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Torque Converter Chattering/Shuddering Fixed!

23K views 11 replies 4 participants last post by  box 
#1 ·
I dont know if anyone remembers but I made a post a while back about my torque converter shuddering when it locks/unlocks. I had heard from a guy I know that limited slip additive (friction modifier) would fix the problem so I bought a tube and I figured it couldn't really hurt anything because it is such a small amount compared to the volume of tranny fluid, so I put it in and took the truck for a test drive to get it worked in and experienced NO shudder/chatter. The results were immediate and I have put 2 or 300 miles on the truck since I put the additive in and have noticed no adverse affects. I just wanted to report this here incase anyone else has (or will have) that problem. The product is "Equa-torque" in a blue tube, although I imagine any friction modifier for limited slips would work. I added the whole tube to the transmission. If anyone has any questions I will be happy to answer them.
 
#2 ·
hmm interesting...and very tempting. but i'm wondering, is that just kinda a cover fix? i mean, under normal conditions, the TC shouldn't shudder anyway....so if it was shuddering, then I'm thinkin the TC isn't under normal conditions...e.i. somethings broken. And could this little thing creep back up again and cause bigger problems?

will you refresh my brain on how your truck acted before. I'm vaguely remembering, but not sure the details. mine does a wierd thing every now and then...well, a little more often than that...but you get the idea
 
#3 ·
You have wet clutches inside your tranny that are surrounded in tranny fluid. These clutches depend on a certain amount of frictino from the fluid to work as designed. You just messed with that. Your clutches may begin to slip now, once slipping begins you may wish the fix was as easy as replacing the torque converter.

I vote for "this is an unwise thing to do unless you are planning to rebuild the tranny soon".
 
#4 ·
Well, I'd have the transmission fluid flushed pretty quick. You just added an additive that is designed to make whatever you put it in more slippery.

This is what I would call band-aide fix for a broken leg that now has gang-green.
 
#5 ·
Is that small quantity of additive enough to actually affect the clutches in the tranny in such a bad way? I know other people who have done this on their 97-up FORDs for the chattering problem and have seen no adverse effects.
 
#7 ·
Thats the thing, I wasn't wanting to make a difference in the way the tranny behaves. I was hoping the additive would be just enough to affect the lockup clutches in the torque conv. enough to make it lock and unlock right instead of chattering, and not mess with anything else. I have been paying a lot of attention to the tranny, expecially after I added the stuff, to make sure that if the tranny started acting different I could flush it and go another way. So far, I have noticed no difference in the way the transmission shifts or any slippage.
Here is another theory. As far as I know, the torque converter is a fairly simple device. Basically a ball of fluid with vanes and lockup clutches. The transmission fluid creates the ideal friction properties on the torque converter clutches which makes the clutches lock up correctly when they need to, without chattering. I am thinking that somehow maybe the fluid doesn't have the ideal friction properties (for whatever reason or the other) and the friction modifier in a small dose changes the properties of the fluid just enough to make it work correctly.
Believe me, I dont just want to pour things in my transmission without thinking about it first. I thought about this for weeks before I finally decided to try it. If we determine that it will negatively affect the transmission then I will flush the transmission myself right away to remove the additive. Like I said, I am watching the transmission closely so that I can notice any changes in behavior.
 
#8 ·
It sounds like something a guy would do as a last ditch effort.

I consider the t/c part of the tranny. You added a fluid that changed the ability of the clutches in your tranny to engage. Sure it eliminated the chatter.

I suppose it would be like adjusting a manual clutch to never really engage the engine to the manual tranny so your wife could drive without stalling the engine. She thinks, it works great, I don't kill it anymore.

The chatter from your t/c was the clutches trying unsuccessfuly to get a grip. Now without the friction there is no chatter. Do you think it is ever getting a grip? or just slipping all the time?

I wouldn't have done it and recommend trying to undo it before further damage occurs. Your call.
 
#11 ·
from my previous post...
In reply to:

Well, I'd have the transmission fluid flushed pretty quick. You just added an additive that is designed to make whatever you put it in more slippery.

This is what I would call band-aide fix for a broken leg that now has gang-green.

[/ QUOTE ]

I'm pretty sure I stated it makes things more slippery. Gear oil makes things like clutch material grip really good. If you'd ever had leaky axle tube seals and got gear oil on your brake shoes you'd known this.

Anyway, the clutch in a torque converter is very simple and equally weak. It doesn't take a whole lot of work to do its job (it's not like a manual transmission clutch that has to get a vehicle to move). It probably is worn out (it does happen). They usually wear out at around 150k if the vehicle sees a lot of highway driving and the transmission spent most of its life in and out of overdrive. How many miles are on your truck?

$250 for a high performance heavy duty lockup torque converter sounds a lot more appealing than $350 for a rebuild kit plus a new torque converter.

Anyway, I'd go get myself a $12 transmission filter and five quarts of ATF then drop the pan ASAP. Who knows, a clean transmission filter might've solved the problem to begin with.
 
#12 ·
The truck has 174,000 miles and the original tranny. I have changed the AT fluid and filter twice in the past 40k miles and just recently installed a tranny cooler and a transmission filter and flushed the tranny and refilled with new fluid. At the time, I thought that would solve the problem also but it didn't.
 
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