Can a flexplate warp?

Can a flexplate warp?

One of the most common causes for flexplate warpage involves the wrong torque pressure and sequence on the flexplate. Under-torquing can cause a premature separation, causing the bolts to slam and break off, or jam the flexplate teeth into the starter gear teeth.

How do I know if my flexplate is bad?

Symptoms of a bad flex plate

1. Clunking, grinding, chirping, or rattling noises from rear of engine when engine is idling.
2. Knocking noise when engine is shifted into drive or reverse.
3. Heavy vibrations felt through the driver’s seat when driving at normal speeds.
4. Rough-running engine.
5. Loss of power at higher speeds.

What causes flexplate damage?

Diagnosing Flexplate Failures The following causes for cracked flexplate failures: 1) Out of balance engine or torque converter. 2) Bad starter drive can cause teeth or ring gear to wear rapidly or break off. Teeth can also break when engine is running and starter is engaged.

Does the Flexplate spin in neutral?

Sorry, It spins only in one direction and is bolted to the flywheel. If the engine is running so is the Torque Converter in the same direction.

What happens if a torque converter goes bad?

A bad torque converter can damage a transmission. Bad torque convertors can lead to damage, overheating, friction, and transmission fluid degradation. If these problems continue, it can cause even more damage to transmission.

Can you straighten a bent flexplate?

Yep, just straighten out the sheet metal.

Does the flexplate spin in neutral?

What happens when a flexplate fails?

A warped flexplate won’t engage properly with the starter motor. So, when you are starting your engine listen for, rhythmic bogging down of the engine, during starting. Consequently, the teeth of the ring gear, can become damaged over time, causing a grinding sound.

How often do flex plates break?

Slight misalignment may only cause a single flexplate to break in the life of the vehicle. More severe misalignment can break a flexplate in 15,000 to 30,000 miles. Excessive crankshaft flange run-out or end plate can also cause flexplate cracking.

Does a flexplate actually flex?

A flexplate consists of a steel circular disk with perforated holes. And, is also balanced to improve, smooth running. Consequently, flexing allows it to respond to small differences of alignment, between the engine and the transmission. The starter motor, engages this ring gear to start the engine.

Can a bad flexplate cause a misfire?

A bent flexplate can cause an erratic crank sensor signal and cause a misfire.

What happens if you have a bad flex plate?

Because your flex plate transmits the power from your engine to your transmission, your ability to control your vehicle’s power can be affected. A bad flex plate could potentially cause a loss of power to the wheels and result in an accident. Many factors can cause wear to and deterioration of your flex plate.

What happens if you fail to torque a flexplate?

Failure to torque the bolts, to proper specifications and in proper sequence. Failure to use starter shims, where required. Poor quality parts. Missing Dowel pins. A loose bolt on a flexplate or a crack between it’s bolt holes can result in a; knocking or rattling sound.

How does the flex plate work on a car?

The flex plate has a ring gear around its circumference, which mates with the starter motor when you start your car. As its name suggests, the flex plate’s thinness and light weight allows it to “flex” and absorb any irregularities in the engine’s power output, as well as minor misalignments between engine and transmission.

What are the holes in a flex plate?

The metal frame of the flexplate itself will have multiple machine-cut holes within the body of the plate. One set of holes will look uniform and would be for mounting to the crankshaft. The other holes are specific to the vehicle, torque converter set-up and potential weight balance of the flexplate.