| Trans problems.....signs of a bad torque converter? |
Subject: Trans problems.....signs of a bad torque converter? by Matatk on 2012/3/7 2:27:57 So you guys may recall that I had issues after putting in my new motor/trans a while ago. When I first started driving it, the trans didn't want to shift out of first when cold. Tried a bunch of different things, eventually seemed to get better, but never perfect. Fast forward to now. Trans has a few thousand miles on it. The issue only happens when the trans is cold/after sitting overnight. Happened yesterday and today. I pull out of the drive (in OD), start driving and after I accelerate (slowly, motor is cold) I see the rpms going up into the 1700/1800 range (or more) and it hesitates to shift. Seems to hang up as the car slows down. I can force it to shift by dropping into 1/2/D/OD. Once the car drives a few blocks, the problem seems to go away. Trans also shifts hard when cold. Another thing is now with my new exhaust I can hear the transmission. It really sounds loud. Not popping, clanking, or metal grinding, but I can hear everything moving around inside. Sounds like something centrifugal, which coincides with my torque converter theory. It's not right. When everything is at operating temp, the trans is fine (at least 99% of the time). No problems at all. So I found this little blurb online: Quote: When a torque converter goes bad, one of two things will normally happen. If the torque converter was overpowered by a larger than stock engine or by pulling something very heavy, the vanes inside the torque converter will bend. When this happens, it feels like the transmission is slipping. It takes a lot of gas to get the vehicle moving. In a severe case, the vanes could be bent so much that the car will just rev up, but it will not go anywhere. It seems like that could make sense. When I start the car after sitting, perhaps fluid has drained out of the TCC and it needs to refill itself. So I drive it for a bit, it fills up, starts working right. Perhaps when the fluid is heated up it is thinner and flows better. That's just a SWAG. Also, this is not a performance converter. It is a 2400 stall converter built by a local company, but I'm thinking it's stock oriented. If that above article is correct, since it was not made to handle 400+ hp/torque that could have bent the vanes. I'm thinking about calling Pete and ordering one of his high quality torque converters. So what do you guys think? Any good suggestions for testing the torque converter while still on the car? I'll try to get a video to better demonstrate things. Matthew |
