What happend to my tranny/converter?
#1
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What happend to my tranny/converter?
A little background:
I have a TCI SSF4000 and Dr Evil's "Maximum Evil" 4L60E with vacuum modulation. The flex plate cracked and was replaced last year. The converter was originally a SSF3500 that I had restalled when the rebuilt tranny went in (thanks to fried clutch packs), and stopped locking up while on the way to get the tranny in. Kevin at TCI said the converter broke while I was on the way there...but I have no idea what it was.
Every once in a while, not very often, the car would do something funny. Either I would be accelerating briskly and notice it would shift up earlier than normal, never exceeding roughly 4k rpm no matter how much gas I gave it, then lock up early. Once locked up it would stay locked and not downshift when I hit the gas, even WOT. Or if this began wihle cruising at speed it would simply not unlock unless I went slow enough that it had to downshift. After a short while, maybe few miles or so but not always exactly the same, it would go back to normal.
Today I gave it 1/2 throttle, maybe a little more, running up to maybe 4,500 in second gear while leaving a stoplight. While in second gear I heard a lovely snapping/whack type of noise that sounded like it more or less came from directly under my right arm. In other words, above the transmission...
Converter no longer locks up.
I already asked Larry at LS1 speed (they did the tranny work, I have done all other work myself) and Louis G. but neither one knows, or at least neither one was sure enough to offer an explanation.
So, WTF broke this time?
I have a TCI SSF4000 and Dr Evil's "Maximum Evil" 4L60E with vacuum modulation. The flex plate cracked and was replaced last year. The converter was originally a SSF3500 that I had restalled when the rebuilt tranny went in (thanks to fried clutch packs), and stopped locking up while on the way to get the tranny in. Kevin at TCI said the converter broke while I was on the way there...but I have no idea what it was.
Every once in a while, not very often, the car would do something funny. Either I would be accelerating briskly and notice it would shift up earlier than normal, never exceeding roughly 4k rpm no matter how much gas I gave it, then lock up early. Once locked up it would stay locked and not downshift when I hit the gas, even WOT. Or if this began wihle cruising at speed it would simply not unlock unless I went slow enough that it had to downshift. After a short while, maybe few miles or so but not always exactly the same, it would go back to normal.
Today I gave it 1/2 throttle, maybe a little more, running up to maybe 4,500 in second gear while leaving a stoplight. While in second gear I heard a lovely snapping/whack type of noise that sounded like it more or less came from directly under my right arm. In other words, above the transmission...
Converter no longer locks up.
I already asked Larry at LS1 speed (they did the tranny work, I have done all other work myself) and Louis G. but neither one knows, or at least neither one was sure enough to offer an explanation.
So, WTF broke this time?
#2
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Thread Starter
Update: I made an appointment with Lafayette Transmission at 2:00. Discussed my car, symptoms, all the work was done, etc for a short while then I took him for a short ride so he could witness the non locking converter first hand. Came back, put it on a lift and inspected the underside, I think mostly to see if the source of the noise I heard yesterday could be found. (I somehow forgot to mention the sound till durijng the first drive) Hooked it up to a scanner and there were indeed no codes. Went for a short drive with the scanner hooked up to monitor what it was doing. A couple times it sent the signal to lock but the converter didn't do it, then he had me play with the gas a tiny bit and it did indeed lock and stay locked as it should. Not but a couple hundred yards later it started slipping excessively while accelerating, not but 30 yards later it would not budge. At all. No matter what gear I put it in, it basically spun freely. So there we sat in the left lane on 52. Pushed it to the beginning of a turn lane and waited for a tow back to shop.
Assumption is that the converter just took a ****. It's a TCI that has already been sent back to them once for a problem fix and restall, less than one year ago. Newly rebuilt, supposedly very tough (for a 4L60E) tranny also went in one year ago. I left it inside their shop for the weekend (was going to anyway), they will pull the tranny and take a look at everything Monday
I fully realize the irony behind this happening the day after I said that my car hadn't had a problem that made it undrivable. I am thourghly (sp?) pissed at this. I wonder if it will be the converter, again...........
I wonder if anything in the trans was hurt? Maybe it was the trans? I doubt it though...
Assumption is that the converter just took a ****. It's a TCI that has already been sent back to them once for a problem fix and restall, less than one year ago. Newly rebuilt, supposedly very tough (for a 4L60E) tranny also went in one year ago. I left it inside their shop for the weekend (was going to anyway), they will pull the tranny and take a look at everything Monday
I fully realize the irony behind this happening the day after I said that my car hadn't had a problem that made it undrivable. I am thourghly (sp?) pissed at this. I wonder if it will be the converter, again...........
I wonder if anything in the trans was hurt? Maybe it was the trans? I doubt it though...
#4
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Originally Posted by Kounsy
if it wouldnt move at all, then it could be a band or the forward clutch pack is gone or the torque went for a ****, does it still have reverse
It has nothing. Drive, OD, first, reverse....all may as well be neutral.
#6
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Originally Posted by 01_ram-air
Sounds like the converter might have taken a **** all through your tranny. Gonna have to open her up to find out the real cause tho ugh.
That's what I figured once it really took a dive. I only hope the converter didn't screw up the transmission. It is coming out and I'll know a lot more on Monday.
#7
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Originally Posted by blkZ28spt
That's what I figured once it really took a dive. I only hope the converter didn't screw up the transmission. It is coming out and I'll know a lot more on Monday.
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#8
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I had a problem that seems kind of simliar a few months ago with my SSF3500. I had it in for a year so and sometimes it didnt really want to lockup right. And then one night I was driving home and my tranny started slipping out of nowhere and then my car was barely moving I just had enough to get my car to my garage so I could pull the trans out and take it to the trans shop. He said my converter put metal through the tranny and took pretty much of the tranny out. So I needed to get a full rebuild in the end. I also changed the converter to a Yank SS4000. Good luck I hope the problem isnt to serious.
Last edited by RamAir02TA77; 03-04-2006 at 01:36 PM.
#10
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Originally Posted by Creed
Any updates on this? Mine recently started slipping to the point where it won't move also, so I'm anxious to hear the result.
Partly due to time constraints, partly due to drivability, and partly due to wanting to change converters I have a Yank SS4000 going in shortly.