The line on top that has the 90° bend it in it and air bleed line It is supposed to let the air out of the engine block as you fill the engine with coolant.

The line that runs across the front of the engine is the turbo coolant return line. This would not be an issue either because of how the engine fills up and where the feed line is for the turbo. Air comes out of that line easily.

I know that @HHGadget knows what he is doing. It is not his first time filling the coolant system. It's not his second or third either. He is very seasoned at this. I am sure that he has gotten the air out and the problem is going to be something else.

The small blast of heat fits with the water pump not turning. When the engine gets to temperature the coolant has expanded and the thermostat is going to open. This will cause a surge in the system which is why he gets only a blip of heat inside the vehicle.

I hate to be the bringer of bad news with this as I really do think it is the balance shaft chain. The funny thing is this could also be what is causing the noise he is hearing. Balance shafts help to smooth out the engine at low RPMs including idle. If the chain is slack the shafts won't turn as well as the pump. This would cause excess vibrations in the engine and they would get worse the lower the RPM is.


It is really easy to check and see if the pump is spinning. Below is a photo of the front cover (timing chain cover) for the Solstice. On the right side of it you can see the cover that has 4 bolts in it. Take those 4 bolts out to remove the cover and you will be able to see the water pump sprocket directly inside of that hole. Disconnect the coil packs and have a second person crank the vehicle while someone looks to see if the pump gear is turning. if it's not you have found the problem.

 

You cannot turn back now. You have too much invested. It's not even the money so much as it is the time.

 

Well, in the immortal words of every mechanic ever.
“There’s your problem”

 

yessir it looks like yer water pump ain't gonna be spinning with the sprocket sitting like that.

 

The good part is now you know what is happening... There's that darn finish line within sight again. 😁

 

I think the “moving goal posts” analogy fits good here

 

Ok so update now that I fixed the balance chain and water sprocket issue and actually got to do some daily driving. There is something amiss with the transmission. Not only does the rattle in neutral persist but I am noticing something that sounds looser before when I shift. It seems the same “loose linkage clanking” I had before the clutch swap but louder and looser.
So one day of driving and she is grounded again until I can get her back up and pull the transmission again.
I can only guess it is the replacement throw out bearing as loose or bad as I don’t know what else would make that linkage rattle when shifting.
Keep in mind this is audible when going slower and shifting out of gear. It could be happening at higher RPMs but with my solo exhaust and not so great hearing I am not noticing at higher RPMs.

open to thoughts, opinions and ideas as I really do not want to drop the transmission again but at this point it seems the wise course of action…

 

If the rattle happens when the clutch pedal is pushed in to disengage the clutch it seems unlikely to be the throwout bearing, since it is under quite a bit of force at that point.

 

So something loose in the clutch itself?
Again, this seems to be the same noise i was hearing before i did the clutch swap. Kind of a loose clattering sound when shifting in low rpm (quieter) modes, like backing out the driveway slowly... except now it is louder, looser sounding and audible at slightly higher speeds / gears.

 

I am going to go out on a limb here and ask the dumb question. Did you make sure the transmission was filled all the way??

 

filled with what?
PS> Warning! No dumb questions, but possible dumb answers ahead

 

And is it noticeable enough to hear during a video? If so, that might help.

 

Video is tough because I am driving when it happens.

 

Also keep in mind I have never done one of these before. So maybe not dumb but certainly ignorant in the technical meaning of the word.

 

Just for reference, what I have and always thought was "the clunk ®" (the 2006 clunk) goes like this -- only happens when I clutch and change gears at slower speeds. Sounds like a couple brake rotors banging on each other. If you are old enough to have played Prince of Persia 1 with Sound Blaster effects, it sounds the same as when a ledge gets loose. Dumb reference but it is real similar!

 

What if your torque arm is not doing its job as a result of disassembly/reassembly?

 

No this sound pre-existed my clutch job and that torque arm is at 170 ft lbs of torque (if i recall correctly) at four points. It aint going anywhere

 

OK then, it's just that your descriptionclciekd in my mind as being the same as the clunk I have. But logic points to an issue somewhere else.

 

I actually broke my torque wrench on it and "had" to buy a new one (OK it was a nice excuse to upgrade).

 

Ummmm gear oil. The transmission is a gear box and there is supposed to be oil in it..

 

If the torque arm is attached it is doing what it is intended to do and that is to keep the snout of the differential in alignment with the output shaft of the transmission. When a RWD vehicle accelerates the shout of the differential wants to point up. this is because of the torque at the wheels. The 06 design didn't have the torque arm and relies on a rubber bushing that was attached to the frame of the car. The torque would overcome the rubber bushings ability to hold it in place the this would cause the snout of the differential to pitch upwards. That would place stress on the bearings in the input shaft for the differential. The "clunk" that was heard was the diff mount at the snout bottoming out. This could be solved by replacing the bushing with one that is stiffer but the problem with doing that is it would transfer gear noise into the passenger cabin. Buy attaching the diff to the transmission via the torque arm no gear noises get transferred . you get a leverage advantage to hold the diff in place and you also get a lot of weight to hold it as well (the engine and transmission)

You can get noises if the bolts are not tightened. I would go through and double check all of that before pulling the transmission. I would also pull the shifter out and make sure it i put together properly and the bolts are tightened up.

 

I never drained the gear oil as I had already had done so recently and didn’t think it neccesary

 

I thing KG means check your gear oil level and complete if necessary...

 

That is correct. low oil can cause all kind of noises in the transmission easy to check and top off if needed.

 

Will do but highly doubt it.
However “how could it hoit?”

 

it can't hoit to check I am trying to think of things that you can look at that could be a cause and would be able to be corrected without having to take the transmission back out of the car.

Have you gotten a hold of DDM to see if they have come across the issue before?

 

They have not replied. I am almost certain something is off / wrong. Will call in tomorrow again hopefully their techs are back froM their break.

 

Spoke to Mike at DDM today and he said Dave was gonna call me back. Didn’t happen so I will call again tomorrow

 

So DDM did not get around to returning my call and I decided to drop the transmission today and take a look.
Yesterday KG suggested I take the short shifter out and check to see if the noise went away.
Tried that but no luck so yesterday and this morning we completed dropping the tranny.
I was sure it was the new throw out bearing but it was fine.
The clutch however is trashed.
Aside from not taking the brand new flywheel out to be balanced (which I did not know you had to do) what would have caused this? I have less than 50 miles of stop and go driving with a couple mild pulls in a straight line but nothing crazy…

 

Being that my stock clutch went early and this one went bad immediately, could there be an issue with my crankshaft being not true?
How on earth would I check that?

 

Correct me if I am wrong, but isn't the LNF internally balanced with counterbalances on the crankshaft? Which would mean that there should be no lump on one side of the flywheel to externally balance the engine, in which case a new flywheel should be able to be fitted without balancing as it would be manufactured to be balanced already.....

I grant you that checking balance is a good idea but it shouldn't have caused that clutch problem! I bet something else is going on here.

 

That’s why I was I asking about the crankshaft. I really have no idea of what could be the cause.
the assembly procedure is relatively easy, straight forward and I followed it to a t.

 

You can use a dial indicator to check runout of the flywheel.

I would expect a weight imbalance to cause a vibration, but not damage the clutch.