replacing a torque converter
 

based on another thread, if this is my problem I would like to know what is involved.

I can find Torque converters all over for $100 give or take for my tranny/engine

What does it take to install such an item? Has anyone attempted this? Tools required?

unbolt torque converter from flex plate. You probably have to take the starter off to access the bolts. Take one bolt off, spin the flywheel to get to the next one.

After that, slide the tranny back away from the engine which means pulling driveshaft, etc.

It's basically the same as removing tranny.
The TQ slides off the tranny once it is on the ground.

no special specs or special tools required?

I figured I would have to drop the tranny, which shouldn't be too bad.

Can I expect to do this in one day?

Yeah...

Now if you have my luck, no......lol

my luck sucks too, i just dont give up easily... (not saying that you do)lol just had to clarify that. :footinmou

^^^^Yeah, I got ya... I don't give up easily either, but I do tend to slow down some when I drown my sorrows.....lol.

Disconnect your battery.
Remove the starter.
Put the Tranny in Neutral.
Disconnect the linkages.

On the bellhousing, at the rear of the engines oilpan is a small tim cover. It should come off with 2 bolts. Remove it.

You should be able to acess the flywheel. There will be 4 13mm bolts that hold the torque converter to the flywheel.

You will need a breakerbar and a socket on your crankshaft bolt on the engines harmonic balancer.

Turn the crank till the bolts for the converter are showing on the flywheel appear. They are 90degrees apart.

Remove all 4 of them. Youll have to remove one, then turn the engine till the next becomes accessable.

Once the 4 bolts are removed, its a standard ' drop the tranny ' proceedure.

Thanks Guys, I think I might give it a try in the next few weeks.

I can remove my transmission in 2 hours now. thats with someone helping me that doesn't know anything about cars really.

Zach if there is other damage inside the tranny, then replacing the torque converter will ONLY last a few thousand miles till all the other crap gets inside the torque converter...

it was my understanding that if i have never seen metal shavings in the trans and never had the burnt fluid smell then my issue has to do with line pressure which deals with the valve body and the torque converter.

Zach, the specialty area would be installing the TC. While it snaps in, you should measure the gap between it and the flywheel. If it's out of spec then shims need to be put in there. By shims, I mean washers. I cover it in depth in my tranny swap thread in the project logs.

What I was told- aftermarket TC's are stock ones cut in half and rebuilt. When welded back together they become shorter than originally.

meh go a high stall converter and go race truck with SAS!

are these washers supplied with the TC ? i need to look up your thread i suppose. :)

this is nonsense and dont listen to it
if you buy a torque converter for your truck and its for your truck then it will be a simple bolt in, no shims will be needed anywhere, no shims should be needed on any automatic transmission.

the only place you may need shims is on manual transmissions after the flywheel has been machined and you have a non-adjustable clutch. the shim goes between the crankshaft and the flywheel.

automatics dont have flywheels, there flexplates

Advanced adapters was gonna send them to me once I used a feeler guage to measure the gap. In an effort to get the project done they told me the spacers were just washers. I got stainless steel washers and stacked them/measured them until I got the correct measurement. Hewre's the part that pertained to it:

Time for some math to shim the torque convertor. They want a space of .125 to .188" between the torque convertor and flex plate before you bolt it down. I packed some feeler gauges antil I had a snug fit. I then measured the gap. The gap was .329 (not as pictured). You can see the shims in the pic. .329 - .125 = .204 and .329 - .188= .141. That is the range of shims that are acceptable. I stacked the shims and used the slide caliper until I had a stack within that range:
http://stuffforyourranger.com/gallery/d/294-1/shim1.jpg

Shims are installed. Bolts are torqued to 25 ft lbs. There very little room so using a torque wrench was not feasible. You access the bolts through the starter hole. I put a socket on the center crank bolt to turn the engine to get each bolt in the access hole:
http://stuffforyourranger.com/gallery/d/296-1/shim2.jpg

^^^ exactly, no shims on an auto.


and a hundred bucks for a torque converter??? i really dont think thats a good deal. i have about $1700 into my converter, its one of those things where you dont wanna cheep out on.

call alan and ask him whats up.

http://dirtydogperformance.com/

I dont think upping my stahl in the converter will really help me. i am not racing!

sounds good guys. all this information is great. it will help me along as i try to attempt it.

its easy, hell i had my entire trans apart.