JustAFooL

iTrader: (45)

Cruising down to watch the fight tonight and my converter suddenly started acting like it didn't want to stay locked. It would lock and unlock constantly. I immediately pulled into a gas station and checked the fluid; it showed just a little low but literally looked like black, watered down oil. I turned around and drove back home (just about 7 miles) and parked the car.

Here is the thing. The car is a sunny Sunday driver only and I checked the fluid about a month ago and all was good. I don't destroy my car either whenever I get it out, it just occasionally gets a good hard pull on the street and has never seen the track. Converter has been in the car for about 3 years and has seen about 4,000 miles. All supporting mods were done with the trans when converter was installed.

Who has expierienced this before? Is there a explanation to this or is this just a burnt up trans??

Thanks,
Ryan

01ssreda4

iTrader: (96)

Wow must be friction material making the fluid look like that.....

pancho toco loco

iTrader: (8)

That doesn't sound right. Trans fluid should look red, redish when you check it at the dip stick. The lock up clutch in converter may have gone bad.

JustAFooL

iTrader: (45)

I really don't know what it could possibly be. This whole deal has made me get obliterated drunk tonight.

Hopefully by morning I will have some more input on this. Maybe a little more insight on "friction material" also. I don't work on cars at all, I just like driving them.

Thanks again,
Ryan

JustAFooL

iTrader: (45)

Could it possibly have been the solenoids in the trans to made all of this happen?? I still don't know anymore than I did last night, I have not got to have the car towed from my house to my dads garage yet to drop the pan..

Circle-D

iTrader: (21)

If the fluid is that black, something is definitely wrong. Sadly it will need to come out to figure out what is wrong...Could be converter, 3-4 clutches, band??

Chris

JustAFooL

iTrader: (45)

Possibly any of the above.. However, I'm no mechanic and wouldn't even know how to begin to check any of these things.

Since I had all of the work done, the car would make a funny "grinding" noise when trying to unlock and go back into a stall. I spoke with a local guy today and he told me it sounded like the guy who installed it probably used the wrong bolts to connect the converter to the fly wheel. He said that would definately have caused the lock up to slowly go down hill.

Circle-D

iTrader: (21)

What type of converter do you have?

Chris

Bad Chad

iTrader: (94)

I'm with Chris on this, If the fluid is black then the trans is going to have to come out. The clutches are burned up or on their way. If the guy used the wrong convertor bolts and their loose it will be making a knocking sound. Sounds a lot like an exhaust leaks...

Circle-D

iTrader: (21)

I think his mechanic is referring to using to long of a bolt and it damaging the clutch surface. This can not happen if it is one of the 245mm style, billet or non billet. But you are right, no matter what happened it has to come out.

Chris

JustAFooL

iTrader: (45)

The converter is a TCI 3500. I am having a friend bring his roll back tomorrow to get the car back to the garage. I guess I'll just drop the pan and see how bad it looks from there.

I'm sure if there is any contaminents in the pan that it has already circulated through the trans, most likely destroying it.. I'm done prepared for the worst, my wallet isn't though.

JustAFooL

iTrader: (45)

This is exactly what the mechanic was saying though. Said it would leave a dimple or something?? The sound the car would make sounded nothing like an exhaust leak. It literally sounded like metal teeth grinding or something. You could let out of the gas and it would go back into stall or you could try to roll in the gas and it would just gradually get worse..

Gilbert@Ace Racing

I agree that incorrect converter bolts can be an issue, but in my experience that failure happens soon after the installation... Not several years or several thousand miles down the road.

Unfortunately it needs to come out for disassembly and inspection. Get that far and holler back at us...

g