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Can't get my torque converter back on :(
2 Attachment(s)
Hey guys,
I'm working on an engine swap in my 2001 max (1:1, 3.0L, old engine no good.) When taking the transmission off for whatever reason as I pulled the tranny out the torque converter decided to stay together with the driveplate (flexplate). No big deal I thought, put a screwdriver between it and the driveplate and applied minimal pressure and it came off. Now here I am two weeks later putting everything back together and I can't for the love of me get the torque converter back onto the tranny. It goes on fine initially but it doesn't "click" into place. Basically I can't get the notches on the end to fit into place. The FSM has measurements to check and make sure it sits in fine and it doesn't. When trying to put the pieces back together the tranny won't fit flush to the engine block because the fat *** torque converter is sticking out. Here's what it looks like on the inside: Attachment 63137 I'm not overly familiar with torque converters. I know how they work, but I can't say I've got a trained eye for when one could be broken. Does anything look wrong in this picture? Should I be able to move the gears left/right up/down at all? I don't mean rotate them but adjust their position? The bottom sets let me do that and they tend to fall with gravity when I stand it straight up. I'm thinking this could be why it won't go all the way in. Attachment 63138 See that little metal piece I circled? There's two of them and they freely move/slide around like nothing is holding them. And they make a metal/metal clicking noise as I move the torque converter around. Also, I didn't drain the fluid out of it. My other theory is it won't go in because all the fluid is putting weight on the gears taking them off center and it won't fit in right. Does this make any sense or should it just fit right back on, no questions asked? If it does need to be drained is there any specific way to do it? Any other suggestions on how to get this thing in place? I'm really hoping it's not broken and needs to be replaced. I called around yesterday and can't find anyone in my area selling a torque converter :( I believe they're all packaged with the transmission and the last thing I want to do is replace the tranny because the torque converter broke. Thanks in advance. |
if this helps, when rebuilding my engine i was putting the tranny back in i put the torque converter on in slapped in in the bay and o course it didnt fit.......coome to find out once you put it in it sits on the first sline. now you have to spin the torque converter while wiggling in and then it will slide all the way into the trany........try it once you get the torque converter in lift wiggle and spin pushing it in
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When its fully in there should be no wiggle to it right? I just can't seem to get it past that last step.
I just tried draining the fluid a bit. Figured maybe I could get a better handle on the thing if it didn't weigh so much. At the rate it comes out it should take a few hours before I see any difference. I'm just hoping its hard to get in and not broken. |
Try to keep on spinning and wiggling. I thought I had mine on after two clicks but I had to keep spinning and spinning for that very last bit.
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vFFIPyv2C_4
^^^watch that old man lol......i watched that video and realized what i did wrong.....pay attention only to how he is putting the torque converter in and what he is saying, im sure if it still doesnt work you have a damaged torque converter spline or the input shaft and hopefully its neither skip to 2:20 and pay attention |
Yeah, I've watched a few videos on youtube they make it seem to simple. I tried for the whole afternoon, it can't be that difficult to get it in. The torque converter must be damaged. The fact the splines can move around doesn't really make much sense. The tranny shaft looks fine so I think I'll chop this one up to I ****ed the t/c.
Options? I managed to break the one part no one seems to want to sell by itself. Does anyone know what kind of cars I could get one out of that would fit? Does it need to be a max? |
and your 100% sure your putting it in the right way? flywheel wholes facing the flywheel
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It's incredibly obvious which way it goes. One end has a big hole, the other end doesn't. I get the clicks from the first set of splines but no matter how much I rotate it, wiggle it, etc it will not go fully in. Not only does it not feel like its fully seated it also does not meet the specifications in the FSM. It calls for a 14mm gap, I'm getting 6mm.
I've measured the length of the shaft coming from the tranny, and the depth of the hole in the t/c and they are equal length. It should fit fully down in there but it doesn't. Only explanation I can come up with is that the splines inside the t/c have been broken off of whatever held them centered before. I found a transmission repair place in my area so I'm going to give them a shot and see if they can repair the t/c. If that doesn't work out I'll be on the hunt for a new one or maybe an aftermarket one with a higher stall. |
Someone is selling a high stall converter either here or on nycmaximas.
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Does anyone know about the interchangeability of the torque converter in the 2001 max? Does it need to be out of a 2001 max or is it basically the same part across nissans of a similar year? Basically I'm being quoted $200 for a t/c rebuild to fix it, and I think I can find someone to sell me one cheaper than that but I'm wondering what my options are for what car to get one out of..
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Are you getting a quote from a tranny shop or an actual t/c rebuilder. Find an actual t/c builder and it should be much cheaper. They can even custom build one for you, just tell them what stall speed you want or give them your info and the guys can come up with something that will give you a little better launching torque.
but before you dump money into it, your problem is you can't get the t/c aligned. A different t/c will give you the same thing, I know it is heavy and clumsy but you just need to keep wiggling the thing until it snaps in, while trying not to damage your front seal. |
You guys were right, I must just be putting it in wrong or not putting enough time into it. I just took it into the t/c shop I found and he took it in the back and tested it. He said it's a little banged up but it's working fine and shouldn't be a problem. Apparently the splines are actually supposed to move off their axis so I'm back to being unable to put the thing in.
He suggested tilting the tranny back and lowering it on, but I tried that and still couldn't get it to click in. Regardless, finding out it's not broken makes this a good day. Come Sunday it will be round 3 of Andrew VS Torque Converter. At least now I know it's hard to get in and not broken. |
OK spin it clockwise and push it in! If that doesn't work spinning it as fast as you can CCW and push it in....Check your T/C splines for any damage...just be patient you'll get it!
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Originally Posted by andrewmac
(Post 8511105)
Hey guys,
I'm working on an engine swap in my 2001 max (1:1, 3.0L, old engine no good.) When taking the transmission off for whatever reason as I pulled the tranny out the torque converter decided to stay together with the driveplate (flexplate). No big deal I thought, put a screwdriver between it and the driveplate and applied minimal pressure and it came off. Now here I am two weeks later putting everything back together and I can't for the love of me get the torque converter back onto the tranny. It goes on fine initially but it doesn't "click" into place. Basically I can't get the notches on the end to fit into place. The FSM has measurements to check and make sure it sits in fine and it doesn't. When trying to put the pieces back together the tranny won't fit flush to the engine block because the fat *** torque converter is sticking out. Here's what it looks like on the inside: https://i.imgur.com/jficK.jpg I'm not overly familiar with torque converters. I know how they work, but I can't say I've got a trained eye for when one could be broken. Does anything look wrong in this picture? Should I be able to move the gears left/right up/down at all? I don't mean rotate them but adjust their position? The bottom sets let me do that and they tend to fall with gravity when I stand it straight up. I'm thinking this could be why it won't go all the way in. https://i.imgur.com/lprKY.jpg See that little metal piece I circled? There's two of them and they freely move/slide around like nothing is holding them. And they make a metal/metal clicking noise as I move the torque converter around. Also, I didn't drain the fluid out of it. My other theory is it won't go in because all the fluid is putting weight on the gears taking them off center and it won't fit in right. Does this make any sense or should it just fit right back on, no questions asked? If it does need to be drained is there any specific way to do it? Any other suggestions on how to get this thing in place? I'm really hoping it's not broken and needs to be replaced. I called around yesterday and can't find anyone in my area selling a torque converter :( I believe they're all packaged with the transmission and the last thing I want to do is replace the tranny because the torque converter broke. Thanks in advance. |
Update: since the torque converter was confirmed to be okay I decided to start going deeper into the transmission to find out what's wrong, and I found it. I took the cover off the tranny, removed the o-ring from the input shaft and slid the oil pump assembly off. One look and I knew what was wrong. The oil pump assembly cover is cracked and the teeth on it are damaged. So the input shaft itself fits into the t/c completely fine, it's the second set of splines that are part of the oil pump cover ( whole thing is aluminum ) that's the problem.
The FSM is pretty clear on it. See damage? Replace. Only issue is the part itself is going to cost me ~$200 by the time I get it (http://www.nissanpartszone.com/parts...350-80x01.html). A transmission with similar miles is about $400. There is also someone selling a '97 max for parts in my area for $200 so at the moment I'm leaning towards buying that and scraping it for everything that'll fit in a '01 and then calling the junk yard to tow it. Of course this turns into a whole other project I didn't intend on doing. I'll take a picture of the damaged oil pump cover and see what you guys think. The way the splines are damaged it could be fixed with a triangle file, and the crack on the cover itself could be jb welded.. but I'm getting a feeling like even if I could repair it I would be better off replacing it to prevent issues down the road. |
Setting tc to tranny.
Originally Posted by andrewmac
(Post 8511825)
It's incredibly obvious which way it goes. One end has a big hole, the other end doesn't. I get the clicks from the first set of splines but no matter how much I rotate it, wiggle it, etc it will not go fully in. Not only does it not feel like its fully seated it also does not meet the specifications in the FSM. It calls for a 14mm gap, I'm getting 6mm.
I've measured the length of the shaft coming from the tranny, and the depth of the hole in the t/c and they are equal length. It should fit fully down in there but it doesn't. Only explanation I can come up with is that the splines inside the t/c have been broken off of whatever held them centered before. I found a transmission repair place in my area so I'm going to give them a shot and see if they can repair the t/c. If that doesn't work out I'll be on the hunt for a new one or maybe an aftermarket one with a higher stall. |
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