Converters... You get what you pay for
12-20-2006, 05:44 PM
#1
Converters... You get what you pay for First off, i would like to say that Frank from Performabuild is an awesome guy, and he works for a great company and has helped through every step of the way. Hell i didn't even buy their converter and they still went out of their way to help me. I would recommend them to anyone As far as the Converter goes ill let the pictures are worth a 1000 words. My suggestion is if you have any doubt, go with a company like PI, Yank, or Precisionshift... they cost a little more, but it would have been a whole lot cheaper is i would have went one of them to start with 
As you can see this caused my tanny to overheat extremely bad
Look at the shitty welds
This is whats left of the lock up clutch
As you can see this caused my tanny to overheat extremely bad
Look at the shitty welds
This is whats left of the lock up clutch
Last edited by The1N_only; 12-20-2006 at 06:57 PM.
12-20-2006, 06:25 PM
#2
TECH Apprentice
iTrader: (1)
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: Tampa, FL
Posts: 311
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I see these all the time. All it is is a 4 cyl. converter with an adapter ring or adapter lugs welded on so it will bolt to a V8 flywheel and 4L60E hub welded on to mate with the pump. In the first pic you can see where the adapter lug is bolted with an allen bolt to the original 4 cyl. lug in order to make it fit a flexplate with a larger bolt circle! The lock up clutch isn't large enough to handle the weight and torque of a V8 powered F-body. The clutch in that convertor is approx. an inch wide where as quality stall convertors have clutches that are more than twice as wide as that. This is the reason why companies like PI or Yank have billet front covers specially machined. In order to get a lock-up clutch in a 9"-10" convertor with the same surface area as the stock lock-up clutch you MUST use a custom made front cover with a larger surface area in conjunction with a wider clutch. Do some searches and look at some pictures of aftermarket high stall convertors for the 4L60E. You will notice that the expensive ones ALL have a billet front cover (the side facing the engine which bolts to the flexplate) and all the inexpensive ones don't.
I know people are going to come in here and say "I have brand X convertor and have no problems" and "You don't know what you're talking about newbie" and the only response I can give is that you are in the minority and have somehow been lucky. Others will say, "For the price who cares. I'll take my chances". Just know that when the convertor has a catastrophic failure it usually damages the transmission (i.e. $$$$$). Some people will learn from your misfortune but the vast majority will have to learn the hard way.
I know people are going to come in here and say "I have brand X convertor and have no problems" and "You don't know what you're talking about newbie" and the only response I can give is that you are in the minority and have somehow been lucky. Others will say, "For the price who cares. I'll take my chances". Just know that when the convertor has a catastrophic failure it usually damages the transmission (i.e. $$$$$). Some people will learn from your misfortune but the vast majority will have to learn the hard way.
12-20-2006, 07:07 PM
#4
I just wanted to put it out there and so maybe people can see, you actually do get what you pay for... Company "X" talked about how good there converters was and the quality and yadda yadda yadda... well as you can see, IMHO its a peice of ****
12-20-2006, 07:38 PM
#5
Originally Posted by GMRACER13
I see these all the time. All it is is a 4 cyl. converter with an adapter ring or adapter lugs welded on so it will bolt to a V8 flywheel and 4L60E hub welded on to mate with the pump. In the first pic you can see where the adapter lug is bolted with an allen bolt to the original 4 cyl. lug in order to make it fit a flexplate with a larger bolt circle! The lock up clutch isn't large enough to handle the weight and torque of a V8 powered F-body. The clutch in that convertor is approx. an inch wide where as quality stall convertors have clutches that are more than twice as wide as that. This is the reason why companies like PI or Yank have billet front covers specially machined. In order to get a lock-up clutch in a 9"-10" convertor with the same surface area as the stock lock-up clutch you MUST use a custom made front cover with a larger surface area in conjunction with a wider clutch. Do some searches and look at some pictures of aftermarket high stall convertors for the 4L60E. You will notice that the expensive ones ALL have a billet front cover (the side facing the engine which bolts to the flexplate) and all the inexpensive ones don't.
I know people are going to come in here and say "I have brand X convertor and have no problems" and "You don't know what you're talking about newbie" and the only response I can give is that you are in the minority and have somehow been lucky. Others will say, "For the price who cares. I'll take my chances". Just know that when the convertor has a catastrophic failure it usually damages the transmission (i.e. $$$$$). Some people will learn from your misfortune but the vast majority will have to learn the hard way.
I know people are going to come in here and say "I have brand X convertor and have no problems" and "You don't know what you're talking about newbie" and the only response I can give is that you are in the minority and have somehow been lucky. Others will say, "For the price who cares. I'll take my chances". Just know that when the convertor has a catastrophic failure it usually damages the transmission (i.e. $$$$$). Some people will learn from your misfortune but the vast majority will have to learn the hard way.
Where were you when all certain people [not NOT talking about Performabuilt] were fleecing the users on this site and they were/are still loving it?
Last edited by 2002_Z28_Six_Speed; 12-20-2006 at 08:36 PM.
Trending Topics
12-20-2006, 08:53 PM
#10
TECH Fanatic
iTrader: (9)
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: Schaumburg, IL
Posts: 1,693
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
From the mounting tab and color of the case... looks fuddlerific to me.
Did it Let go? Break anyhintg in the tranny?
Did it Let go? Break anyhintg in the tranny?
Last edited by sixvi6-camaro; 12-20-2006 at 09:02 PM.
12-20-2006, 09:06 PM
#13
TECH Resident
iTrader: (6)
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: Levittown, PA
Posts: 965
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
OK, I was confused by the structure of his paragraph. I just installed a Performabuilt trans and converter, and though I've had no serious problems, a post like this worries me. Damn Fuddle.
12-20-2006, 09:26 PM
#15
No as The1N_only said that is definatly not our converter just wanted to make sure that was clear. Our converter brand name is PrecisionShift converters.
We did inspect the transmission for him the damage was not severe and was limited to considerable contamination with aluminum mostly
We did inspect the transmission for him the damage was not severe and was limited to considerable contamination with aluminum mostly
__________________
12-20-2006, 09:32 PM
#16
TECH Veteran
Join Date: Dec 2001
Location: Ft. Lauderdale, FL, USA
Posts: 4,117
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Originally Posted by GMRACER13
I see these all the time. All it is is a 4 cyl. converter with an adapter ring or adapter lugs welded on so it will bolt to a V8 flywheel and 4L60E hub welded on to mate with the pump.
.
12-20-2006, 09:34 PM
#17
TECH Veteran
Join Date: Dec 2001
Location: Ft. Lauderdale, FL, USA
Posts: 4,117
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Originally Posted by 12345678910
was it performance built i just ordered a transmission and converter from them
.
12-20-2006, 09:36 PM
#18
TECH Veteran
Join Date: Dec 2001
Location: Ft. Lauderdale, FL, USA
Posts: 4,117
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
For the record, my brand new (4 months old) VIG 3700 exploded while driving steady at 45 mph and destroyed my ALSO 4 month old FLP IV tranny......so it doesn't matter who you go with really.....but you might as well go with the top people to better your chances.
.
.
12-20-2006, 10:38 PM
#20
Originally Posted by bene
Looking at his sig, his stall is YANK.
i wonder if this was my problem too. i had the same company's converter go bad through my trans.