I read alot about the troque converter locking up at certain speeds and in different gears. What exactly does this mean? Thanks for educating me!

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00 Black Lightning
No mods yet
00 Honda Civic
01 Pontiac Grand AM GT

 

What's a troque converter?

 

The best explnation I ever heard was a TC was two fans set next to and opposing each other, when you turn one on, it will "push" the other one. When speed of the second one (input shaft) equals the first one (flywheel/flexplate), a spring deploys an internal clutch that mechanically locks the two together, this is lockup. it seems like voodoo at first, but it's pretty simple, really.

G

 

Almost, but not quite.

The two fan analogy is correct. The lockup needs a minor change.

All lockups are now controlled by the computer. When it decides it is time to lock it uses a solenoid to move a valve in the valve body. This sends hydraulic pressure to the torque converter and moves the clutch plate to lock the converter. This clutch looks just like a manual transmission clutch, except that it is running in transmission fluid.

Mark

 

Try this link:
http://www.howstuffworks.com/torque-converter.htm

It explains what a torque converter is and how it works, plus how the lock up clutch works and why you want this.

Mark