GermanMonte Posted October 2, 2014 Share Posted October 2, 2014 Good morning everyone, my old green lady is causing trouble again. She just managed to pass German inspection / registration lately, so I'm finally having the chance to drive her a little bit before winter hits us. First off, it has a 427 small block, combined with a 200-4r level 3 from Bowtie Overdrives with a 3000 stall converter with lock-up. The transmission shifts fine through all gears, pressure readings are good and the tcc engages just as it's supposed to - until the fluid gets warm (meaning 115°F). Whenever the fluid reaches this temperature the tcc seems to be slipping when load is applied. The transmission still shifts properly, but the clutch does not seem to be able to hold the torque of the motor. When cold, I can apply almost 70% load in fourth gear with the tcc engaged. Rpms increase in perfect relation to speed. As soon as it gets warm and I try to do the same thing, rpms go up way to fast. It feels like the tcc clutch is slipping badly. When I put my foot on the brake pedal in this situation I can clearly hear the tcc disengange and feel the high stall speed of the converter. I already contacted Bowtie with this problem, but their answer was kinda frustrating: Too low on fluid or o-ring on the input shaft damaged. Fluid level is perfect and when the converter was installed it spun on the pre-lubed input shaft without binding to its fully seated position. The TV cable has been set up properly as well and the fluid still looks and smells good (350 miles on it right now, max. temperature was 170°F). I'm a bit frustrated at the moment, since I don't want to have to pull the trans before I know what exactly is going on. Hope y'all can help me out. Robert Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
footballubet Posted October 2, 2014 Share Posted October 2, 2014 The o-ring on the input shaft could be nicked and the converter would still turn freely. Maybe a starting point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GermanMonte Posted October 8, 2014 Author Share Posted October 8, 2014 Oh well - About time to pull the motor and the trans I guess. I'll let you know what it was. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GermanMonte Posted December 22, 2014 Author Share Posted December 22, 2014 Update: I pulled the motor and the trans about a while ago and finally found time to take a closer look at the suspicios parts. The converter undoubtedly is worse than useless. The initial slippage of the clutch turned into a shudder over time. The torque converter clutch got so hot, that the paint on the outside of the converter burned off. All the other clutches look like new and there was virtually no grit or abrasion in the pan. I've got to mention that I changed the fluid many times though. Line pressure was good while test driving the transmission, the o-ring on the input shaft also shows no damage. TV-cable adjustment was checked over and over again. I tested the TCC solenoid as well and it opens and closes just fine. To me it makes no sense that the tcc started to slip as soon as the fluid reached operating temperature. I really hope that it was a manufacturing defect inside the converter. What else could have caused this condition? Is there anything particular I should pay attention to when putting it all back together? Greetings from Germany Robert Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mister Posted February 8, 2016 Share Posted February 8, 2016 I just purchased the same tranny from them as well...want to know how things turned out with you and your tranny? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sam (Bones) Posted February 8, 2016 Share Posted February 8, 2016 more than likely just a bad converter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GermanMonte Posted February 10, 2016 Author Share Posted February 10, 2016 Hey, sorry I didn't go into detail any further. I should have responded a long time ago. My fault! It turned out that it really was just the converter. I didn't drive the car much last year, but the problem was gone with the new converter in the transmission. I will have the damaged converter cut open here at work soon. Maybe I can find out what the reason was for it to slip under load and higher temperatures. The internals of the tranny looked good. No burned clutches or bands, just a bit of tcc lining remains in the pan. I took it easy on the tranny for the first few miles, but hammered it a few times after monitoring the line pressure and the temperatures for a while. So far so good. Robert Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andreas Posted February 10, 2016 Share Posted February 10, 2016 Sehr gut, Robert! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mister Posted February 11, 2016 Share Posted February 11, 2016 Ok good to hear! I didn't order their converter though....was thinking of going with an acc boss hog one and probably going to run a cooler instead of going through the radiator. Hope this helps...trans should be here next wknd! Translation Mr. Ex President??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GermanMonte Posted February 12, 2016 Author Share Posted February 12, 2016 Today I had the converter cut open at work. The clutch lining looks a bit toasted to say the least. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vaihlor Posted February 12, 2016 Share Posted February 12, 2016 I've personally experienced some issues with a brand new torque converter for my th350, Boss hogg brand it was, After only 1000 miles, it make an horrible scratching noise (but still working), after open up it seems to get some free play and some metal parts broke off inside and damaged the turbine... So this kind of problem could be not so rare with new parts... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mister Posted February 13, 2016 Share Posted February 13, 2016 Thanks for the 411 on boss hogg. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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