Tuesday, May 06, 2008

Hints from Heloise:

Today's most recent inexplicable Google inquiry:
"turbo 400 engages at too high rpm"
When's the last time you checked your transmission fluid level? You're welcome.

8 comments:

B.S. philosopher said...

could be the torque converter is failing also...

Tam said...

True 'dat. But couldn't low fluid also cause slippage in the torque converter? My experiences with things mechanical have taught me to check the cheap stuff first. I once paid to have the starter and alternator on a Porsche 924S replaced, only to find that the machine had lied and the battery was bad after all...

Rabbit said...

Occam's Razor.

I've also been fond of the Law of Selective Necessity, which means that the most critical component of a complex mechanism will fail at the worst possible moment. Examples are:

Car battery, when late for work.

Thermocouple for gas heater on coldest night of the year.

Colt single action mainsprings.

Space shuttle O-rings.

Regards,
Rabbit.

B.S. philosopher said...

Yes, fluid is the first thing to check. ATF should be "pink with no stink" and should be checked in the manner prescribed in the owner's manual.

It never ceases to amaze me that people don't realize that not only do they need to check the trans fluid, but they need to CHANGE IT occasionally.

Ten quarts of ATF, a gasket and filter is one hell of a lot cheaper than a trans rebuild.

perlhaqr said...

On a TH-400, it's likely to be the vacuum modulator, actually. Though of course, checking the easy stuff first is the way to get there.

At least the VM is fairly easy to replace. One bolt and two hose clamps.

theirritablearchitect said...

"ATF should be "pink with no stink" and should be checked in the manner prescribed in the owner's manual."

Usually, in gear (foot deep into the brake)with a well warmed engine/trans.

Could also be the VM, as perlhaqr mentioned, but I'm thinking maybe someone did something stupid and put in that 8", 5,000rpm stall, race converter over the weekend and can't understand why it's not engaging while he cruises around town, looking for a street race on Saturday night.

Dr. StrangeGun said...

heh, if it was a Ford C5 like mine... twice... the thrust bearing's lunched itself and part of the case, and gummy aluminum goo has clogged up the 1-2 and 2-3 servos.

Ask me how I know. That shit's harder to wash off your skin than sharpie...

SpeakerTweaker said...

Could also be that it's just a high-stall converter and the inquiring mind doesn't know what he/she bought.

Oh, and "pink, no stink" just sounds vile.



tweaker