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Turns off in drive/reverse/1/2
Posted: Sat Nov 09, 2013 12:27 am
by zcylex
So i was on my way to buying new wheels and the car (44 miles from my hometown). So there i was on "highway" everything smooth but the car hasnt been used for "long" trips in quite a while. Anyways, when i got to the first stop light here in the city, the retta decides to stall on me, i restarted and everything seemed fine, but when i shifted into D it stalled again, then waited for the car to cool off and it worked enough to get to my brothers home with stalling everytime i had to stop, i only manage to get here by putting the shift in neutral rev it up to about 5k and shifted to D and it worked but it just kept stalling when it i was at a stop. Now its completely cool and its working fine.
Im assuming it has something to do with the recent seal and oil change in the tranny, tomorrow im getting it checked out before going home
Anyone experienced this issue? Any suggestions?
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Re: Turns off in drive/reverse/1/2
Posted: Sat Nov 09, 2013 12:52 am
by bagged_and_loud
Sounds like coolant temp sensor possibly
Re: Turns off in drive/reverse/1/2
Posted: Sat Nov 09, 2013 5:48 am
by Cliff8928
TCC solenoid… Disconnect the square plug on the front of the trans and see if it goes away..
When you stop and it stalls, does it feel like you were in a manual trans car and didn't push in the clutch?
Re: Turns off in drive/reverse/1/2
Posted: Sat Nov 09, 2013 7:29 am
by Asylum
Cliff is dead on with this one. I've had several issues with TCC's in the past.
What it does is lock up the torque converter at highway speeds to improve fuel mileage.
The problem is when it doesn't unlock when you stop, or slow down.
Generally only happens when it gets hot.
Just unplug it and forget about it.
Might cost you a couple miles per gallon on the highway, but probably not worth spending the money on to repair IMHO! It won't hurt anything!!
Re: Turns off in drive/reverse/1/2
Posted: Sat Nov 09, 2013 7:41 am
by 1988GTU
Turns off in drive/reverse/1/2
Posted: Sat Nov 09, 2013 1:19 pm
by zcylex
That must be it cause if i rev it up to about 3-4k it runs. Is it posible to disconnect the tcc without opening or lifting the engine(my model is a 88) alldata sugest i have to lift the engine and remove the wheel, but im far from home with most mechanics here have allready closed and i have zero to no tools on my brothers house
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Re: Turns off in drive/reverse/1/2
Posted: Sat Nov 09, 2013 1:33 pm
by 1988GTU
If you can squeeze your hand where my picture is circled in yellow, you dont need to take a wheel off. Most you might need is a 45* or 90* pick if a flat blade screwy driver doesnt work out for you.
Re: Turns off in drive/reverse/1/2
Posted: Sat Nov 09, 2013 2:19 pm
by Cliff8928
That engine lifting and what not is to actually replace the solenoid which is under the trans side cover (which is much easier on a 87-91 than a 92-96)
All you want to do is disconnect the plug in the photo in the post above.. It's on the front of the trans under where the air filter sits.
Turns off in drive/reverse/1/2
Posted: Mon Nov 18, 2013 12:57 am
by zcylex
Sorry guys i didnt reply earlier, been very busy at work, i ended up towing the retta back in to the mechanic to avoid any more problems and prevent any posible damage to the car(as i had to rev it up a lot to be able to make it move)
Mechanic found one of the cables going to the tcc which was broken/faulty. I have yet to test the car but i think im going to disable the tcc altogether as you guys suggested, right now im up for more repairs and the wheels will have to wait :/
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Re: Turns off in drive/reverse/1/2
Posted: Mon Nov 18, 2013 7:51 pm
by Money pit Beretta
I don't see why you would disable it if the problem has been solved.
Re: Turns off in drive/reverse/1/2
Posted: Tue Nov 19, 2013 12:53 pm
by 3X00-Modified
Only disable it if the TCC solenoid is broken and you do not have the money to fix it, otherwise you will put excess strain on the trans and engine, higher RPM's when on the highway and a constantly slipping Torque Converter generating excess heat in the trans fluid. I only recommend unplugging it to fix it temporally as well... never for a final solution.
Re: Turns off in drive/reverse/1/2
Posted: Tue Nov 19, 2013 1:14 pm
by Cliff8928
Jon, I would agree with this for a 4-speed auto, but the 3-speed was originally designed without lockup. People have ran these things for extended periods of time without issues.
Re: Turns off in drive/reverse/1/2
Posted: Tue Nov 19, 2013 1:40 pm
by 3X00-Modified
May have been originally designed without it, but that doesn't change the fact on what it does, or does not do... it's the same function on a 4 speed as a 3 so the application doesn't matter.. any way you slice it the slipping TC is not beneficial heat wise nor is the higher RPM's while cruising on the highway... In a world where everyone is anal about MPG you'd think you would want to fix this so it would help that situation.
Sorry I'm just not a fan of the unplug it solution... It's just way too half assed in my eyes. Reminds me of the "just put black electrical tape over your TPMS light in your Subaru..." Perfect solution for a car that retails at 30k
Re: Turns off in drive/reverse/1/2
Posted: Tue Nov 19, 2013 4:58 pm
by 1988GTU
100 max rpm's difference at the best conditions under very light throttle under a designated mph over a certain op temp is when that tcc solenoid kicks in.
Converter still slips a decent amount in or out off lock up with the 3 speed. Not cost effective for the OP situation to even have had it replaced. Willing to bet the TCC is just one of a few bad things in that trans.
Re: Turns off in drive/reverse/1/2
Posted: Tue Nov 19, 2013 9:31 pm
by Rettax3
So that 3T40 (TH125C) was designed to run without a TCC, that is absolutely true, and a good point. But, I don't think it was particularly designed to be running 25 years later. Anything you can do to extend the life of that transmission will be helpful for you. Excessive fluid temperature is the
leading cause of failure for an auto. If you've already paid to fix it, then like Jon says, use it! If the TCC went out on my Yellow Indy, I would yank that trans out within a month (I intend to at some point anyway, because I prefer manuals over automatics, but that car is running so well right now that modifying it is at the bottom of my list). I have gone so far as to contemplate wiring in an override switch to activate the TCC on command; I would use it about 4 MPH earlier than the ECM calls for it, all else being equal, and wouldn't kick back out of it so easily either. If I planned on leaving the car auto, I would have already put in an override... I love my TCC, relative to how much I
don't love having an auto in the first place, of course!
