My first thought is that the transmission Torque Converter wasn't fully seated before bolting the transmission to the engine. That is usually bad news.

Hope that is not what the problem is.

 

Pardon me, but I'm going to ask a really stupid question:
Do you have transmission fluid in it? Gear oil in the diff?

Sorry, but sometimes the obvious is overlooked.

 

Yeah I made sure the fluids are topped off, both are the correct fluids.

If it is the torque converter not being fully seated, would running the engine kill it or is it simply a matter of taking the transmission back out and putting it back in properly? After taking it out once I'm pretty sure I could have that whole car torn apart again in the better part of a day so I'm not too worried about that, I'm just not a big fan of having to spend a ton more money if i don't have to.

Thanks for the advice so far, you guys are awesome.

 

Just brainstorming here . . . .

I understand the replacement was supposedly "tested" -- do you know what that actually involved? (Unless the tranny came from a rebuilder, it's unlikely too many shops have the capability to operationally test an AT on the bench. I'm hoping this is not the case, but can't take it off the list for now without knowing what testing was done.)

The noise on start up that goes away after a while is interesting. Just want to be sure the ATF level was checked/topped-off with the engine running after the noise went away. If it was a mechanical error, such as the TC not fully seated, I would imagine the noise would not go away until the engine was stopped. So I'm wondering if the TC is not filled and is starting up "dry", then only as the pump gets fluid to it does the noise abate. If this were the case, problems could include low ATF, or defective pump, blocked fluid passages, or malfunctioning (e.g sticking) lock-up control valve.

Any chance the torque converter wasn't re-attached to the engine drive plate (4 bolts)? (Adjunct to Miker104's idea.)

The P0743 is usually for the torque converter lock-up solenoid (which, incidentally, controls the lock-up control valve). It could mean that the connection between the TCM and the solenoid is either open or shorted. Nevertheless, a solenoid that isn't working should only mean no lock-up -- the tranny would otherwise function.

I believe the ticking sound is not unusual. You're right -- it's a solenoid, probably in the line pressure regulation system. Even on my 07, when the key is at ON (engine not started) and the shift is moved to D or R, I can hear ticking from the transmission. The ticking is because the solenoid regulates by being turned on and off rapidly by a square wave signal that varies in length depending on the operating situation (thus the name "duty solenoid").

Is the tranny from a 98? Assuming it is, then it's some 12 years old, but has only 60k miles on it. So either the car it was in wasn't used much, or the tranny might have been sitting on a shelf for a long time. In either case, there's a chance the internals could have become gummed up and ATF is not moving the way it should.

Also, if the transmission is from a 98 OB, the connections should be identical. But if it's from another year, there could be differences in the wiring, even though the connectors themselves match.

 

When I say the transmission was tested working, what I mean is that the trans was pulled from a car that was in an accident and was parted out, when it was pulled, the engine and transmission still worked, so it should still work when put into my car. The transmission is from a 98, bolts up perfectly, all the electrical stuff was the same. I'll check the bolts to the drive plate although I'm 99% sure I attached them when the trans was going back in.

Also, the sound doesn't completely go away when the car goes to an idle, it's still there its just a lot softer, and still goes nuts when i rev the engine, sounds like a metal hitting metal sound.

 

Update and bump: I checked the driveplate bolts, they were in and snug. I checked all the fluids again just to make sure, they were also fine. I'm going with the idea that the torque converter wasn't properly seated, so I've started tearing down the car again. I'll have the transmission out of it again tomorrow (just need to remove the half shafts in the front and drop it out), so my question is as follows:

What should I do to make sure this time the transmission goes in smoothly? How do I seat a torque converter properly? (any photos would be amazing) Also, is there any way to test if it works at least enough to move the vehicle while its out of the car before I go through the legwork of putting it all back together again? Any help with this would be great, at this point treat it as a car with a new transmission going into it, what should I know that I didn't last time?

 

Hopefully my last update, I'm just looking for some last minute advice at this point. Transmission has been pulled back out, seems I didn't have the torque converter fully seated when it was bolted up, and from what I'm reading, the noise is caused by the oil pump in the trans being destroyed by the torque converter not being seated properly. I'm going to get a new transmission from a u-pull-it yard tomorrow, but if there's any other advice you guys have, I'd love to hear it.