grafx

I'm currious how you can tell when a torque converter is bad and needs replaced.

Gunny Highway

iTrader: (1)

You might get what they call "convertor/clutch shake." It will feel like the tranny doesn't want to shift correctly; like it's getting stuck. At first I thought I had this happening to me, but after changing the fluid and filter it went away.

Swapmaster

Yes, either a shutter or chatter when lockup engages or a whining
noise when you put it in gear, like a power steering wine but only
when you put it in gear.

grafx

will it effect the proformance of the engine, like make it idle rough? Is there any way of testing to make sure the torque converter is bad, if I took it to a tranny shop do they have a way to test it?

Swapmaster

It can't make the idle rough. It can kill the engine if the lockup
solynoid in the tranny is acting up.

Basicly it is good until the lockup clutch goes bad or it overheats
from the lockup not working properly and frying it.

But unless you have one of the symtems listed above don't worry
about it.

Pro Built Automatics

How to tell if the TC is going out? If the stator starts to overrun in the TC, then the stall will go down, the TC will start to pull down the idle and eventually there will be no stall. The vehicle once up to about 30 mph & higher won't feel much different (might shift harder at light throttle) than before, the fluid might start to have aluminum specks in it. This might help some.

grafx

That's what I was thinking. That if it were going that the car wouldn't have much power. The motor might sound fine but the more gas you give it doesn't increase the speed much or takes longer to get to the desired speen because the TC isn't delivering the power. This would be one of the signs right? And there is no real way to test one is there, it's pretty much diagnosed by how the car behaves correct?