2001 Flywheel, Torque Converter Problems...

[wen9197]

Hi,
I have read through the entire forum and have not seen any problem similar to mine. Here goes...

I bought my 2001 SE in October of 2001 with 8000k miles on it. In May of 2002 I started hearing a "ticking" noise in the engine. I took it to the dealer and they discovered that the flywheel was cracked. Replaced it under warranty and noise went away...

Fast forward to October of 2002, "ticking" noise comes back. I take it back to the dealer, and they discover that the flywheel is cracked again. Now DC tells them to replace the Torque Converter and the Flywheel, this is also done under warranty...

Fast forward to September of 2003, "ticking" noise comes back AGAIN! Take it back to the dealer and they replace the Torque Converter and Flywheel again under warranty...

Now, here we are in August of 2004, and guess what...you got it, "ticking" noise is back. Only now all warranties are gone and it is my $$$ to fix the same old problem again.

Any suggestions on what might be causing the flywheel to keep cracking and what I can do to make DC cover this repair?

Thanks!

[GTP Dad]

I would think that there is some type of warranty on the repair that they did a year ago. Check with the dealer to see. If this needs to be replaced again, insist that they purchase an aftermarket flywheel to replace it with, obviously the Chrysler flywheel has a problem. I would also contact the Chrysler district management about this problem if the dealer refuses to replace it for you again. There appears to be a design problem with this flywheel and you may get them to cover it for you.
As far as what is causing the problem I have a couple of theories. First, bad flywheels (the obvious one). Second there has to be something that is causing the flywheel to bind or vibrate throwing it out of alignment. This could be a bad mating surface at the crank or the face of the flywheel was not machined properly. Since this has happened four times on your van I would suspect it is a problem with your particular vehicle. Finally, there could be a problem with the way the tranny mounts to the engine, causing a bind on the torque convertor and flywheel. I am speculating here but to go through four flywheels in 3 years is almost unheard of. Good Luck!

[wen9197]

Thanks for the input...

I did get DC to pay for the parts, but I had to pay for the labor ($500.00). Their warranty is a 12 months unlimited mileage on the parts, and 12 months 12,000 miles on the labor.

The dealership has checked the crankshaft for "out of roundness", and it is fine. They have measured the point of contact and the flywheel for flatness, and it is also fine. I guess that leaves the mounting suggestion...

An interesting note though, when I picked up the van today the service manager stated that the Flywheel for my van was on backorder at DC...apparantly someone besides just me is going through a few of these.