So my torque converter just blew up..
 

I swear I have the worse car luck lately.. The LT4 is up on jack stands now as I try and figure out why its been misfiring.. then, as luck would have it, on my way home from work driving the LT1 and the fn torque converter literally blew up 3 blocks from home.. I just limped into the garage.. Both vettes are now down. :sad:

A Precision Industries Vigilante converter will never blow up. Full throttle lockup in third gear and the converter hits like a gear change. Probably a 1000 10 second runs on the converter.

Blew up like it exploded or what? Who made it?

I was at a stop sign, when I went to accelerate I hear a loud explosion.. like Boom.. not unlike a firework. Then I hear metal on metal.. sounds like the stator or turbine went boom and disintegrated.. I can only hope the fallout didn't ruin the tranny.

I have no idea who made it, I assume it's stock.. will find out tho

I wouldn't care. Time for a totally rebuilt trans. NFW would I trust that the trans itself is still good or that there were no metal pieces that went into the line and into the trans.

:sad: At this rate im never going to get to paint Ol Blackie..

And I know your 100% right here too.. (sigh)

I'll polish the chrome after I get the motor running. Car might be immaculate but if it doesn't run, what are you going to do?

I have used Rossler before. Recommended by LPE and their trans lasted 4 years and some change, IIRC on my 91 F-body when it was the DD. I beat on it every day but the winter when it comes to ramps. Broke the sun shell gear and when it was apart, it wasn't that badly worn. It won't be cheap as a Jasper trans but you get what you paid for.

Damn dude I am sorry about that:(

Definitely do a somewhat built trans on the car. Have you looked at the fluid to see if metal is in it?

Why bother? Would you dare to simply slap a new torque converter and reuse? I would not

I think you need get it on jack stands and try to determine what failed. I never heard metalic noise from a failed converter. Whine as engine was revving and car was creeping. 700s can have the pump bushing can fail. Broken flexplate could pop then make a sh1t load of noise as car creeped along. The hub portion clashing with the part bolted to converter.

Nope.. haven't even looked. Been pretty bummed out about it too. As it happened I already started figuring where I'll find the $2k it'll take to fix this. I don't do trannys and have no lift etc.. don't wanna fight it on the ground of the garage with Jacks and Jack stands.

It just seems like every time it looks like a good time to paint my black car something happens and I spend the money somewhere else.. hard to justify spending so much on such a vanity.. then stuff like this happens..lol
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it makes the sound when the engine is on at all times.. in and out of gear. Car moves and even shifts fine.. I'll make a video now.

Just a thought If the TC blew up, how did you make it home? TC is bolted to the flex plate and attached to the input shaft It's a fluid coupler.

That is loud. Converter failure and drives and shifts fine don't normally go together.

Run it with the serpentine belt off? I'd try it since it's easy and quick to do.

I am under the assumption that if your torque converter grenaded you aren't moving anywhere at all.

4L80E swap time!!

Any difference starting in N or even when shifting at idle?

nope.. makes thd same racket regardless to what the gear selector is doing.. park reverse and forward gear all make this terrible sound.

agreed. I thought i wouldnt be able to move it as well but it does go in and out of gear

I was totally hoping this would be the power steering or something like that but the sound is definitely coming from the rear of the motor by the tranny. Im going to go down there now and mess with it.

would the 4L80 bolt right in or do I have to do other supporting mods?

I've read the 4l80 is actually the evolution of the th400 and it's not a version of the 700r/4l60?

….. I'd be worried about that garage door opener ! … seriously though , sounds a lot like a starter pinion stuck in the ring gear …..

A lot of work It would not bolt on

Highest chevy stock converter for stall speed is from a 86 vette. They dont make them anymore but from what I understand, one from a S-10, v6 truck is the same unit.

correct and in a vette usually was an upgrade felt like a 2800 stall.

I am thinking it might not be trans related, can't wait to hear what it was.

It bolts right up to the engine block... the back of the trans is a different story. Need to find a way to mount it to the C-Beam, i created my own adapter.

I did this mod to my car, and it is by far my favorite one. The gear spacing on the 80e is awesome. 1st to 2nd gear RPM drop is not as bad as the 700R4. In my car with the gear/tire/RPM, 1st gear is good for about 60 and 2nd 110 MPH. Coupled with a 3200 stall it has been an absolute ton of fun to drive

So I did this last night.. and im not that lucky it seems.. Sound was still there and def coming from behind the motor. Im going to drop it off at the transmission shop as soon as I find the time away from work to work the logistics.

Dam that sucks, sorry man:(

I would also at least pull the dip stick and wipe it clean with a white rag. See if there's anything suspect in the fluid.

hey.. comes with the territory of owning an old chevy! Whats funny is i always stayed away from automatic sports cars bc "you dont have to worry about blowing the tranny!"..lol

So i just did this and i cant say its all the way clean.. there seems to be the slightest amount of metal on the paper towl i used to wipe the dipstick.. and the fluid looks a little more red than normal.. if that makes any sense.

Any car.can blow a transmission whether it is auto or stick. I've seen broken sticks too.

Drop the pan

I loved my 93 ruby, but I sold it to get a zf6 car. And yeah the trans went out years ago on the ruby, so I know what you mean and feel.

And yes, aklim is right.

Aklim is right but it's different in my experience. All the manual cars I've owned or been around could generally take more race type abuse then their automatic counterparts in stock form. Everyone knows you can certainly build a nice rebuilt robust automatic transmission and is probably better way to go when drag racing. But I'm always a little worried to drive stock automatic cars hard.. always waiting for that slip or in my recent experience a fckin explosion.. never had a stick blow up on me.. just sayin. I know manual trannys can "break" but as far as I'm concerned that's way different than how autos go.

Completely agree as well. Sorry to go off topic. My dad had vettes, many while I was growing up. I'd say each and every car was headers and cam. The few auto vettes he had blew the automatics pretty quickly. The stick cars indeed lasted longer. He bought a C7 GS back in May. Stick as well:cool:

I think back in the day, it was so since auto transmissions were newer. I think over the years, they have become better, like anything else.

Agree with you here too.. But, you would think you would see more 8l90 swaps. doesnt seem like many are doing that.

Hardy har har

:toetap:

Mine started making a terrible noise last month and my torque converter bolts came loose at once. Sounded like I blew the transmission or engine. The transmission shop tightened them and it was better than ever. Good Luck

Hey you look local, what shop did you happen to use?

Pauls Trannsmissions in Culver City. He is a good Mechanic.On Washington near Inglewood Blvd.

Swap into what? The problem is 2 fold. Assuming you get it to bolt up, how would you get it to talk to the ECM, BCM or whatever CM it needs to talk to for full functionality? Also, you'd have to put up with people who will tell you it isn't a sports car because it doesn't have a stick and many are not able to stand up to peer pressure.

Headed to the transmission shop tomorrow.. We will see what said fck it! and decided to explode. The tranny guy doesn't think it's the torque converter based on my descriptions of what happened and the symptoms.. I'm inclined to believe him but we won't know until they get it up on the lift tomorrow.

Hoping for the best!

Torque converter shield maybe

I'm here at the shop now helping/babysitting my car.. so far the torque converter is in 1 piece and the sound is def there w the converter shield off..

He's under there banging some $hit w a huge screwdriver.. idk if that's good but the mystery sound is def different now after the banging...

That is weird man. Keep us updated.

Ok...... would not believe this but there was a screw! A fn 10mm screw that had fallen off of something!? and lodged itself between the torque converter and the converter shield.. that's what's making the sound.. I'll do a proper update w pics and video when I get home.. they have the tech 2 on it now and are going to drive w it on to see if everything else is ok..

On another note.. does anyone have any idea of what a 10mm screw could have fallen off of to end up in the torque converter area?? Rear main seal?

Rear main housing.

Dam that is crazy!

Make sure he tightens TQC bolts while he is in there.

I am very happy with my Protorque Converter. this car I have a 2800 stall I also had a Protorque 3800 in my Camaro. both awesome. 2800 is $350 shipped to your door

Attachment 48350603

This screw:

Attachment 48350604

Was here:

Attachment 48350605

Making this damage to the TC:

Attachment 48350606

That was the horrible noise..

Thanks to Kevova, I now know this is a rear main seal housing bolt:

Attachment 48350607

Tc
 

Wow. Talk about dodging a bullet. Congratulations is in order. See your lur luck is changing. #silverlining

Does the TC have to be replaced? It just looks scratched up.

No it doesn't and like BLKMAMBA said this is quite the lucky outcome I think anyone would trade this issue for a blown transmission..

But I still have a dilemma of sorts.. So they took the car for a ride with the diagnostic computer hooked up and it reported that 3rd gear is 35% & 4th is 20% iirc.. I dont know exactly what this means, but the tranny guy explained that the gears are beginning to wear.. and that although the converter and the tranny itself is in decent condition I should start thinking about a R&R at $2k. Idk how much of that is the shop doing their job vs you know, "marketing"..

What I do know is that I have a rear main seal that is not only leaking oil but now has a housing that is missing at least 1 bolt.. who knows if the others are currently hanging out now ready to jump for freedom. Dont want that.. So I have to fix this issue, but to fix it we have to remove the tc & tranny, right? and the tranny guy also said that to properly install a shift kit the tranny needs to be removed as well... So it feels like I getting a case of the "WhileImTheres" where you end up doing a head and cam swap when you first set out to do a tune up.. you know.. might as well while its out, while im in here, while this and that..etc

So.. do i pull the tranny address the rear main seal and housing, install shift kit (maybe TC?).. or do a whole tranny overhaul because might as well..?

I even went so far as to look at any available dana 44s.. which there are several.. 3.07 for $950... 3.54s for $1500.... god help me..

I really hate it when people say $2000. What sort of build will he do? How much is parts, how much is labor? What sort of parts? I'd get a 2nd and 3rd opinion. When he throws out numbers like 35%, I'd like to know how he got those numbers.

Totally agree with you here.. And as far as im concerned, for $2k I wanna know EXACTLY whats getting fixed/upgraded/replaced. I will most certainly get some other quotes before committing to anything, learned a long time ago to never go with the 1st option that presents itself.

For $2k id like to end up with something upgraded that can handle at least 400tq hell maybe even 450 - 500tq. Id rather have a speed shop do the rebuild as well.. somewhere where they prepare race trannys.

Im headed down to the car now to get the print out and see what the 35% & 20% was referring to..

Number one as a business I will mark up parts. It is part of operating a business. How much material in the pan?. Codes can set for " undefined gear ratio" indicating internal failure. If pan is clean cutches aren't failing.

I don't think you are getting a really good trans for $2000 with install included. If you want a bulletproof Rossler, it costs about $2500 and you have to buy your TC which can run to about $1000, give or take.

Rebuild
 

This guy is the master at 4L60's .give him a call. Tell him Rick Houpt sent you .
http://cahallperformancetrans.com/site/mobile?url=http%3A%2F%2Fcahallperformanc etrans.com%2FHome_Page.php#2643

That's about $1750 for the "pro race" version that supports 400 and up and you supply the core he rebuilds. Add another $500 for the TC and we are up to $2500 give or take for misc stuff. I really doing think $2000 all in to support 500 HP is feasible.

Lol I don't either.. just trying to illustrate the value I'm looking for! Gotta aim for the stars! If I'm paying anywhere north of 2k.. I gotta be getting a hellova transmission.

That's what I'm talking about!

:cheers:

I'll be looking into this option, thank you.

Number one as a business I will mark up parts. It is part of operating a business. How much material in the pan?. Codes can set for " undefined gear ratio" indicating internal failure. If pan is clean clutches aren't failing.

One with a billet input shaft and all the dressings for racing abuse was closer to $3500+ converter.

Cahall can sell you a sweet Protorque 2800 stall converter for $350. it's what is in my C4 and also had one but 3800 in my Camaro, great converters

I'd like my transmission to run like this..

https://www.liveleak.com/view?t=uJbES_1539894041

That'd be a sweet trans. I gotta attend a hill climb and rally event one day.