Engine/Transmission (1998.5 - 2002) torque converter slippage after EZ install

[rborn]

I have a 98. 5 3500 bright red and beautiful with 150K that I recently added an EZ to. An impressive increase in power indeed! On Sunday while pulling the horse trailer up a notably large hill at about 550 - 55mph, roughly 1500 rpm, I noticed a s l i g h t slippage in the tc that I had never felt before. Oh Oh! I've only had the truck about a year and I have had my mechanic change the trans fluid, and everything smelled OK and was clear. I am thinking of detuning the EZ down a notch or two with the jumpers, and making it a point to climb hills at a slight higher speed or run in the locked up third gear mode when going up hills slower to keep the rpms and fluid pressure up. I would hate this since the sound of the cummins pulling up the hill at 1600 or so is simply music to my ears. Or, would it be worthwhile to consider upgrading the valve body for now? Or, am I likely gonna need to go to an upgrade tc and valve body? I use the truck mostly for commuting but pull the trailer often on weekends. Unfortunately, I am a middle-age family guy who is on a budget. However, I must say that I haven't had this much fun with a vehicle since my motorhead days thirty years ago!! what do you all think?

 

[JNeiman]

There are many solutions, but the easiest would be to either take it out of overdrive and run the hill at about 50mph or stay in overdrive at about 60-65mph. Try and run the rpms above 1800 whenever in overdrive, especially when towing. I would stay away from upgrading the valve body because that will increase pressure in the transmission. That is not a bad thing on a new transmission, but one with 150kmi on it such as yours may fail from the increased pressure with the already worn in clutches. What rear-end gear ratio do you have? My 2001 2500 has an auto and 4. 10s, plus an EZ and I have yet to slip the transmission even with occasional heavy towing. I also only have 70kmi, but I always make sure to keep the rpms up in overdrive when towing. It really will save the transmission. Have fun!

 

[CumminsAholic]

It shouldn't slip with just an EZ but if it is, I think you should do a valve body upgrade, even though it'll increase the pressure that's way better than slipping and burning out the transmission. You can get one from most of the transmission shops on here and should be able to put it in yourself if you want to .

Corey

 

[MPalachuk]

I also just put in a ez and love it. The trans operation changed do to the ez, it seems to slip alittle more. I took it to a friend that has a trans shop and went for a ride. The converters are loose and when you add more tourqe it raises the stall speed. We played with it and found the converter has a stall speed of about 1800 rpm. An option is to put a lowwer stall converter in, Hesaid it would make a big difference. But with 100000+ on it does it pay to put a big chunk of change into a new converter with a older trans? Well Im in the same boat as you and cant decide, The converter could kill it or save it who knows.

 

[Jim Fulmer]

If your slipping the converter and not the direct clutch then there is a bigger issue, the direct clutch is always the weakest link, that's why we all go to more clutches in direct and O/D and still use the same converter.



Don't confuse driving through the converter in fluid coupling as slipping, when your operating with more power and our stock converters you will shear the fluid vise slipping, there is nothing to slip, it's like running a higher stall in a gasser.



Jim

 

[phoekema]

I had exactly the same experience as you and just decided then and there not to have to 'baby' the truck to prevent lockup clutch slippage. It costed some money, but I went with the ATS converter and valve body swap. It works great and I have never regretted the decision. To me it is worth it not to have to constantly look at the tach to check for slippage and ultimately have to repair the transmission anyway in all likelihood. You can't always prevent the slippage and that will eventually take its toll. Going away with the 5th wheel on a weekend is supposed to be relaxing, and getting towed in due to transmission problems is definitely not fun. You can pull in 3rd, be carefull, try not to let it slip... ... ..... all this will help... ... ... ... or just spend the money and take care of the problem. The side benifit is any of the aftermarket transmission upgrades make the truck perform far better than stock.

The decision is yours, but that's my proverbial two cents worth.

 

[rborn]

I greatly appreciate all the input! I guess I'll go a bit easy for now and start saving for some upgrades. It's just that I'm afraid that even a little slippage will produce lots of heat (and damage) in a hurry when I'm going up a good hill. I wonder if some sort of "friction enhancer" transmission additive might help in the short run.

 

[24vcummins]

I did the same thing. I put in a DDTTPM and started having trouble out of the trans. In lock up it seemed to slip pretty easy and going into lockup was slow. I just installed a Goerend Bro's trans with triple disc convertor last night and what a huge difference. I am very happy so far.

 

[JPope]

Had the same issues after installing the EZ, nursed it through a summer towing the gooseneck. Dave Goerend cured the problem for me with his triple disk, and other trans work!! When he took the take off convertor apart, it was very evident that it was toast!! One day service at his place, cost was a pleasant surprise, compared to what others quote. Haven't heard a bad word about him. Learned a lot while there, and a year later still very happy, and the convertor has a lifetime warranty!!!

Pick the brains of the aftermarket guy you choose, and then proceed on!!!!!!