Thread: torque converter problem?

Today as I started the truck, there was a strong constant vibration along with almost a grinding sound coming from my trans. It is consistent at idle until I give it some throttle. It does not go away when I put it in gear. But as soon as I give it some throttle, it goes away. Trans is shifting great, torque converter hooks up good, drives great. It almost sounds as if there is a problem with the flex plate/ torque converter? As if the flex plate is bent .I have a Banks torque converter with approx 15-20K miles on it. My truck only has 58K. It is out of warranty. Any thoughts.

Originally Posted by fyrehose

Today as I started the truck, there was a strong constant vibration along with almost a grinding sound coming from my trans. It is consistent at idle until I give it some throttle. It does not go away when I put it in gear. But as soon as I give it some throttle, it goes away. Trans is shifting great, torque converter hooks up good, drives great. It almost sounds as if there is a problem with the flex plate/ torque converter? As if the flex plate is bent .I have a Banks torque converter with approx 15-20K miles on it. My truck only has 58K. It is out of warranty. Any thoughts.

My truck did this as well right after i bought it. the torque converter was shot in it. all your symptoms match exactly what happened to my truck.

mine had pieces of metal floating around inside the TC housing that was making all the noise but when i would give it throttle to go it would go away because the pieces were turning with the TC fluid.

My first guess would be a cracked flex plate.

However, the Banks torque converters are notorious for falling apart after only a few thousand miles. They are assembled with a number of old, used parts out of old 7.3L torque converters. (Yep...Really!!!) ATS is another company that does this.

Here are pics inside a Banks TC that failed after only a couple months in a basically stock truck:

http://good-times.webshots.com/photo...03242283PlsUIV


The first step should be to rule out the possibility of a flex plate issue. Remove the TC shroud and crank the motor by hand via the crank bolt. If it's the flex plate you should be able to see some damage.

If the flex plate checks out, it's time to give John Wood a call www.jwtt.com

I pulled off the cover plate and saw no signs of damage. Although I did not turn the crank over to check the entire flex plate. But it sounds like I will be calling JW soon. Too bad I waisted $$$$ on a POS banks converter. Shame on me:banghead:. I have the same converter as the one in that picture.

Originally Posted by fyrehose

I pulled off the cover plate and saw no signs of damage. Although I did not turn the crank over to check the entire flex plate. But it sounds like I will be calling JW soon. Too bad I waisted $$$$ on a POS banks converter. Shame on me:banghead:. I have the same converter as the one in that picture.

No, not shame on you. Shame on Banks for misrepresenting the products they sell.

I looked again and I could not see any cracks in the flex plate. So my guess is the TC. I just hope I can make it to John Woods without breaking down.

i wouldn't recommend it haha but i went like 6 months before i took it in. i waited til after i towed 3k miles to idaho and back. then finally decided it was time to get it checked. i put like 13k miles on the converter while it was making that noise already.

Hey Anthony:
Assuming that there are no loose metal pieces in the tc to start with, what causes this? Is it some type of "cavitation" of the hydraulic fluid? Or some sort of pressure surge (like "water hammer") that breaks off smaller pieces, which will do more damage as the fluids circulates? Also, I may pm you in the next day or two to get your advice with my trans. Trans has been acting funny lately. I am going to drive it and see what develops.

Originally Posted by SuperDutyDave

Hey Anthony:
Assuming that there are no loose metal pieces in the tc to start with, what causes this? Is it some type of "cavitation" of the hydraulic fluid? Or some sort of pressure surge (like "water hammer") that breaks off smaller pieces, which will do more damage as the fluids circulates? Also, I may pm you in the next day or two to get your advice with my trans. Trans has been acting funny lately. I am going to drive it and see what develops.

My understanding of what causes the problem is poor weld quality on the blades of the impeller and turbine. If you look at a stock TC out of a 4R100 the welds look absolutely hideous compared to the welds in a 6.0 TC or one of JW's billet TC's.