Nick1234 Posted September 10, 2007 Report Share Posted September 10, 2007 Started tonight out of nowhere. driving doing about 45. torque converter locked. hit cruise control. go up a slight hill. car starts surging up and down about 300 rpm. seemed like the torque coverter was still locked. unlock it by hitting brake and accelerates fine. does it all the time now. at about 32 mph, shifts into 4th real low rpm. about 1300, hit gas without coming out of 4th, motor surges. car doesn't at higher rpms at all. runs fine otherwise. fluid level looks fine Ever since i got it, rpms seem to move a lot with torque converter locked? always seems to lock up in 2 stages meaning rpms drop, then drop again. Someone please help shed some light on this. i will get a video shortly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick1234 Posted September 10, 2007 Author Report Share Posted September 10, 2007 okay took the car out again with the camera. couldn't get it too surge like it was....? stupid. but, when torque converter is locked going down road, i slowly step into accelerator with tc locked, rpms increase about 500 rpms! to verify that the converter isn't unlocking, i hit the brake and it jumps. you can see that in this video! why does it doe that? no other car i have driven does! is 4th slipping? cause it was surging in 4th before! okay so starting out at around 45, with tc locked accelerate to go up hill, jump to 2k with tc locked, hit brake with foot on gas towards end to unlock tc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chadz34 Posted September 10, 2007 Report Share Posted September 10, 2007 okay took the car out again with the camera. couldn't get it too surge like it was....? stupid. but, when torque converter is locked going down road, i slowly step into accelerator with tc locked, rpms increase about 500 rpms! to verify that the converter isn't unlocking, i hit the brake and it jumps. you can see that in this video! why does it doe that? no other car i have driven does! is 4th slipping? cause it was surging in 4th before! okay so starting out at around 45, with tc locked accelerate to go up hill, jump to 2k with tc locked, hit brake with foot on gas towards end to unlock tc. That looked normal on the video, but what you are explaining is exactly what happened to my Lumina. The torque converter won't unlock and you pretty much have to WOT your car to get it to downshift, thats what happened to me and my trans is fucked. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slick Posted September 11, 2007 Report Share Posted September 11, 2007 The torque convertor problem seems to have popped up a TON on the Bonneville forum. It's a torque convertor problem. My vehicle does the same. My fluid is starting to get just a bit brown, so I'm gonna do the fluid sometime this week. I don't expect it to fix the problem, but I've just let it go. BTW, I notice that if I just give it a bit more gas to unlock it, I don't have to worry about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick1234 Posted September 11, 2007 Author Report Share Posted September 11, 2007 yeah i noticed tonight it seemed like a Torque converter issue cause it did it in 3rd as well. Mine does unlock if you go past 1/2 down. but it slips ALOT when it is locked and you give it gas. like 500-600 rpm increase while locked!! chris any links...? btw my tranny fluid is the same as yesterday. still red, doesnt smell burnt. i drove it hard today so i could get it to break. although another thought, it does it when the torque coverter isn't locked too. going up a big hill, i had it in 4th at like 32 mph, and kept it in 4th but accelerated, and it started surging and seemed like it was slipping? should i still consider that cat? they were known to go bad. i need to get this figured out by my trip to ohio. gay. need more information. i will be replacing the cat soon. Things i have noticed: 1. happened out of no where last night. 2. Not due to moisture 3. surging/slippping in 4th gear with torque converter unlocked. bounces up and down about 300 rpm very rapidly 4. slipping with torque converter locked in 3rd and 4th gear 5. Fluid still red and doesn't smell burnt 6. wtf Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ns87 Posted September 11, 2007 Report Share Posted September 11, 2007 Are you sure it isn't a misfire under load? Everytime I thought I had a transmission problem, it was usually engine-misfire related Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slick Posted September 11, 2007 Report Share Posted September 11, 2007 Nope, it's not a misfire, its a torque converter issue. Nick, http://www.bonnevilleclub.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=79630&highlight=surging Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick1234 Posted September 11, 2007 Author Report Share Posted September 11, 2007 well i realized last night that it was both 3rd and 4th gear. and when the torque converter was locked. more so when there was a load on the motor. so today i went to midas and they checked to see if the cat was clogged for free via temperature. from what he said there should be a 100* difference between the front and the rear of the cat. mine was running at 370 up front and only 327 in back. so they said it was on its way out. went to napa, got a new one, $296 later, and installed it this afternoon struggling with rust. reset bcm, took it for a drive and all was normal. so as of right now, it seems to be the cat. shoulda reset the computer sooner. but drove it today and all was normal. the cat did make sense though. they had problems with it from the beginning, heard more noise coming from the engine bay/under my feet, and ran seafoam thru it last week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
93CutlassSupreme Posted September 11, 2007 Report Share Posted September 11, 2007 went to napa, got a new one, $296 later Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick1234 Posted September 11, 2007 Author Report Share Posted September 11, 2007 right! but that was down pipe and all. oh well. coulda went for high flow for like 1/3 price too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick1234 Posted September 12, 2007 Author Report Share Posted September 12, 2007 alright i dont get it. so i reset the computer. drove it. Drives perfect. car sits at home for a while, i go to school, car drives perfect. leave school, starts doing it again?? what am i not thinking of? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slick Posted September 12, 2007 Report Share Posted September 12, 2007 How's fuel pressure? One guy's fix was a new fuel filter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
93CutlassSupreme Posted September 12, 2007 Report Share Posted September 12, 2007 Are you sure it isn't a misfire under load? Everytime I thought I had a transmission problem, it was usually engine-misfire related it's probably this Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slick Posted September 12, 2007 Report Share Posted September 12, 2007 What we both notice is that under heavy load, no problems. It's only while the torque convertor is still locked that the surge is noticed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
93CutlassSupreme Posted September 12, 2007 Report Share Posted September 12, 2007 What we both notice is that under heavy load, no problems. It's only while the torque convertor is still locked that the surge is noticed. when the torque converter is locked, the engine is under heavy load Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick1234 Posted September 12, 2007 Author Report Share Posted September 12, 2007 mine will do it in 4th from about 40 as well. only noticed it now with tc locked. why would it be fine for 40 miles after i reset the computer.....and then drive away from school 3 hours later and it is back just like that? brand new plugs and wires. fine last week for about 350 miles. fuel filter replaced in february. ill check the pressure up front. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
93CutlassSupreme Posted September 12, 2007 Report Share Posted September 12, 2007 O2 sensors can go bad and not throw codes (and also throw codes and still work fine) i'd replace it if you haven't Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick1234 Posted September 13, 2007 Author Report Share Posted September 13, 2007 if i take my car to a shop, will they be able to hook it up, and it will show cars even though my CEL never came on? I unplugged the computer for like 12 hours yesterday, and now it either revs up, or it doesn't. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slick Posted September 13, 2007 Report Share Posted September 13, 2007 Good scanners will be able to take readings of O2, tps, etc.... You can take that reading, and find out what the normal range is, and go from there. Outside the range=bad. Inside operating range=good. Lots of places will give free estimations to the cause. Then you can either just tell them to fix or, or lie and say you will be back in a few weeks once you have the cash. If you gotta pay a fee to have to scanned and for them to figure it out, I'd do it also. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick1234 Posted September 13, 2007 Author Report Share Posted September 13, 2007 a friend of mine works at his parents shop so i will see if he can help me out. i need somewhere to look at and no guessing. i don't want this shit to go when i go to like toledo or something. I think dealers charge like $60 or something also Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick1234 Posted September 17, 2007 Author Report Share Posted September 17, 2007 had it hooked up at a tech2 today and no codes or problems. it has been fine for about a week with minor occurances here and there. drove it around with it hooked up and the torque converter was lcoked 100%. pisses me off. i have access to that and it doesn't fuck up at all. drove perfect. as it has been i guess. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
99RegalGS Posted September 17, 2007 Report Share Posted September 17, 2007 My Regal does the same exact thing whenever I reset the computer. The first time it happened to me was in March, right after I replaced my battery. I did get it to relearn a day or so later on my way to Illinois. And it has done this every time I've unplugged the battery and increased the load on the engine when the torque converter clutch engaged. Here's my little "trick" to get the problem to go away on my car. -There's 2 steps to the relearn, once for 3rd gear and once for 4th. -Go on the interstate or a road with no stop lights for a good distance. The speed limit must be at least 50mph. This is for 4th gear relearn. -Accelerate to 50mph. -Let off of the gas (this causes the TCC to disengage if it is locked). -Get on the gas a little. (You want the TCC to attempt to engage). -As the TCC starts to engage slightly press the gas pedal down. (you don't want to give it so much gas that the TCC disengages). -Continue to slightly press the gas until the TCC becomes fully locked. -When you do this the computer should learn the proper pressures to engage the TCC properly. -Let off the gas again, and repeat but this time hold the gas steady to verify the surge is gone. -If it still surges, repeat again. perhaps giving it more gas when the TCC is trying to apply. -Repeat the same procedure but only at a slower speed. ~35-40mph. This procedure has worked for my car every time I had this problem after a PCM reset. I hope it helps you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slick Posted September 18, 2007 Report Share Posted September 18, 2007 Hmm.... I may have to try that out myself. Now that I think about, I didn't start having my problems until the battery died on me one time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick1234 Posted September 18, 2007 Author Report Share Posted September 18, 2007 Hmm.... I may have to try that out myself. Now that I think about, I didn't start having my problems until the battery died on me one time. mine was fine the whole week after i plugged in my battery. but come to think of it, it have noticed it slowly getting better the more i did what sean brought up above. and would make sense with when i reset the ecu, it got better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
99RegalGS Posted September 18, 2007 Report Share Posted September 18, 2007 Yeah, I didn't notice the problem the first time until 2 days after I replaced my battery. And it was about 20 minutes into the drive until it happened. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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