AW4 - Reverse & Downshifting Problems

I've been searching the forums and haven't found anyone describing the problem I'm having, so I'm hoping there's someone out the that has experienced this.

95' 4.0 / AW4 - Having the following problems that started just a few days ago:

Background info: I recently had to pull the motor to drill out the motor-mount bracket bolts as they all sheared off and were stuck in the block. After getting the motor back in, it ran fine for a couple of months.

Problem #1 - When I put the car in Reverse it chugs & bangs (NOT just the single bang from a hard shift, but a continual BANG BANG BANG ......) and will stall after a few seconds most of the time. If I give it gas and start backing up it still jerks/bucks really bad. NOTE: It doesn't always do this, but seems to be getting more frequent, about 75% of the time now.

Problem #2 - Does the same bucking (While making a BANG BANG BANG BANG .......... noise) during auto downshifts (throttle/load induced)
NOTE: It upshifts perfectly. Also, it will downshift fine if I let off the gas & then get back on. Also it downshifts fine when using the gearshift.

Problem #3 - There is now a fairly loud ticking noise coming from somewhere in the Torque Converter/Tranny area. Not sure exactly where. I'll compare the sound to valvetrain nose, although that's definitely not it as I can hear that separately. This noise is louder. Also, it is loudest at idle. It gets faster and quieter while driving.

Anyone know what would cause these issues? Is my Torque Converter shot? I'm going to do a fluid flush as soon as possible. Is it likely a clogged tranny filter would cause this? Could a misadjusted TV cable cause this?

Thanks in advance for any help.

Have you checked the flex plate bolts, and the flex plate itself?

Is the Flex Plate the same thing as the Drive Plate?

might be, I've always refered to it as the flex plate, it's what the CPS reads for timing. If it's loose/cracked or broken it will make the engine cut out whenever there is force enough to make it move and the CPS can't read the notches.
Search flex plate and you'll find a lot of info about it and many posts that describe issues when backing up.

I just checked my TV adjustment when I went out for lunch. It was WAY off (like an inch). Unfortunately, while my shifts are much faster & harder now, it didn't fix any of the problems noted above.

87manche said:

If it's loose/cracked or broken it will make the engine cut out whenever there is force enough to make it move and the CPS can't read the notches.

Click to expand...

K. Read up on it. Yeah, same thing. The Crappy Haynes manual I have just refers to it with the generic "Drive Plate" name.
After reading a bunch of posts about the Flex Plate it sounds like the ticking I'm hearing is most likely coming from that. I'll check them tonight and hopefully there's just some loose bolts and no cracks.

The Haynes didn't give a Torque spec for those bolts & I was afraid to snap one off so definitely weren't torqued accurately. And I didn't use any Lock-Tight since I was out & didn't want to make another trip to the parts store. If it's loose I'll lock-tight blue them in there.

If it's the Flex Plate moving and modifying the CPS reading that's causing the Bucking/Banging/Stalling; I wonder why it would happen fairly consistently in Reverse (especially with the but not in Drive? Any thoughts on that?

My flexplate was cracked and loose. When I put it in reverse and tried to give it gas it would "buck' and bang etc. I could only idle it in reverse, $ucked trying to back up a hill.
Replaced the flexplate and all is well, I can back up again....well as soon as I put a floor in it again.

dizzymac said:

My flexplate was cracked and loose. When I put it in reverse and tried to give it gas it would "buck' and bang etc. I could only idle it in reverse, $ucked trying to back up a hill.
Replaced the flexplate and all is well, I can back up again....well as soon as I put a floor in it again.

Click to expand...

Hmmmm. Mine does it the worst when idleing in Reverse with my foot on the Brake pedal. If I start moving it sometimes gets a little better. It will actually stall when idleing in Reverse. The time it takes to stall varies, but it Bucks & Bangs right away.

I just pulled the Inspection cover. All of the bolts were just as tight as when I put them in.

I stared at the thing for like an hour and could'nt find any cracks.

Prying on it with a screwdriver it flexed about the same ammount as the bell housing flexed. And I couldn't see any cracks.

PROBLEM SOLVED!

Changed the fluid/filter in hopes that would solve the problem. And it sort of did in an indirect way.

After changing the Transmission fluid/fiter I discovered the actual problem. When re-installing the Transmission Fill Tube I noticed that the bolt seemed taking longer to insert than it did to remove.

Then POP! No, the bolt didn't break thank goodness. Apparently the shield/cover/plate piece that sits behind the fill tube bracket had been hung up somwhere below & I couldn't see it. Once the cover was where it was supposed to be I realized that there was about a 1/4" gap between the Engine Block & Bellhousing.

EUREKA! There was the source of my problems.

Tightened down the Bellhousing bolts again now that they had full travel restored and everything is working great, reverse, kickdown etc.

Glad I decided to give the fluid/filter swap a try because I would have never found that. The way that cover was bending it made it look like the Block & Bellhousing were mated up fine.

Thanks for all of the suggestions. Glad I inspected the Flex Plate anyway as I would have been worrying about possible damage from the misalignment.

I've been having these symptoms lately. In reverse it dies under any kind of load, most of the time. I'm gonna check out the flex plate, but will that also cause the fluid to burn and make the tranny run hot? Was wheeling this weekend and it was acting up a lot and when i checked the fluid it was dark brown, changed it and it was brown by the time I got back home, about 200 miles.