Hi all. When I got my truck last year the guy I got it from had got it from his uncle (original owner) and he said his uncle had done some tranny work and had replaced the TC...he said he was pretty sure he'd put an upgraded aftermarket TC in but couldn't be sure.

Would there be any markings on my TC telling my whether its stock or aftermarket, that I would be able to see through the little inspection port on the bottom of the bell housing? When I get home from work I'm gonna turn the engine over with my barring tool to get a look all around the outside housing of the TC, but I want to know what to look for. Or will I have to drop the whole shootin match to figure this out?

Thanks!

 

Best visual is if the front cover is machined versus the factory stamped. I don't know if that is visble through the cover.
Some after market companies use an identifying paint on the converter. That still doen't indicate a good converter.

 

when lock up engages... how many RPM does the motor drop?

stock TC slips quite a bit... so your RPM will drop a lot

 

Not always a good indicator. Some of the aftermarket converters (especially the earlier ones) used a stock (slop) stator so the rpm drop didn't change.

 

So you're saying that a since a stock TC slips alot, RPMs will drop alot with a stock TC? Shouldn't it be the other way? Seems to me if you don't have any slip the RPMs should drop alot...and if you are slipping quite a bit, the RPMs should remain higher???

I do know that they drop quite a bit at lockup. With O/D on, and with normal accelleration (i.e. not romping on it) my TC locks up at 45 MPH, which is about 2000-2100 RPM. Upon locking up, my RPMs will drop to somewhere between 1300-1500 RPMs (give or take, I can't remember exactly. when I drive it today I'll pay attention to it to get an exact number).

I'm not 100% sure what TC slipping looks/sounds/feels like...I don't think its slipping though. Once its locked up, if I hammer down, I don't get any surge in RPMs without any accelleration as if something is giving way...the truck keeps on accellerating steadily and the revs keep rising steadily. Once I go giving it enough, the TC will unlock and it'll kick down into "passing gear."

Next slow night at work, I'll try feeding an inspection mirror up inside the bellhousing and see if I can get anything off the front of the TC.

Thanks!

Ed

 

Oh yeah, almost forgot. The two halves of my TC housing (sorry if that ain't the technical term for it) are welded together. I've seen a couple TCs from other trannys that seemed to be pressed together vice welded. Don't know what the stock TC on a 47rh is like though...

 

I've never seen a TC that wasn't welded together. I sure wouldn't trust a press fit in that area.
What 2500 was talking about is when the TC locks up. If you have a lot of slippage you will see a drastic drop in RPM when the TC locks up. You're thinking of when putting it in gear, at which time, with a loose TC, you will have little RPM drop.
Unfortunately none of this will tell you about the quality of your TC internals. I have an ATS converter that I had modified from being very loose, although tighter than stock, to being very tight. When I put my 96 in gear the RPM goes from 950 to 500, and will do about 27 MPH without touching the pedal.
On the other hand, my 99 has a looser TC, and I'm in the process of putting an even looser on in it because I want the twins to spool quicker, and I need more RPM to get that. ALL TCs in the 99 are high quality due to the HP it's putting out, but have varying stall RPMs.
You'r best hope is get in touch with that uncle and find out what was done/who did it, then contact them. Keep in mind that some tranny installers
TELL you one thing and do another. Been there, experienced that.
If you ever pull it out and are still curious, send it to Goerend Brothers and have them split to to see what's inside.

Chris

 

does it have welded "square" nuts on the face that bolts to the flywheel(6 of them I think) or is it flat with the bolts threaded into a billet piece? Color is also an indication- purple=ATS, ect. Take a 7/16 wrench for a crawl- it's LOTS of fun digging crusted atf out of your contacts

 

Haven't had a chance to check on the bolts yet...as for color its just plain metal color, no paint.

I suppose I'll have to drop it one of these days...whenever I get the Subaru up on the road so I can take the Dodge down for a spell.