Shot Auto Trannie, HELP!!!

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I'm in Bozemen MT. I have been touring out West on vacation for the past 5 weeks. I have been pulling a 36' 14k 5er. I'm up from Georgia. About 20 miles outside of Bozeman the trannie let go.

I have my truck at Bozeman Transmission. Lots of experience and it seems to be a really good shop.

What they discovered was that the trannie failure was probably caused by a broken BD Torqueloc.

About a month before we left GA on this trip I put in a TST cam plate (230/610), a BD exhaust brake, a BD Torqueloc, a BD Pressureloc, and a pyro and trannie temp guage. It seems that the shop that did the work didn't do such a great installation.

Anyway, what was discovered was the arm that comes out from the Torqueloc cylinder, is suppose to be attached to aother arm with loc nut. Well that lock nut and are are gone! So as I went down the hills with the exhaust brake enguaged, the BD Torqueloc was not putting any pressure on my auto trannie. The results: I blew the seal that's between the engine and the trannie. When they dropped my trannie pan there was sludge in the bottom of the pan.

On top of that we found out that the trannie temp sensor had been installed in a pressure tap on the trannie.

I have a new BD Torque lock being sent to the trannie shop... they couldn't send me the missing parts. So I paid for another BD Torque lock and will be reimbursed when I send the old one back.

I also have a Sun Coast Torque Converter due here tomorrow.

I am haveing the trannie rebuilt and the Sun Coast TC put on.

Any quick advice for anything else I should do? I'll take up my problem with BD when I get home.

Thanks for any extra info!

Bill Cook

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'98,3500,87,000 miles,12 valve,4x4,QCab,SLT,auto,3. 54,tow pkg,TST #8 plate (230/605),BD exhaust brake-presure lock-torque lock, heavy duty valve springs,transmission and pyro gauges pillar mounted,K&N filter,silencer ring removed,Draw-Tite brake controller,Reese 15K fifth wheel hitch,gooseneck hitch,14k fifth wheel,12k Sooner 4horse gooseneck,13K (when loaded) 24ft gooseneck flat bed, head up my butt cowboy crease in tail gate.
'96 Ford 250 4x4 Powerstroke

 

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Hi Bill,
Sorry to hear about your extended stay. Contact the tech folks at BD and ask what they would suggest while you have it appart. I would also contact Mark at TST and ask the same question. I hear lots of good things about Dunrite Convertors, call him too while you're at it. You are doing the right thing, rebuilding instead of replacing. Good luck and please post what you end up adding and why.

 

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Did you call Piers at BD or e-mail him? He is knowledgeable and helpful. You should let him know. Also, you invite problems when you mix and match parts from different vendors--each may tend to blame the other--and then you have yet another installer who may or may not have installed the stuff correctly.
Best wishes on overcoming your trials.
Joe

 

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BC, I think you are referring to the PressureLoc in your post. The TorqLoc is an electronic component that controls the TCC lockup signal. If the control box failed the transmission lockup clutch reverts to stock function.
Now the PressureLoc, on the other hand, functions ONLY when the torque convertor is LOCKED up, the idea is to increase line pressure to the lockup clutch to eliminate excess slippage (one of the weak points in Dodge engineering). If the TCC signal is not present then the PressureLoc does not function.
You state that they found sludge in the trany pan, this is a tell tale sign of clutch material normally caused by slippage.
The installation is key in all these components functioning correctly.

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

 

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TD, you are right, I meant Pressureloc. I was at a library computer with very limited time.

Anyway, it was the arm of the Pressureloc that came apart. It caused a drop in line pressure when I removed my foot from the accellerator peddle And yes, the sludge in the bottom of the pan was from slippage. The result was a failed trannie.

Joseph, I'll call Piers at BD today.

Extreme1, I've decided on the Suncoast TC, but thanks for the info.

Have several other questions:
1. I am moving the trannie temp sensor from the pressure tap to the out line that goes to the trannie cooler. Any idea where to get the hardware to do the job? I will splice into the trannie line (which is metal, I think) and put in a brass T. The line is 1/2 inch but the sensor, which will go into the bottom of the T, is 1/4 inch.

2. Has anyone else had the arm on the BD pressureloc come apart?

3. What's the hottest trannie fluid temp I want to see?

4. When I get home and the rebuilt trannie is broken in I plan on switching over to Amsoil trannie fluid. . any thoughts?

 

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I doubt the transmission failure was caused by a pressure loc failure. The pressure lock only moves the TV arm over at lock-up therby increasing line pressure during lock up. Something D/C does not do. If the pressure lock fails then you are running stock... no more movement of the TV arm. That, in and of itself, would not cause anything but stock pressures. However, if you are running an E Brake without lockup, no matter what you do you will have high temps and that will lead to failure. The lock up provides direct engine to ground transmission during deceleration and gives the brake somthing to work with. Without lock up the brake will only cause higher heat levels in the transmission. Dodge does not offer lock-up during deceleration... you must add it so you can use your E brake without heat. lock up can be had by either an additional manual mystery switch as advertised by TST or by the addition of the torque lock. Your transmission failure had nothing to do with the bad pressure lock.
-Paul R. Haller-

 

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Paul,

Thanks for the info. I thought without the pressureloc working correctly the clutch plates would slip if you were going down a hill with the E brake on, thereby causing lots of slipping and lots of heat. The heat would cause a trannie failure. Am I wrong on this? Again, please know that I am no expert and know just enough to do stupid things!

Another question I have. I have both a BD Pressureloc and a BD Torqueloc. Both were put on at the same time. I have two switches on my dash. The first activates the E brake. The second is a 3 position switch. When the switch is in the middle the BD system is not active. If the switch is in the down position it is on "auto". I believe this activates the Torqueloc, and activates it only when the E brake is engauged. When the switch is in the up position it activates the pressureloc so I have more pull in 3rd and O. D. , plus the Torqueloc is activated when I have my foot off of the accelerator peddle and am using the E brake. Am I right about this?

Thanks for any info.