BAD TORQUE CONVERTER???

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How can you tell when the TC is going bad. At WOT i have between 600 and 800 rpm change. this seems very poor to me. any info would be helpful.

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Y2K, 2500, 4x2, QC, 3. 54 ls, patriot blue. K&N, silencer ring put back in. 9000 miles as of 10-08-00

 

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Sounds like yours is OK. I was in a truck yesterday that showed no drop in rpm at the shiftpoints. The other thing that happens is a shudder under load. I believe this is the lock up clutch fading.

 

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sdalton , you have a good one , i have gone from a 500 to 600 rpm drop to 100 rpm drop #ad
awaiting delivery of my TC and VB from DTT , do you have any bombs on your rig , as i upped the HP level my TC has steadily gone south , but i have 30 plus passes alone at the dragstrip and no signs of slippage . i have gotten 3 secs and close to 16mph faster in the 1/4 mile on a stock 2000 transmission .

[This message has been edited by Mopar-muscle (edited 10-08-2000). ]

 

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sdalton,
that rpm drop is a good indication that your TC is in good shape. I would keep it , dont let anyone sell you another one.
Crank the pressures up on your valve body and do regular maintainence and dont add any lock up switches or mystery switches and you shoud be ok.
For the 24 valve it is pretty easy to monitor your converter by that RPM drop, watch for any signs for the TC clutch slippage. If you notice most ads selling converters will either tell you to put a shift kit or valve body with their new TC's
including us. What we mean is our clutch linings isnt much better than the factory ones,and line pressure has the greatest effect in making the clutch lining live.
And that is what valve bodies and shift kits do increase line pressure.
Bill

 

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After 2 diesel p/u's w/ 5-speeds, with my '01 Cummins,I find myself a little challanged in the A/T dept. I haven't paid much attention to the drop in rpm when it shifts. I will check it out tomorrow. My truck does seem to "shudder" when it shifts to third. Something I should get checked? I've reading as many of Bill K. 's post as I can and I want to thank you for all the info I've gleaned from them. The new truck only has 3200 mi. on it. Would a properly set-up valve body extend the life of the stock TC, or should I wait for the stock one to start heading south and then replace both?
Thanks, Tom


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'01 2500 4x4 White/Driftwood QC plain SLT auto trans snow prep tow package bed liner mopar mud flaps Reading Ind. 33" tall contractors cap. Toys: 3 mountain bikes, a cyclo-cross bike, and a road bike, plus a couple of whitewater kayaks. Yeah, I know their human powered, but the bikes are fun to modify too. Like spending $$$ to make trucks more powerful, It takes $$ to make bikes lighter. Titanium isn't cheap.

 

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BILL K. , how do you crank up the pressure on the valve body. is this something that requires the pan being dropped. if i can do it in my driveway, i will. if it requires a pan drop, then i will need to hire someone. I do not have any mods as of now. but i am seriously thinking about the new pe box that has just come out.

 

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It makes sense to increase the pressure before you get wear than after you get slippage.

You entire transmission will benefit by increasing line pressure not just the TC.

You do have to drop the pan, most transmission will be able to increase the pressure for you.

You can safely go 3 turns counter clock wise on the pressure regulator adjustment screw.
If you cant do it yourself, maybe book a service and ask the transmission shop to do this then.
Its a simple adjustment for a transmission shop.
Bill

 

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Can you have ATF tested like engine oil to determine what is wearing vs. what is tearing?

At WOT it seems the drop from 1st to second is less than 100 not much more into third. This transmission has only 10k since being rebuilt at 18K - due to TC failure.
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99' Qcab, 4x4, auto, chrome nerf bars, VA, Boost elbow, DiProcal Pillar mount gauges,

[This message has been edited by SteveAZ (edited 10-10-2000). ]

 

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steve , rebuilt with stock parts ? did you have the VA on when the last expired , if so its just repeating it self . i have 20k on mine with the VA et al , and have the 100 rpm drop . time for new TC and VB , but not the anemic doge stock parts.

 

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Bill -What about exhaust brakes and the auto-loc ? How hard are they on the transmission?

 

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Turbo Terry,
An exhaust brake will not affect the TC wear and tear per se, if you think of the TC when applying power on acceleration the path of power is engine - torque convertor - transmission - wheels. So when you utilize an exhaust brake you are now applying the reverse path of power transfer of wheels - transmission - TC - then engine.
Now if you are increasing engine HP and/or the load you are carrying/towing, then the stock TC and lockup clutch will tend to slip if no auxiliary lockup 'switch' is used. Slippage creates heat and transmissions don't like heat, installing a lockup device for the torque convertor clutch will allow the TC to stay locked up longer thus allowing the transmission to run cooler...
#ad


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Real BOMBers never get speeding tickets. . just a lot of warnings!

 

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Bill Kondolay

Are there any “side affects” to turning up the transmission pressures?



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2001. 5 2500 Auto QC 4WD SB 3. 54’s Bright silver metallic, Camper and tow package.

 

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Turbo Terry
Truthfully the auto loc is not as harmful to the TC as the torque loc or mystery switch.
As long as you remember to kick the transmission out of overdrive, excelerate to de-excellerate,you should be ok.
Every time you forget to kick it out of OD you take a little more life out of your TC clutch.

TDCanuk,
Where on earth did you get that crap from about the lock up switch,that makes absolutely no sense.
Installing a switch to engage lock up will not prevent slippage,it will INCREASE SLIPPAGE.
If your TC is generating heat, fix the problem dont create a more serious one by adding loc up devices.
If anyone really wants to know the truth about the damage these devices cause when forcing lockup to stay engaged under load.
Open up your phone book, and ask you local transmission shop. The question is actually quite simple, IF I FORCE MY TC CLUTCH TO STAY LOCKED UP will it do any damage to my TC.

Firedup,
Yes there are side effects once you start going past 66-68PSI in drive at idle.
Once you go past that point you must address cooler flow, TV(throttle valve) circut. A lot of Dodge Rams only have a base pressure of 52 PSI, i have seen some as high as 66 right from the factory.
The major side effects are late upshifts under full throttle, sets off computer codes, excessive line pressure in 1996 & later Rams, but you can fool the computer on the last side effect by adding a resistor.
Bill

 

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Originally posted by Mopar-muscle:
steve , rebuilt with stock parts ? did you have the VA on when the last expired , if so its just repeating it self . i have 20k on mine with the VA et al , and have the 100 rpm drop . time for new TC and VB , but not the anemic doge stock parts.

No. No mods at all when it died the first time. Rebuilt by delaer with all stock parts

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99' Qcab, 4x4, auto, chrome nerf bars, VA, Boost elbow, DiProcal Pillar mount gauges,

 

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Maybe I should just have Bill K do a transmission swap for me. Sounds like mine is still a wimp!

 

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Bill K,

Where can you find the screw to turn up the line pressure ?? I'm dropping my pan to put in amsoil atf this weekend. Thought I might turn up the pressure while I'm in there.

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96,longbed,clubcab,driftwood,custom bumper,K & N Filter, Filter Engineering Remote Fuel Filter & Coolant Filter,Scotty Air,4" from KAT be gone,4" Dynomax race magnum

 

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sdalton,
sounds like your converter is doing great

i have said in another post that the factory converter works very well when the clearences are at the minimum spec.

this is why when you take a stock converter and "blueprint" the internal clearences as the factory engineers intended these converters work fine and they don't cost an arm and leg

 

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Bill K, What is the resistor spec, and where do we add it?

Thanx #ad

 

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rbrooks

the resistor is a 100 to 150 ohm 1/4 watt resistor available at radio shack part number 271-1311

install it in the center connector at the computer (white connector) pin 31 orange wire with no tracer

 

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Thanks Bill K. and everyone for your advise. It seems to me that i was just used to my old gassers shift patterns. the Ford P/U and Corvette(P. O. S. ) shifted great, and would catch rubber in second and sometimes third. It just felt like my transmission was shifting like an old Cadi. Guess you need a softer shift with all this torque, so the drivetrain isnt yanked apart. I will foolow the advise and do a 3 counter rotation crank on the pressure regulator, when i do my first transmission service. Thanks again.