torque converter

[bluecajun5.3]

i posted something like this over on performancetrucks but got not one answer.
the trans is a built 60E with a tci sf 3000 converter.

my truck had been parked for a week and the last time i drove it was coming back from the track on fri. 4th. everything was working fine driving it back that night.

i took it out for a spin on sat. 12th and when i got on the interstate, i noticed the tc wasn't locking up. it was sort of like slipping/rev/flashing when going uphill. also, i think b/c of that, my trans temp was running hotter than normal during normal driving.

i took it out for a spin again on sun. 13th and still the same thing, + when the trans temp got hot around 190ish it started shifting really hard. so i parked it and disconected the batt. for 30min. went for a test drive and still no lock up and hard shifting. i pulled a sample of fluid and it was a lil dark w/tiny particles for only 5k miles on the rebuild. later on in the afternoon, i went for an other spin and still no lockup but the trans was shifting fine.

i'm thinking the torque converter is going bad. when i did the install of the coverter the first time, i got to drive for 2 min and i ended up breaking the pump. the only thing i can think of is maybe some of the particles from the broken pump got into the converter and it's finally eating the inside of it away causing it not to lockup.

any suggestions on what the problem could be? tranny or converter? thank you guys in advance. later...
lance

[Zick]

Did you flush out the TQ when you broke the pump the last time? Not that I'm sure it can be done real easy but it is possible there was some crap left in it that is tearing up your trans.

Also, are you throwing any codes? There are some codes that cause the TQ not to lockup.

[bluecajun5.3]

no it didn't get a flush. the trans shop had drained the fluid out the converter and didn't see any signs of contamination. i'm thinking something was lodged in there and it's finally eating it self away after 5k miles. i talked to the trans shop today and told me to bring it in tomorrow so they can hook the scanner to it.

i'll post up the outcome. i hope it's not an arm and a leg to fix. i'm still paying on this 2k dollar trans. and just bought a house in florida.
later...
lance

[vv8]

Sux's to hear this, hope its all good on warrenty work.

[bluecajun5.3]

thanks for the support kevin. i hope it goes through ok...

[02reaper]

Sounds like the same exact problem I had with my first rebuilt transmission. What happened was that the Electronic Pressure control solenoid was going out causing the transmission to go into abuse mode (applying full pressure to the shifts), and ultimately burning up the 3/4 clutches. On this last rebuild, I converted the transmission to the old vaccum style and completely done away with the computer controlling how much pressure it wants the transmission to have. Unless someone has modified the 3rd gear pressure in the computer, the stock settings dont allow full line pressure to the third clutch pack under full throttle. Doesnt that suck, ultimately it kills the clutch pack again. If you can find someone with a scanner, have it scanned and find out if the problem has set a dtc. Good luck man.

[bluecajun5.3]

at the time when allen did my tune he tuned it for the stock trans w/ vett servo and took away 60%tq management. i've been running this tune on the built 60E for 5k miles and now it doesn't want to lockup in 3rd or OD. like i said there was some evidence of contamination in the fluid but i don't know what it's from. i droped the truck off at the trans shop this afternoon. he said the first thing they are going to do is run the scanner and then drop the pan to see what it looks like. i'll keep yall posted. thanks for the replies...
lance