transmission/TC problem...help!

[87geeinn]

Background: stock transmission with the exception of an external tranny cooler and a ~2600rpm "red stripe" torque converter that was put in about 3-4k miles ago with no issues until now. Also, replaced TCC solenoid with no issues about 1k miles ago.

Problem: Car was running tip top until today. I did a WOT blast on the interstate just before I got off of the exit. The problem appeared as soon as I got off the interstate and it is not intermittent, it is constant. As I accelerate, the car will not upshift until the RPMs are really high, usually around 4200-4900 in all gears, sort of like it is stuck in gear. Also, there is a serious lack of power, sort of like the TC is barely coupled with the transmission and the motor is just spinning freely. Another way to put it, it is like driving a standard transmission car and going through the gears while barely releasing the clutch during acceleration. This happens at all levels of acceleration at all times now. Actually, I drove it back from my parent's house (45 miles or so) and the car runs fine once the car finally goes into OD and the TC locks up which it does in dramatic fashion since the car is going from around 4900rpms and immediately down to about ~2300 or so.

On a side note, the TCC brake test works and the TC locks and unlocks properly under cruise conditions.

 

[mikestertwo]

You may have sheared the stator support on the pump.

 

[87geeinn]

So what needs to be done? Do I just have the tranny pulled, bolt on a new hardened stator shaft and button it back up? Or does the tranny need to be rebuilt, cleaned out, new TC, etc? I really don't know much about trannys. I am aware that the stator shaft is a common failure point on our cars.

 

[mikestertwo]

To change the stator support, you have to pull the pump on the trans. It bolts in from the back of the pump. If your not familliar with these transmissions, your better off having a pro do it even though it's not that hard to do. Do you need a rebuild? That depends on what condition the trans was in before the stator failure and as always, how much money do you have to spend? The first thing though is to pull the trans and inspect the stator support and the splines on the stator inside the converter.

 

[87geeinn]

Thanks, for the help. Also, Keller over at gnttype.org mentioned something about a governor/spring that may have gotten loose or something. Forgive the ignorance in the area, but what is the purpose of the governor weights/spring? I do hear about them coming loose from time to time when I'm perusing this forum.

The trans was running without any problems before this. I actually dropped the pan very recently and did a TCC solenoid swap. There were very small flakes of metal at the bottom of the pan, but nothing that looked too unusual. The fluid is still nice and clear and doesn't smell burnt or anything. Also, even the way it is now, when it does finally shift, the transition between gears is nice and firm as it has always been. Also, once I finally nurse her into OD, the car responds normally and I can even get into the throttle a little bit and build some boost while accelerating normally. However, if I give it too much gas and drop it into 3rd, the car will pull a little but the same problem is there...it just hangs in gear and won't shift until the car is damn near redlining.

I'm not even running high boost. I was saving for alky, but as it stands now, the car hasn't seen over 17psi boost.

 

[mikestertwo]

The governor controls the shift points based on vehicle speed, not rpm. It's located just behind the valve body under a cover with four 13mm bolts. If one of the springs falls out, which does happen on occasion, the shift points will occur at a much higher speed. It will not affect how hard the car will pull or the coupling between the engine and trans. If you described your problem correctly, it sounds like you have a coupling problem, not a late shift problem.

 

[87geeinn]

Thanks for the help. I have no money because of this car and now I have to let it sit in the driveway for a couple of months until I can afford the proper work to be done on it. I will reply when I find out exactly what went wrong. I feel like selling this POS.

 

[Firechicken]

If it is only the spring, then it is very cheap and easy to fix. The spring costs about five dollars.

You simply have to pull the pan off and check to see if there is a spring, laying in the bottom of the pan. If there is, you know what the problem is. If not, then you will have to close it up, and then save some money to have it checked out.

 

[87geeinn]

more questions...

Just to reiterate, it must be a coupling problem because the car will only accelerate under very light throttle. Any more throttle and the engine just winds up like blipping the throttle with the car in Park or Neutral.

Now that I think about it, the car will only act normally when the TC is locked up. Other than that, I can't really get the car to accelerate. I understand the rudimentary aspects of torque converters, but how come this is the case? Is the coupling "just" strong enough when the ECM commands lockup that the car "feels" o.k.? Also, how come I don't hear anything grinding and didn't feel anything abnormal just before the symptoms appeared?

I'm not questioning whether I really did break something, as it is obvious I did. I'm just curious and would like to learn more. I hate being in the dark on this. I feel like she is just sitting there in the driveway mocking me.

 

[mikestertwo]

The stator supports from the factory were not hardened. What happens is they gradually wear through to the point where what's left just shears off. You won't hear anything when it lets go. There's no grinding noise because there is nothing left to grind against. Now the stator just spins freely in the converter and you have very little coupling. You have coupling when the converter locks because the clutch inside the converter directly connects the input shaft of the trans to the outer case of the converter which is attached to the flywheel basically acting like a manual clutch. You are no longer using the hydraulic coupling of the converter.

 

[87geeinn]

Ok, that makes sense. Now, some other questions. BTW, I really appreciate your insight and help. I actually helped the guy change the converter just a couple of months ago and the stator looked okay when we snugged up the new converter. That gear shaft looking thingy at the front of the transmission is the stator shaft correct, or is that the input shaft...I think I'm confusing myself now. It (meaning the gear that the converter slides on to) didn't appear to be worn down. By looking at a pic on the gnntype.org website, it is the gear-looking piece closest to the pump, right? Now, can the stator look okay appearance-wise but the metal itself be fatigued to the point that it just gives out completely? Could the converter be trashed and everything else be okay for instance? Be reminded that this was a cheapy "red stripe" converter and I'm unsure as to their reliability.

Also, I live in Jax, Fl and the shop (KDK Performance) that I would like to get the car to is in Orlando, about 2 1/2 hours from here. I would like to try and limp it there since it is a straight shot on the interstate. I'm thinking I might be okay if I could lockup the converter once I get the car to say 20mph or so to be able and drive the car with what little bit of driveability that's left. What pins on the ALDL do I ground to force lockup? Just use a paper clip and ground "A" to "F"?

 

[mikestertwo]

Correct, connect "A" to "F" to lock the converter. If the stator support looked ok when you installed the converter, it's highly unlikely it has worn that fast. The problem could be inside the converter. Another possibility is the stator support sheared off from it's base. I have only seen that one time though.