the onset isn’t consistent but it happens more frequently at higher speeds > 60mph and even more so > 90 mph.
To make sure it wasn’t a wheel balance problem I had them all checked using road force balancing and they were all good. It also makes no difference whether or not I have the Range device plugged in.
So does this mean I need to have the torque converter replaced or could the cause be something else? Has anybody had this done, if so what would a typical cost be?
get a range device.get only from range,no ebay knock offs
It’s now been a few thousand miles since I had the triple flush done on my 2016 Z06 / Z07 A8 and I’m still getting some significant vibration. It isn’t always there and the onset isn’t consistent but it happens more frequently at higher speeds > 60mph and even more so > 90 mph.
To make sure it wasn’t a wheel balance problem I had them all checked using road force balancing and they were all good. It also makes no difference whether or not I have the Range device plugged in.
So does this mean I need to have the torque converter replaced or could the cause be something else? Has anybody had this done, if so what would a typical cost be?
The Triple Flush addresses issues with the Torque Converter Clutch when it disengages and engages and vibrates when it engages (similar to a clutch chatter on a manual transmission car). The TCC operates during normal shifts, whenever the AFM switches to 4-cylinder engine operation and when it shifts back to 8-cylinder operation.
Note: This transmission is equipped with an electronically controlled capacity clutch (ECCC), which allows the operation of the clutch without fully locking the torque converter cover. The clutch
maintains a small amount of slippage, approximately 20 RPM, in 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th gears, depending on the vehicle application. ECCC was developed to reduce the possibility of noise, vibration or chuggle caused by TCC apply. Full lockup is available at highway speeds on some
applications.
This may make it harder to notice tach variations as the TCC operates.
To help narrow down the source of the vibration put the transmission in manual mode and drive the car around that way for a day. Does the vibration disappear when driving in one gear Vs when the transmission is shifting from one gear to another? If you get a vibration when driving around in a single gear (without shifting) vary your speed to see if the vibration is speed/rpm related if varies with speed/rpm then it probably isn't related to the TCC.
Try driving at a constant speed in one gear while watching the tach to see if it moves up and down and whether you feel vibration when the tach changes. If you get a vibration while doing that without making any throttle changes that may indicate the TCC is causing the issue.
Bill
Last edited by Bill Dearborn; 11-28-2023 at 10:22 PM.
The Triple Flush addresses issues with the Torque Converter Clutch when it disengages and engages and vibrates when it engages (similar to a clutch chatter on a manual transmission car). The TCC operates during normal shifts, whenever the AFM switches to 4-cylinder engine operation and when it shifts back to 8-cylinder operation.
Note: This transmission is equipped with an electronically controlled capacity clutch (ECCC), which allows the operation of the clutch without fully locking the torque converter cover. The clutch
maintains a small amount of slippage, approximately 20 RPM, in 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th gears, depending on the vehicle application. ECCC was developed to reduce the possibility of noise, vibration or chuggle caused by TCC apply. Full lockup is available at highway speeds on some
applications.
This may make it harder to notice tach variations as the TCC operates.
To help narrow down the source of the vibration put the transmission in manual mode and drive the car around that way for a day. Does the vibration disappear when driving in one gear Vs when the transmission is shifting from one gear to another? If you get a vibration when driving around in a single gear (without shifting) vary your speed to see if the vibration is speed/rpm related if varies with speed/rpm then it probably isn't related to the TCC.
Try driving at a constant speed in one gear while watching the tach to see if it moves up and down and whether you feel vibration when the tach changes. If you get a vibration while doing that without making any throttle changes that may indicate the TCC is causing the issue.
Bill
As usual Bill you're an encyclopedia of knowledge and we're grateful to have you in this forum!
This is all very useful and I'll go through the above driving program to analyze the vibration further and report back. So far all I can say is the vibration I'm experiencing is not during shifts and not during V8 / V4 changes, when it does occur it's a steady vibration which becomes stronger at higher speeds even when keeping the same speed in the same gear, but I'll analyze this further as per your guidance.
Your symptoms sound more like a torque tube issue. Let’s hope not. Once you go through the diagnostic process, please share your findings. Could be very helpful for others. Good luck!
Your symptoms sound more like a torque tube issue. Let’s hope not. Once you go through the diagnostic process, please share your findings. Could be very helpful for others. Good luck!
Hate to admit this but I'm starting to contemplate trading it in, let's see what the cost of repair is once the problem is fully diagnosed.
One additional point to mention is I had zero problems with vibration during a track day, so the problem doesn't exist under hard accelleration.
The Triple Flush addresses issues with the Torque Converter Clutch when it disengages and engages and vibrates when it engages (similar to a clutch chatter on a manual transmission car). The TCC operates during normal shifts, whenever the AFM switches to 4-cylinder engine operation and when it shifts back to 8-cylinder operation.
Note: This transmission is equipped with an electronically controlled capacity clutch (ECCC), which allows the operation of the clutch without fully locking the torque converter cover. The clutch
maintains a small amount of slippage, approximately 20 RPM, in 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th gears, depending on the vehicle application. ECCC was developed to reduce the possibility of noise, vibration or chuggle caused by TCC apply. Full lockup is available at highway speeds on some
applications.
This may make it harder to notice tach variations as the TCC operates.
To help narrow down the source of the vibration put the transmission in manual mode and drive the car around that way for a day. Does the vibration disappear when driving in one gear Vs when the transmission is shifting from one gear to another? If you get a vibration when driving around in a single gear (without shifting) vary your speed to see if the vibration is speed/rpm related if varies with speed/rpm then it probably isn't related to the TCC.
Try driving at a constant speed in one gear while watching the tach to see if it moves up and down and whether you feel vibration when the tach changes. If you get a vibration while doing that without making any throttle changes that may indicate the TCC is causing the issue.
Bill
Ok, had a chance to spend some time in the car today to explore the above troubleshooting.
Started in Manual and for the most part stayed in Manual. Drove around for a bit then got onto the highway where I set cruise control and watched the tacho for any rev movement, revs held constant irrespective of what gear I was in or what speed I was holding, I used the default “Sport” rev dial as that gives the most granularity imho.Tried lots of combinations of speeds vs gears and there were no vibrations until I reached certain speeds as will be explained further below.
Holding a constant gear and varying speed was where I was regularly encountering vibrations once the speed got to about 90mph and these vibrations remained at all speeds above this, though they didn’t necessarily get any worse with increased speed after about 95 mph (this was tested upto 135 mph). Tried doing this in various gears and with various rates of accelerations and it was quite repeatable. It also didn’t make any difference what drive mode I was in, tried touring, sport and track. The vibrations might be present at lower speeds but they weren’t distinguishable vs normal road vibrations.
After experimenting for a while with in Manual mode I then switched to Drive mode and essentially got the same symptoms at the same speeds.
The symptoms to me are suggesting something is out of balance, which is why I was hoping this was just a wheel balance issue. Is it worth getting wheel balancing checked out at a second place to be doubly sure this isn’t the issue? I first had it done at Discount Tires?
Yeah I was hoping this would have been identified when getting wheels / tires road force balanced. Is it possible to have a bent wheel that still passes the balancing aspect?
I took a local mechanic out in the car also yesterday and he said the symptoms matched what he’d expect from wheel tire issues. One more snippet of info is I also put the car in neutral during one of the runs and the vibration didn’t change so that tells me it isn’t anything to do with the engine / gearbox part of the drivetrain.
I’m going to try and find a kind fellow Z06 owner in our local vette club to see if they’ll loan me their wheels / tires for a quick run, think that’s the best way to confirm if it’s a wheel tire issue. I’ll report back my findings.
Took the car to the local Chevvy dealer for further analysis, also took it for a drive with another mechanic and we all thought the vibration still pointed towards wheel balance issues, so I had the dealer redo the wheel balance (despite just having it done at Discount Tires) using road force balancing again and one of the wheels was way off. They adjusted it accordingly and now “most” of the vibration is gone and it’s driving a lot smoother now. The reason there’s still a lil vibration at high speed is because two of the wheels wouldn’t road force balance perfectly, which doesn’t appear to be that uncommon with OEM wheels based on some forum posts? I now have two more questions?
1) For those who have wheels that don’t perfectly road force balance, are they close enough that you don’t get any vibration, or is a lil bit of vibration common.
2) If I move to monoblok forged wheels from say Wheel Designers can I be guaranteed that the wheels / tires will road force balance perfectly?
Took the car to the local Chevvy dealer for further analysis, also took it for a drive with another mechanic and we all thought the vibration still pointed towards wheel balance issues, so I had the dealer redo the wheel balance (despite just having it done at Discount Tires) using road force balancing again and one of the wheels was way off. They adjusted it accordingly and now “most” of the vibration is gone and it’s driving a lot smoother now. The reason there’s still a lil vibration at high speed is because two of the wheels wouldn’t road force balance perfectly, which doesn’t appear to be that uncommon with OEM wheels based on some forum posts? I now have two more questions?
1) For those who have wheels that don’t perfectly road force balance, are they close enough that you don’t get any vibration, or is a lil bit of vibration common.
2) If I move to monoblok forged wheels from say Wheel Designers can I be guaranteed that the wheels / tires will road force balance perfectly?
When wheels won't road force balance that means they are bent. I went through this on my Z06. Couldn't get the vibration to fully go away until I finally got the car to a specialty shop that was able to confirm an ever so slightly bent wheel. They couldn't get it to road force balance better than an "11". Anything over a 9 and you will feel a vibration. I went back to the dealer with this written discovery by the specialty shop. The dealer replaced the wheel under my extended wheel and tire warranty so no out of pocket costs to me. Vibration was solved.
When wheels won't road force balance that means they are bent. I went through this on my Z06. Couldn't get the vibration to fully go away until I finally got the car to a specialty shop that was able to confirm an ever so slightly bent wheel. They couldn't get it to road force balance better than an "11". Anything over a 9 and you will feel a vibration. I went back to the dealer with this written discovery by the specialty shop. The dealer replaced the wheel under my extended wheel and tire warranty so no out of pocket costs to me. Vibration was solved.
Thanks, I should have asked them how far out of balance the wheels were. Glad they gave you a new wheel, I’ve heard sometimes the damaged wheel is just “repaired”?
I’ve been pondering whether to go the wheel / tire warranty route or just pony up and buy some monoblock forged wheels. The warranty route is cheaper, but given the frequency of wheel issues I’ve decided to just pony up the money and buy better wheels and hopefully never have a wheel problem to deal with again.
11-27-2023, 01:54 PM
Triple Flush Done….Now What?
