Author Topic: visited the tranny shop for the followup....  (Read 32122 times)

Offline shadango

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Re: visited the tranny shop for the followup....
« Reply #30 on: September 08, 2009 - 11:36:34 PM »
Yeah...there is a whole other )long) thread on that issue...LOL...its a 318 so it should be internally balanced....the convertor has no weights.....I have replaced the harmonic balancer and no change....

The slipping/delayed shift is a whole other issue.....




Offline shadango

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Re: visited the tranny shop for the followup....
« Reply #31 on: September 09, 2009 - 08:28:21 AM »
Just throwing this out there.....seeing as it only does this delayed shift into drive thing when its fully warmed up, could my tranny fluid be overheating?  One of the oil lines is kind of close to the header......or does this sound like a strictly mechanical thing?   :clueless:

Offline tactransman

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Re: visited the tranny shop for the followup....
« Reply #32 on: September 09, 2009 - 09:26:32 AM »
Nope,I think that the ring grooves are worn on the input shaft.
Terry-tactransman 
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Union, Mo.
Give a man a fish and he eats for a day,teach him to fish and he eats for a lifetime.

Offline shadango

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Re: visited the tranny shop for the followup....
« Reply #33 on: September 09, 2009 - 10:48:02 AM »
Well, I called teh shop and told them I would be down today or tomorrow (rain dependent...LOL).....for them to drive and see what I am talking about.

I am sure they think its in my head....

Will have to be sure the car is thoroughly warmed up.

Wish me luck.  Its bad enough having to go through the whole removal/reinstall process again..feeling like you are fighting the shop is worse.

Offline shadango

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Re: visited the tranny shop for the followup....
« Reply #34 on: September 09, 2009 - 08:39:35 PM »
Well, here is what went down.

The guy who built the tranny and i took the car out..at first it wasnt doing it (the double bumping, as Terry called it)...and I figured he thought I was nutz.

Well, finally, it did it.      :woo:   He made it do it as well if he went from neutral to 1st and then pulled out....so I was vindicated at least at that level.....

He says that it is casued by the adjustment screw for the shift kit which governs the pressure.  Says he thinks he needs to back the screw out some...he said that what is happening is that the fluid is being dumped from the 1st gear circuit when I go to neutral. 

I am not sure this makes sense to me or not. :clueless:    If the pressure is too high, how can it be causing it to dump the circuit?????

He says he is more concerned about the vibration and suggested that maybe it caused the double bump issue....I said no way, as it did the same thing (though more intermitantly) from day one....it does it more now because I am trying to make it do it.....

Anways, he says we need to figure out the vibration first.....says I need to get under there and add some large fender/body washers ...a couple at a time....to one of the torque convertor bolts.....run the engine and see if that makes it worse or better....trying each bolt and seeing what happens.  I guess if one bolt makes it better, the convertor is out of balance...if they all make it worse, then the convertor isnt the issue.....

He said that they will replace the convertor (I still have to pull it) if that test has results....he says that while I have the tranny out to do that, if I do, he would want to see the tranny and check the pump since he thinks the vibration is probably eating the tranny pump, etc. He would also adjust that screw while he has it.

I asked specifically about it possibly being worn grooves into the input haft and he said he knows what I am talking about but that no, that isnt the problem,.

He also feels that going to a higher stall convertor would spell problems....he says that a higher stall, for the street, would just cause more heat and more problems.

So I dont know what to think.  He seems like he really does want to see this issue fixed....should have seen his face when the tranny did that weird double-bump thing.....I thanked God that it did it...at least now he knows I aint crazy....LOL

I wont be able to do the testing for a couple weeks at least do to other commitments....so.... :dunno:

What do you guys think?

He did do something that upset me though...he slandered Ma Mopar.  He said that that screw is one reason he hates Mopars.....pains in the arses, etc......"cheap stuff".....well, he's a Chevy guy (claims he has a 10 second El Camino race car)......so that explains a lot...LOL

In the meantime , I was able to confirm that the convertor is a Transtar....supposedly one of the better ones out there , the way Terry talks.....I had contacted Transtar a few weeks ago looking for info and have to now call a 800 number to talk to a tech to see if they think my symptoms could be TC related.  I will see what they say too....and go from there.

I hate to give up on the engine and just assume that it is the issue just because the tranny guy feels that way...(although he did now admit it could be the convertor)...the previous owner of the engine says he noticed no vibrations....and I think that with the right gears this car will move on down the road pretty good....that' why I am thinking it is the TC.  Even though Transtar has a very low rate of defects.....I guess its wishful thinking....finding the issue in the engine means a lot of $$$.  ANd leaving it as is means I can trash the tranny, and flush even more money/

Or, I just beat the begeezuz out of it until the engine and/or tranny break and then start over..... :working:


Offline dodj

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Re: visited the tranny shop for the followup....
« Reply #35 on: September 09, 2009 - 08:55:42 PM »
Hang in there Shadango. Don't go bashin' anything. If putting these cars together was easy, everybody would have one! Terry will probably be able to make sense out of the info you posted. I can't see the vibration causing the shift problem - at least not so soon.
Scott
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2007.5 3500 6.7 Cummins Diesel, Anarchy tuned.
Good friends don't let friends do stupid things. ........alone.

Offline shadango

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Re: visited the tranny shop for the followup....
« Reply #36 on: September 09, 2009 - 09:11:33 PM »
Hang in there Shadango. Don't go bashin' anything. If putting these cars together was easy, everybody would have one! Terry will probably be able to make sense out of the info you posted. I can't see the vibration causing the shift problem - at least not so soon.

Thats what I think, too, on both counts.

I dont think the tranny guy here is trying to screw me or anything...but I have a feeling he isnt that adept with Mopars......more adept than me though...LOL

I dont think the vibration caused it either....but I suppose he had to at least consider that......

Man, that mail order TCI tranny is looking better all the time.  Better yet, shoulda bit the bullet and asked Terry to build me one, damn the cost of shipping back and forth.........

I guess this is how we learn.
« Last Edit: September 10, 2009 - 08:43:35 AM by shadango »

Offline tactransman

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Re: visited the tranny shop for the followup....
« Reply #37 on: September 09, 2009 - 10:35:52 PM »
He is flat out wrong about the pressure regulator screw. He does not know what he is doing on Torqueflites, (probably because he is a Cheby guy and doesn't want to learn anything on them). Like you said,the delay has been there since day one,if the pump is worn,it was worn when THEY had it apart!

So..... they are saying,if the converter is causing the vibration and did mess up the pump,that is YOUR fault when THEY supplied the converter?  :pullinghair:

I wish I did live closer to you and I would fix it for you........... free of charge like they should!!!!!!

Didn't you pay them like $1000 to rebuild this thing????
Terry-tactransman 
Torqueflite/Automatic Transmission Specialist
Union, Mo.
Give a man a fish and he eats for a day,teach him to fish and he eats for a lifetime.

Offline shadango

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Re: visited the tranny shop for the followup....
« Reply #38 on: September 10, 2009 - 05:44:14 AM »
Yeah, $1150 with taxes.

The screw explanation didnt make much sense to me either, to be honest, but what do I know.

I do have a one year warranty (that started in mid may), so from that perspective it will (should) be covered.....and he said they would pay for the replacement convertor if that turned out to be the issue.

Of course, I don't live in the land of sunshine, so there are a couple (at least) months here where road testing any fixes will be out of the question....

And, becaue it was a bench build, it is all on me I guess.

He is saying that the he is worried the vibration is going to cause the pump to fail.  He isnt saying the convertor is definately causing the vibration, but at least he is now conceding it COULD be....so that's where the washers/testing comes in.

Or maybe he is using the vibration as a convenient get-out-of-jail -free card........blaming it for the problems.

I guess all I can do is work on the vibration issue and go from there....even if I have no luck with the weights/washers testing scenario, I suppose I can insist that they adjust the screw and solve the shift issue, which, going by what you say, will solve nothing, and then they will (I assume) have to open it back up.....allowing me to at least swap in another convertor at my cost to see what happens.... :banghead:

Do you think that adding the washers like he suggests will prove anything as far as the vibration? The other thing I didn't mention is that we discussed how I would have to make sure that the bolt heads clear the block with the washers on.....do you think this test is even possible?  I can't recall how much clearance there is to begin with.

I am starting to resign myself to the fact that this is going to be something that plays out long term, not a quick fix....or I will have to cut bait altogether and go with a new engine/tranny combo...and that isnt in the cards right now.... :money:

Trying to remind myself that this is just a hobby and a toy....but man, I have this sunken feeling in my gut over this.....I just want to move on so I can enjoy the car.
« Last Edit: September 10, 2009 - 08:43:03 AM by shadango »

Offline 73Chally

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Re: visited the tranny shop for the followup....
« Reply #39 on: September 10, 2009 - 08:51:05 AM »
I think they are trying to use the vibration as an excuse to blame you for their problem.  I know it's a lot of work, but could you just drop the transmission in your garage and take it in for them to look at?  Is it possible to test the TC on a bench?

Offline tactransman

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Re: visited the tranny shop for the followup....
« Reply #40 on: September 10, 2009 - 09:02:32 AM »
Just an FYI,I would not mess with the washer thing to check the balance. You do not have much room for the converter bolts to miss the back of the block and one washer is not going to be enough weight to make a difference. The guy is talking Cheby again since that IS a good way to test a Cheby converter for balance where you can add multiple washers.

If your previous owner says that he did not have a vibration in the engine before,then I would pull it out and have them get you another one and if it doesn't change then you will pay for the second converter.  :dunno:

Or get your stall converter and leave the "idiots" out of the picture completely!
Terry-tactransman 
Torqueflite/Automatic Transmission Specialist
Union, Mo.
Give a man a fish and he eats for a day,teach him to fish and he eats for a lifetime.

Offline dutch

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Re: visited the tranny shop for the followup....
« Reply #41 on: September 10, 2009 - 09:03:55 AM »
hey shadango,
this whole story really sucks man... I wish there was something I could do to help.
Wouldn`t it be an option to get / borrow a tranny with converter of which you`re sure it works good? If that works, you will be able to drive your car and dump tranny and converter at the tranny shop and let them have fun with it in the meantime...  :2cents:
I`d go totally bananas over something like this ....  :stomp: :aarg:
*** Bart ***

Offline shadango

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Re: visited the tranny shop for the followup....
« Reply #42 on: September 10, 2009 - 09:10:51 AM »
Just an FYI,I would not mess with the washer thing to check the balance. You do not have much room for the converter bolts to miss the back of the block and one washer is not going to be enough weight to make a difference. The guy is talking Cheby again since that IS a good way to test a Cheby converter for balance where you can add multiple washers.

If your previous owner says that he did not have a vibration in the engine before,then I would pull it out and have them get you another one and if it doesn't change then you will pay for the second converter.  :dunno:

Or get your stall converter and leave the "idiots" out of the picture completely!

What should a stock converter run if I wanted to go that route as a test?

remember, I still have the double bump/delayed engagement issue....if I go to a stall converter, they will say that I am overheating the tranny and causing more issues....
« Last Edit: September 10, 2009 - 09:12:36 AM by shadango »

Offline shadango

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Re: visited the tranny shop for the followup....
« Reply #43 on: September 10, 2009 - 09:14:22 AM »
hey shadango,
this whole story really sucks man... I wish there was something I could do to help.
Wouldn`t it be an option to get / borrow a tranny with converter of which you`re sure it works good? If that works, you will be able to drive your car and dump tranny and converter at the tranny shop and let them have fun with it in the meantime...  :2cents:
I`d go totally bananas over something like this ....  :stomp: :aarg:

I dont have access to another known good tranny/converter.....   :violin:  unless I actually buy another rebuilt one.......

Offline tactransman

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Re: visited the tranny shop for the followup....
« Reply #44 on: September 10, 2009 - 09:57:09 AM »
I don't know how much they would mark it up,but you could call Transtar(that sells Recon converters like what you have) and ask my sales rep BRYAN GREGG (800) 633-3340 ext 267 He is a VERY nice guy. Tell him that Terry from TAC Transmissions sent ya.  :cheers:
Terry-tactransman 
Torqueflite/Automatic Transmission Specialist
Union, Mo.
Give a man a fish and he eats for a day,teach him to fish and he eats for a lifetime.