Torque converter recommendations

[Texabilly]

Why would the converter clutch be ruined by "towing in overdrive"? You open the throttle enough, the converter clutch disengages. That does build a lot of heat in the converter, and eventually overwhelms the coolers--the whole trans gets hot.

If your converter clutch doesn't work, I'd be looking at the control system first, before I swapped converters. Brake pedal switch adjustment, fuses 'n' wiring, the TCC solenoid, etc. I know a guy who overhauled his automatic-overdrive transmission, and the converter clutch wouldn't engage. He forgot to put the O-ring on the trans input shaft. But you won't find that problem without pulling the converter off the shaft.

Does the scan tool show the converter clutch is commanded "on", but it doesn't actually engage? Or is the computer not commanding the clutch to

I was taught not to be in OD when towing. It was explained to me like this. The further up the gears you go the less of load it's meant to take. 1 gear gets you yanked up and rolling and the last gear is just an the easy push once your rolling.

 

[1997]

I added a switch to mine which allows me to lock up the torque converter in any gear. Works great for towing in third gear.

it locks in 3rd from the factory, what's special about the switch when its in 3rd? thx.

sorry OP slight high jack .....

 

[letitsnow]

it locks in 3rd from the factory, what's special about the switch when its in 3rd? thx.

sorry OP slight high jack .....

Not sure if this is relevant, but in my s10 zr2 (4.3/4l60e) I added a switch to lock up the tcc. It really made driving that truck better. The truck was a mess of constant shifting/unlocking without that switch. In my k2500 (5.7/4l80e) I have no reason to add a switch. The trans/combo just seems to work better.

 

[0xDEADBEEF]

I was taught not to be in OD when towing. It was explained to me like this. The further up the gears you go the less of load it's meant to take. 1 gear gets you yanked up and rolling and the last gear is just an the easy push once your rolling.

That's basically torque multiplication in a nutshell. Gears lower than 1:1 multiply the engine torque to the ground, overdrive divides it.

 

[Anubis]

it locks in 3rd from the factory, what's special about the switch when its in 3rd? thx.

sorry OP slight high jack .....

Unlike the factory set up, a manual switch keeps the converter locked up under load which reduces heat & wear and tear.

 

[1997]

Unlike the factory set up, a manual switch keeps the converter locked up under load which reduces heat & wear and tear.

got a wiring diagram handy? thx.
sounds like i should give it a try.

 

[Schurkey]

Unlike the factory set up, a manual switch keeps the converter locked up under load which reduces heat & wear and tear.

And that's wonderful...until you lug the engine and it wants to detonate, or--more likely--you overpower the clutch in the torque converter, it slips, and sends friction material into the oiling system.

The converter clutch unlocks under heavy load for a reason. Make sure you aren't overwhelming the capacity of the converter clutch by manually locking it.

 

[yevgenievich]

And that's wonderful...until you lug the engine and it wants to detonate, or--more likely--you overpower the clutch in the torque converter, it slips, and sends friction material into the oiling system.

The converter clutch unlocks under heavy load for a reason. Make sure you aren't overwhelming the capacity of the converter clutch by manually locking it.

On early 350tbi 4l80e trucks logic for tcc was not the greatest. I had a switch installed on 91 burb. After looking at the programming, was funny to see that beyond about 75mph it was set to keep tcc on regardless of throttle position. Otherwise it seem to be a lot more conservative than later trucks.

 

[Anubis]

And that's wonderful...until you lug the engine and it wants to detonate, or--more likely--you overpower the clutch in the torque converter, it slips, and sends friction material into the oiling system.

The converter clutch unlocks under heavy load for a reason. Make sure you aren't overwhelming the capacity of the converter clutch by manually locking it.

You have some valid points but the driver needs to be smart enough to avoid those conditions. Tearing up my converter is the least of my worries. It’s a multi clutch Circle D which is capable of wide-open throttle with lock up.

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