Help - New owner and first problem with car - advise please

[Kmrumedy]

I was driving my 97 GTS last night on the highway. It was 55 degrees here last night in Montreal. I went over a slight rough patch of road for 2 seconds and the airbag light came on and would not go off after repeated starts. When I got to a stop sign, I noticed that a slight rattling sound was coming from the steering or clutch area(?) when the car was stopped in neutral with the clutch out. The sound goes away when car is in gear.

I did some research here and I think I may have broken my clockspring (#4848437). Would that make sense?

Questions - I would like to stick a test OBD tool on and see what code I have. I am not sure how to do this or what tool I need to buy or how to use one on these cars. What do you suggest I buy and how do you test? Is it simple for a newbie? ( I am new to these cars and learning as I go).

If it is indeed the clockspring, is it a DIY project or is time better spent to have a dealer do the fix? Is changing this part difficult? Too risky for a newbie? I think the part is around $200 in Canada.

Am I on the right track? Could it be anything else?

This is my first problem with the car since buying it in May. It is like having a sick child!! I was up all night thinking about it!!

Any advise is greatly appreciated.

John

 

[puma]

is the horn working?

you won't be able to see a code for a problem with the air bag with just a code scanner.

 

[rory97]

The rattle you hear is neutral clutch rattle (ncr) common in t-56 trannys. It's normal and won't hurt anything. Don't know about the air bag light.

 

[rory97]

Oh, one more thing ... I'd just disconnect the battery for a few minutes to reset the pcm, and see if the light goes out (and stays out) before you get too concerned.

 

[Kmrumedy]

The rattle you hear is neutral clutch rattle (ncr) common in t-56 trannys. It's normal and won't hurt anything. Don't know about the air bag light.

Thanks Rory. The rattle wasn't there before. Is it normal that I get the NCR now? I'll try disconnecting the battery.

 

[rory97]

The transmission has to be good and warm before you'll hear it because the fluid thins out. Also the previous owner may have put some 80w in there to minimize it, but when it gets hot enough you'll probably still hear it.

You should hear the rattle only with the clutch peddle out ... put it in and it will stop immediately.

 

[DrDJ]

I believe that the plug for the OBDII reader started in the '98 models. I'm not sure what your '97 has.

DrDJ

 

[rory97]

My '97 has an OBDII port.

 

[SteveMat]

It's Neutral Gear Rattle (NGR) not (NCR), I think 96-98's have it because of the aggresive cam. 97's have an ODBII port on the side under the light switch (get a flash light).

 

[rory97]

It's Neutral Gear Rattle (NGR) not (NCR), I think 96-98's have it because of the aggresive cam. 97's have an ODBII port on the side under the light switch (get a flash light).

Oops, that's embarrassing. Thanks for the correction, my memory's not so good for the details anymore. (I think ncr is a type of paper). NGR is not exclusive to 96-98's though, or even to vipers (other makes used the t-56). I think it got somewhat better after '97 or '98 because the factory started using heavier fluid. I'm pretty sure we had the 708 cam through '99.

 

[surfsnake97]

Most likely clock spring especially if you have problems with your horn going on while turning or not working at all. Remember to disconnect the battery before removing the clock spring and make sure its lined up with the steering wheel before you pull the plastic tab off the top. If the light doesnt go out after you reconnect the battery you might have to go to dodge and have it reset .