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Whenever i shift up too early my tranny makes a rattling noise.
it goes away at about 2500-3000 rpm and only happens in 2nd and 3rd gear.
any ideas?
or is that normal?
ive read a few threads on tranny noises similar to this problem but there are always conflicting opinions...

Stop shifting up early. Your problem is in your question.

OB wrote:Stop shifting up early. Your problem is in your question.

That's true to some degree, but if it's rattling at 2,000 it's not just because you shifted too early.

Are you sure it's tranny noise? Could be the motor "grunting".

I've always looked for an exact explination as to what causes this sound, its common in basically all neons..

mine is quite brutally loud with this

and btw, if your shifting at 2500 be light on the throttle... it will rattle, if your hard on it..

I think its gay how us neon owners have to shift at 3400 rpm to avoid the "rattle"

my civic would shift at 1400 rpm full throttle (boggin the HELL out of the motor) and would be dead silent still....

damn cheap pos car.

Mine' Uber-Loud, too. But I would liken the sound to something closer to bearing growl. Mine is an '01 MTX. My buddy was car shooping and came across an '04 SXT MTX and asked me to test drive it for him because he's not very adept at driving a manual yet. I drove it and it made the same sound, just quieter.

Mine is a moot point, now, as my trans exploded a month ago. Still waiting on it's replacement.

Hmm I've never noticed it in mine. I'll have to listen closely next time.

its really annoying when you are just driving down the street and someone looks at you like where did this guy learn to drive... haha. cause its loud.

im a little relieved to hear that its not just me though.
my warranty is only 3 months or 3000 miles

I get that from passengers who think I'm grinding gears. I'm all like "No, it's not me, it's the transmission!" and they're like "Yea, bullshit! You jus can't drive standard!". It's really hard to resist intentionally ginding a gear just to show them the difference between the two sounds.

01NeonSnooZer wrote:It's really hard to resist intentionally ginding a gear just to show them the difference between the two sounds.

Whoa! Not when you think about what is happening inside your poor transmission!

So anyway I listened really carefully all day today and I didn't hear a rattling noise at all. I tried shifting too soon and everything I could think of to trigger the noise but got nothing.

well damn...
you must be a lucky one then
haha

i really wanna know what actually is making that noise though cause if it doesnt happen in yours then maybe it could be fixed?

yellowpatrol wrote:

01NeonSnooZer wrote:It's really hard to resist intentionally ginding a gear just to show them the difference between the two sounds.

Whoa! Not when you think about what is happening inside your poor transmission!

So anyway I listened really carefully all day today and I didn't hear a rattling noise at all. I tried shifting too soon and everything I could think of to trigger the noise but got nothing.

I shoulda put a smiley after that cuz I was jut kidding around. I know what goes on. Anyways, I can't even get mine to do it on purpose. If I'm trying, it won't do it but if I'm just cruising around, concentrating on something else, it'l do it.

You guys should take a camcorder along with you and keep it rolling so you can show everyone exactly what sound it is.

yellowpatrol wrote:You guys should take a camcorder along with you and keep it rolling so you can show everyone exactly what sound it is.

shift into second doing about 8 miles an hour, and you'll here it. or better yet, third at 15 or so.

get a louder exhaust. you'll never hear it again.

and definitely don't get solid mounts, you'll hate it if the sound bothers you now.

^I thought that would help... put it in 2nd at 10mph, and floor it... you will hear it.. trust me.

When you shift up too early, the engine has to struggle to put the torque through the transaxle. There is a clash between the engines torque, which is constant at any given RPM, regardless of gear, and the transmission's gear, which is variable. If they're not matched up properly for the speed you're at, there is a difference in amount of torque the engine producing compared to how much is needed to accelerate (how much is transmitted to the wheels), and you experience it as noise, or sometimes vibration. The gear reduction is too much for the given speed.

It all has to do with the way the transaxle is geared. In a car geared for economy like the Neon, the gears are meant to be longer, allowing a lower RPM at cruising speed. However, if you're not planning on cruising, and need some acceleration, this issue tends to pop up. No matter which way you look at it, this symptom is driver error, not an issue with the car. If you need to accelerate, why in the world are you shifting into a gear that reduces the torque the engine puts to the ground? Stay in low gear when you need to accellerate and you will not have this issue.

Also, contrary to popular belief, this is not a Neon specific problem. Any car that uses a gear reduction transmission is capable of having these exact same symptoms, and it's perfectly normal in every case. It is not, however, the proper way to use the transmission, and it can indeed result in increased mechanical wear and early failure of several engine and transmission parts, especially the clutch.

SGT BRAD wrote:get a louder exhaust. you'll never hear it again.

will the r/t exhaust be loud enough?
haha

Oh okay, I know what noise you are talking about. I wouldn't call it a rattling noise though (that's just a matter of opinion). I think OB kind of over-explained it, especially the part about the engine putting out a constant torque. The engine's torque definitely varies, just look at a print-out of a dyno.

If that's the noise you are referring to, plain and simple, stop shifting so early.

I was referring to torque at a given RPM. It was my way of describing the output of an engine without a transmission in the equation, more or less. My explaination seemed necessary considering the number of people who seemed to have no idea where this "strange sound" was coming from and/or why it was happening. Hopefully a few members who make the mistake of shifting too early read my post, fully understand whats going on, and learn to avoid the issue. IMO, there is no such thing as over-explaining something; especially when there are people out there who want to learn. That is the point of this forum, is it not?

^^^
Thank you....

If you want to hear the sound, drive 20-30mph in 4th gear, see what happens...

ThrIsNoSpork wrote:

SGT BRAD wrote:get a louder exhaust. you'll never hear it again.

will the r/t exhaust be loud enough?
haha

no, r/t exhaust will not cover it up.

It's what happens when a 4 cylinder is trying to complete full combustion at low RPM. There just aren't enough cylinders to keep low RPM WOT acceleration smooth. It's not the transmission. It's the fact that the power stroke takes so long at low RPM and the fuel/air mixture is done burning long before the stroke is over. What you get is an ugly sound, nasty vibrations, and fear that you broke something. Try it in a V8 and half the RPM, and the same thing will happen, but even more. V8 engines cover it up better though because they fire twice as often.

^^^
Thank you....

I'm not trying to egg this on

But, ok.. the neon's do sound terrible when you give way to much throttle in way to high of a gear, right.. as you explained the stroke etc

every single damn car I've owned in the past

my mx-3 v6, my civic, hell even my sundance.. they were all stick.. I could floor it at super high gears and low rpm's.. they bogged a little.. but never make "wierd" sounds

my civic was the best actually... explain why they never did this>