After boosting for nearly 5 years the auto tranny is giving off signs of early slippage. Can anybody give me an idea of what it would cost to repair the torque converter?

I've considered the idea of going 5-speed but I see that a local junkyard in car-parts.com is asking $920Cdn/$770USD for a non-locking manual tranny $920Cdn while a locking manual tranny is going for $1,440Cdn/$1,200USD so I have to be budget conscienced here. Big,big dollar signs to say the least when you factor in the other parts required and the labour to boot so I just may leave the tranny as is.

 

i think the best thing would be to replace it with a higher stall converter.

 

I just googled for one but couldn't find one, even on ebay. Is there such a thing available?

 

I'm sure there is. I beleive that there's a few ppl running a higher stall torque converter. I know AAron92se has one.

 

https://maxima.org/faq-4-Performance.html#34

 

i'll sell you mine from my rebuilt transmission.

 

Thanks for pointing that out to me njmodi!

"It will allow you to launch at higher rpms which is only beneficial if you have slicks or drag radials. On regular tires, you'd only spin worse. With sticky tires, you can launch like a rocket which is an advantage especially when your engine is not that responsive through mid range torque. Check out Level 10 or ProTorque for more information."

I don't plan to drag the car, just for the streets only. If that statement is correct then I'll be tolerating a bit more slippage. Would the gear engagement be jerky like the drop resistor mod?

Also, the PTS kit: is Level 10 the only company to offer this or can I go to any local performance tranny shop?

 

The work in involved in replacing the torque converter is almost the same as replacing the entire auto tranny - you might want to consider picking up another auto tranny with lower miles while you are at it... but I know you say finances are limited (aren't they always! )

 

How many miles have you put on the car since you added the SC kit? How many miles are on the car, total? How much boost are you running?

 

I've had the car for nearly 8 years now (August '97). I forgot to record the mileage when I had the SC kit put in. Total miles: 69410 (or 111,700kms). Averaged out that would be 8668 miles/yr (13,950kms/yr). Boost is at about 9psi which is low for a 3.125" pulley.

 

why not take it easy.. and save up for a 5spd swap?

 

Blackcat, I think your definition of "slippage" is different than the world's. When I hear you say "slippage", I think of you going WOT in 1st gear, it revs up to redline, but you don't move for 3 seconds, then your car decides to grab and take off. That is signs of your transmission dying.

Now, the slippage that you seem to be talking of doesn't seem to be b/c of your torque converter. I have personally never heard of a torque converter going "bad" in a Maxima. They have been known to be a very tough component ever since the 50s.

If your tranny isn't dying or slipping, then you can get a higher stall converter. The best place to get one would be www.edgeracingconverters.com. Talk to Andre. His customer service is the best I've ever experienced. He also takes much pride in his work. You could also go with Rob at NRH. He can definitely rebuild your TC to have a higher stall.

My recommendation is to not go any higher than a 3400 stall. I think I've talked about this same thing in one of your other threads.

http://forums.maxima.org/showthread.php?t=380908&page=2

 

It all depends on what you want to do. For a daily driver, you wouldn't want to put a higher stall torque converter in. It's going to be much more diffucult to drive on the street - this mod is typically reserved for drag cars only.

Aaron, you're right in that the TC doesn't usually go bad...there is very little on a TC to fail, since it is such a simple machine. Blackcat, are you experiencing clutch band slippage like Aaron described, where you rev the motor and it bangs into gear after several seconds?

Wow, that's very little miles/year! I average almost three times that!

Have you ever put it on a dyno? I'm curious to know how much HP and torque you're making that might cause tranny failure. Our automatic transmissions seem to be more or less bulletproof under normally aspirated conditions (mine has 210,000 miles on it and is just fine).

 

i know when i blew my first tranny, the tc had plenty of digs and scars in it. plus you might as well get another used auto tranny while your at it, i mean your still going to have to drop the tranny to get to the tc, and i would hate doing all that work and putting in the same tranny

 

Heh heh heh... de ja vu?

 

I did dyno it a couple of years ago but I think it wasn't done properly. I only got 225 and that was with the 3.33" pulley. I may have not taken off the O/D.

I've picked up the BEGI/Cartech FMU and an Aeromotive FPR to remedy that air/fuel richness. I'm going to pick up the last of my fittings after work today and then with some braided hoses I'll be able to get the engine tuned properly.

I did talk with the owner of a shop and he thinks it has to do with the band. Gave me a ball-park figure of anywhere from $1,500Cdn and up. Ouch.

Yep. It more prevalent after a good boost run but in normal day-to-day type driving it doesn't bang at all.

So is it better to just swap in a low mileage tranny than to just fix it?

 

That is totally inaccurate! Do you have a higher stall torque converter in your Maxima?

The only way a higher stall TC can make it too difficult to drive on the street is if you had a 4.5K+ rpm stall. That would be outrageous though, even for the drag strip.

I have a 3300 stall and it's great. The people that have ridden in my car can't even tell I have a higher stall... until I launch it. The trick is, is finding a shop that can build you an efficient streetable TC.