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Torque Converter Slippage

U

UmmScott

CEG'er
Joined
May 4, 2009
Messages
292
Location
Omaha, NE
I'm wondering if this is a solenoid/valve problem. Aamco says i need a rebuild, but i don't think so.

The torque converter clutch indeed slips, but only after driving across town. It never slips when its cold.
After a while the PCM sets code 628 and the shifting becomes really really harsh.

Another thing. I had an issue with my brake light switch for the past 20k miles. My brake lights were stuck on from 130k to 155k (now). If the brake lights are on the converter clutch will NEVER apply.
So my torque converter clutch never applied from 130k to 155k of driving.

If my torque converter is shot, then is there a way i could prevent the harsh shifting from occuring? The harsh shifting starts when the 628 code is set, otherwise it shifts perfectly in every gear
 
Could be valvebody wear. The Transgo CD4E Jr. kit may help you. Includes changes made to compensate for the wear. Hotter oil thinner and then leaks around metering parts easier.
 
Probably a new torque converter is in your future. Search 628 codes and you will find that after the car warms up, it will shift hard and then slip.

How the hell did you avoid tickets or getting rear ended for 20k miles?
 
andreslobo said:
Probably a new torque converter is in your future. Search 628 codes and you will find that after the car warms up, it will shift hard and then slip.

How the hell did you avoid tickets or getting rear ended for 20k miles?
Click to expand...

Cuz Im that good:cool:

haha, no, my brake lights were always on. I'd have to reach down and unplug the switch on the pedal every time i parked. I dunno, police didn't care idk

I was thinking bout that transgo kit. I should say that it totally went out of gear for like a split second once on the interstate. It did it once, & hasn't happened since.
 
it might be easier

it might be easier

While it might be easier to change out the valve body in the car, than to replace the torque converter, I think you are just pissing away your money.

Although many have talked about valve body problems, I have yet to see or hear of a valve body being the root cause of a problem.

Either drive it with the slipping or spend your money and efforts on the most likely cause of the failure, the torque converter. Given the year of your car, you'd probably be money ahead just to leave it be and start saving for another car.
 
andreslobo said:
While it might be easier to change out the valve body in the car, than to replace the torque converter, I think you are just pissing away your money.

Although many have talked about valve body problems, I have yet to see or hear of a valve body being the root cause of a problem.

Either drive it with the slipping or spend your money and efforts on the most likely cause of the failure, the torque converter. Given the year of your car, you'd probably be money ahead just to leave it be and start saving for another car.
Click to expand...

Thanks, thats my plan. My car is literally the biggest piece of crap ever. Theres always something wrong with it no matter what i do. Its a shame cuz i have all new suspension in front and back. (original parts failed). Ive replaced cracked intake manifold. Ive done the damn timing belt 3 times cuz it keeps walking off due to a warped timing gear....

I mean seriously, the person who built my specific car must have been high. :rolleyes:
 
If you read the kit instructions you would find there is a bore at main pressure regulator that erodes loose to allow fluid leak and pressure buildup where not wanted. That buildup kills the converter clutch action. Kit shows drilled hole bleeding off unwanted excess pressure and an additional pressure relief valve not there before to correct the problem. Claim made by kit designer says that you will NOT correct the problem with just converter alone. Food for thought.
 
High pressure has rarely been an issue with these cars. And from his description of running the car 20k miles with brake lights on, thus preventing the tcc from locking up leads me to think that spending any money on valve body upgrades is just pissing his money away until he replaces the torque converter. Looks like he has decided to drive it into the ground and get a more reliable car.
 
Yeah I do have another car coming at me soon. Heres the list of issues this car has still: a leaking rack & pinion, leaking front oil seal cuz some d bag put that timing spacer in the wrong spot, and ever since ive owned the car it seems so friggin sluggish. I give it gas and it has to "think about what to do" for a sec and then it goes.

Believe me ive tried EVERYthing. New MAF, ECT, IAT, CAM sensor, the whole EGR system....list goes on. Heck ive been through 3, yes 3, interior fuse boxes cuz the wire for the blower keeps melting. A blower shouldn't quit working cuz of a melted wire, The wire and connection should have been designed right in the first place to handle the 30amp load the blower draws.

I kinda wish my car was OBD-II cuz i have a scan tool, but its no use to me cuz it doesn't handle OBD-I cars.
 
'High pressure has rarely been an issue with these cars.'

I must disagree with that, the history of the unit is full of problems and modifications specifically dealing with uncontrolled high pressure.

Also, TCC commanded off in and of itself would not hurt clutch at all since it would never engage. What could wear then? Of course clutch could have been dead long before that.

I gotta add though that running that long with brake lights on seems pretty goofy to me. As well as irresponsible to his fellow drivers. Too easy to fix.
 
A DTC 628/P1744 usually requires BOTH a new TC and that the valve body problems be fixed. I went through this about 60K ago and the Conturd is still rolling. Cost me around $500 just for parts back then (TC, VB with Sonnax upgrades, aux cooler, solenoid pack).
 
amc49 said:
I gotta add though that running that long with brake lights on seems pretty goofy to me. As well as irresponsible to his fellow drivers. Too easy to fix.
Click to expand...

My parents divorced, i moved out, pay rent, pay for college with NO financial aid, and work 40hrs a week at a restaurant where the customer is never right. I appreciate ur input, but i have bigger fish to fry than my brake lights. Also, the reason was the brake pedal didn't come back far enough to push the switch so i had to get a hammer and beat the crap outta the pedal bracket to make it work. Theres no adjustment for this car which is kinda stupid if u ask me.

Plus i commute quite a bit as my job is across town
 
I say again, too easy to fix. Of course you would have to think about it, and that can hurt. Hammer easier to work with. There are 6 billion of us out there, with all our troubles too. If one of us hits you because we cannot tell you are braking then we will re-prioritize your life completely, your troubles and all. If it happened, you would have been at the least the partial enabler of it. You don't have to go to college to learn that.
 
i guess my main reason for not fixing it is that i had no motivation. I just get so pissed off that my car can't be problem free for more than a few weeks. After overhauling the suspension because last winter took a toll on it, I just stopped caring cuz it kept leaving me on the side of the road time after time. I really really wanted to fix this car and make it pretty decent but i honestly just stopped caring about it. granite it is my first car, im sure everyone has had a car that was a pile of crap at some point.

like heres an example. When i start from a stop, the car hesitates about 1.5 seconds before doing anything. I can't for the life of me fix that problem. I have no codes and have changed the fuel filter, spark plugs, wires, u name it, i changed it. That problem will NOT go away and it drives me crazy that i can't fix it. The car just in general runs like crap. Strangely it runs better when I start it cold in the morning.

Another thing: part of me really wants to attempt to rebuild the trans just for my own experience. I have the all the special CD4E tools in that red case, i bought it from a ford dealership that closed in omaha for only 60 bucks. Its got all the tools needed to disassemble/reassemble it. I just don't think thats in the cards now tho
 
Had a car with a front drive transaxle that would give a 1-2 slip and a very harsh bang shift after warming up. I dropped in 1/2 bottle of Lucas Transmission Fix and it smoothed out just fine.

Try that before digging into the transmission. Honestly, it sounds to me like you have a worn valve body AND a torque converter with a badly leaking seal. The trans fix may only help the slip & rough shifting or perhaps nothing at all, but it's worth a try.
 
I disagree with the statement in number 10, my car has a high pressure problem, mostly after it gets warmed up but going from first to second it shifts really hard at times spinning the tires with barely any throttle, a closer look at the situation includes the ATF being a bit high, but wouldnt think that it would be high enough to slam the gears together as hard as it does. I've even added bars leak trans fix to my car when i orignally thought the trans was leaking, no more leak, but there are still hard shifts. I might look into the valve body rebuild myself.
 
@ ummscott
I thought that my car couldn't be problem free, there are still some issues but atleast here in NJ i can pass inspection with ease, being the NJ doesnt care if your car is falling a part, just as long as the emissions are clean your go to go. for the first couple of months my 98 contour V6 had nothing but problems, fix one the next day another one pops up. For a senoir in high school working at mcdonalds at the time it was rough on me. there are still some problems i have to fix including the new deer damage(thxs to a deer running into the side of my car) but the cars are nice and well built but with higher mileage the need msome TLC depending on how hard you harp on it.
 
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