I thought I had a blown engine. I pulled the engine. The flex plate came out in pieces. I may have thrown some pieces out and now I am confused. I have the plate and a smaller (~4 inch diameter) disc that fits with the plate but does not show up on any 2008 parts search. It seems like a spacer that’s bolted on with the flex plate to the crank. This is a rebuilt engine.

Does anyone know if the flex plate includes such a spacer or is it just the one large metal plate that bolts to the crank? Could the engine rebuilder have made a mistake and added a spacer in error - which caused the rebuilt engine to fail in 20k miles?

Used flex plate from eBay on left. Broken plate on the right. Mystery parts in the middle.

 

See link below:

Toyota Genuine A/T Flexplate Flywheel 32101-26010 | eBay

Find a genuine online Toyota parts dealer. Input your VIN then check the flex plate part listings. Toyota typically has exploded drawings.

When installing the replacement parts check flexplate alignment and runout. Also check the torque converter. Misalignment between the trans and engine components can cause the flexplate to distort and flex in and out leading to fatigue and cracking.

 

Thanks. I’m having trouble finding the exploded view with the flex plate shown. I see the rest of the engine in some views and the transmission and torque converter in other views. I’ll try some other authorized Toyota OEM parts sites.

 

Try asking at Toyotanation.com

 

An update here. I went to my local (very experienced) mechanic and he confirmed it was not unusual for a flex plate to fail the way mine did - with a near perfect circular disc. So, it was not a spacer. He was not sure about the **** piece. He sent me to the local very experienced transmission shop and the owner confirmed the metal **** was welded to the torque converter and the weld broke when the flex plate failed or vice versa. So, next I'll buy a used torque converter and try to put it all back together. Thanks.

 

Ask whoever will be fixing the car to check out why the plate failed. Flex plate failure happens but it is not common. Something could be misaligned, not property installed, etc. The plate then flexes too much causing metal fatigue and then failure as happened.