New good converter worth it?

[MopaR&D]

I got my transmission (904) and torque converter from a guy for super cheap, like $150. He claimed the transmission was rebuilt and the converter is a ~2500 stall TCI unit. I've been driving the car with the new stuff for a little over a year now and while the transmission is mostly fine (flares up when downshifting from 3rd to 2nd at high speed for some reason) the converter slips a lot all the time. I've heard not-so-great things about TCI so I'm not surprised if it is crap but how much extra performance will I get from a nice new converter like PTC? I have a 10.5:1 360 with Magnum heads and small Voodoo cam so it has tons of low-end torque. Also still the stock 2.76:1 rear, hoping to have a 3.91 8 3/4 in the future. My gas mileage sucks at 14 avg. which is way less than I know it can do (only managed 17 on a long trip).

 

[bad440]

put them 391s in there it'll be 7 mpg

 

[bad440]

a new custom made converter should not have as much slip as a of the shelf tci

 

[abodyjoe]

a good converter in a questionable trans won't do ya any good.

unless ya checked thepart number of the converter you have in it you have no idea what it actually is. could be higher then what you think and those highway gears are killing you. i'll bet the 3.91 gear would help a lot. but your mpg is going to suffer.


yes a good converter is well worth the money. the proper converter will make the combo. the wrong converter will kill the combo. too many guys dump thousands into a driveline only to put come cheap *** converter in it..

 

[MopaR&D]

The rear end I'm putting in actually has 2.94 gears so I'm planning on getting another 3rd member with 3.91 gears I can swap in when I'm racing.

I checked the stall speed myself and it maxes out at 2600 when I hold the brakes and give it some gas. Also the trans isn't really questionable, like I said it runs and shifts fine except for the 3rd-to-2nd kickdown when I'm hard on the throttle. Anyone know what this might be BTW? I adjusted the bands and it didn't make any difference.

 

[abodyjoe]

The rear end I'm putting in actually has 2.94 gears so I'm planning on getting another 3rd member with 3.91 gears I can swap in when I'm racing.

here is the issue. you get one build using the 3:91 gear in your combo then it will slip quite a bit with a 2.94 gear in it.

if ya use the 2:94 gear in your combo when ordering one then it will be tight and not optimal for the track when you put 3:91 gear in it..

mine was done for a 3:91 gear worked awesome. flashed to 3800, felt like a stock converter on the street and could easily get 3000rpm on the foot brake.and when i put a 3:55 gear in it for a while it slipped quite a bit. couldn't even imagine what it would have done with a 2:94 gear in it..

 

[jimjimjimmy]

put them 391s in there it'll be 7 mpg

i bet he will get better mileage with the right gear for that converter .a 2.94 gear with any kind of stallconverter would not a good combo for mileage. you would be riding the converter full time and the extra heat generated would not help also.

 

[MopaR&D]

here is the issue. you get one build using the 3:91 gear in your combo then it will slip quite a bit with a 2.94 gear in it.

if ya use the 2:94 gear in your combo when ordering one then it will be tight and not optimal for the track when you put 3:91 gear in it..

mine was done for a 3:91 gear worked awesome. flashed to 3800, felt like a stock converter on the street and could easily get 3000rpm on the foot brake.and when i put a 3:55 gear in it for a while it slipped quite a bit. couldn't even imagine what it would have done with a 2:94 gear in it..

If that's the case I might just wait and see how the 3.91 gears work with the converter I have and go from there. If I do get a new converter i'll probably talk to a tech over the phone and see what he'd recommend as maybe a compromise between the two. I love driving my duster on the highway and would just want something that slips a little less when cruising. Eventually I will be converting to manual trans so I don't want to put too much money into my slushbox lol

 

[nothingbutdarts]

If that's the case I might just wait and see how the 3.91 gears work with the converter I have and go from there. If I do get a new converter i'll probably talk to a tech over the phone and see what he'd recommend as maybe a compromise between the two. I love driving my duster on the highway and would just want something that slips a little less when cruising. Eventually I will be converting to manual trans so I don't want to put too much money into my slushbox lol

If this is the true case, I would save my money and get all the parts together and get it changed over to a stick car!

 

[DaveBonds]

X2

I know where an O/D is in town. I'll send you a PM.

 

[DaveBonds]

Also, I have a lower stall 360 counterbalanced 904 converter that came out of a 5000 mile trans. I have absolutely no use for it. If you need a neutral balance flexplate to run a counterbalance torque converter, I have like ten of them, as well. You could always knock the counterweight off of this one, too, if you're running a counterbalance flexplate.

When this one was in a friends '73 Charger with his LA 360, it was stalling right at 2G. You would likely have something similar or possibly 2-300 higher.

If you want to give this one a try until you get an O/D, it's all yours.

 

[transman]

I got my transmission (904) and torque converter from a guy for super cheap, like $150. He claimed the transmission was rebuilt and the converter is a ~2500 stall TCI unit. I've been driving the car with the new stuff for a little over a year now and while the transmission is mostly fine (flares up when downshifting from 3rd to 2nd at high speed for some reason) the converter slips a lot all the time. I've heard not-so-great things about TCI so I'm not surprised if it is crap but how much extra performance will I get from a nice new converter like PTC? I have a 10.5:1 360 with Magnum heads and small Voodoo cam so it has tons of low-end torque. Also still the stock 2.76:1 rear, hoping to have a 3.91 8 3/4 in the future. My gas mileage sucks at 14 avg. which is way less than I know it can do (only managed 17 on a long trip).

Take the attached sheet to your converter supplier, filled in with all the information asked for. NO BS on the sheet, as you'll only be fooling yourself.
As it's been said, 2:94 gears and a high stall won't work, and any honest converter supplier will tell you it's really difficult to get a "race type" converter to work well on the street, and vise versa. Go to Randy's ring and pinion website. They have a chart you fill in, and it will give you your engine rpm for a set tire size and diff. ratio. Cruising down the highway at 2700 rpm in high gear with a 3500 stall converter is a bad combo, tons of heat being generated and the converter is 800 rpm below stall speed, slipping and sliding away. Used converters - excellent door stop and not much else, as you don't know what you're getting. Just because the converter stalled at 2500 in another vehicle does not mean it will stall at the same RPM with your combination.
Check your cam spec sheet. They usually will recommend what stall conveter would work well with it. Flaring of the transmission upon shifting could mean a lot of things, burnt clutches, lip seals worn out, bands bad, etc., and it could mean that it's on its' last legs.