Torque converter failing...

[jgood]

Originally Posted by bbultman

Jgood, I have a 4.6is with 142k miles. I have the exact same issues going on - the incremental rpm steps, the throttle oscillation, an occasional slight shudder under very light acceleration. I was hoping to find something in the valvebody and have been talking with ZF North America. I ruled out fluid temp and weak engine coils. My next assignment was to monitor TC lockup percentage to see if the TC was being commanded or unlocking on its own but I need a scan tool. The more I drive it and read other forums, I'm starting to think the TC is just getting plain wore out. And when I read your post, it emphasizes that. Did you have the valvebody or solenoid rebuilt/replaced? Any metal shavings in the pan? If I can be confident that a TC replacement will fix it, I'm good with that. It sounds like it worked well for you. However, I've also heard the same issues being fixed by a simple fluid/filter change. Did you try that first?

I spent a few hours talking to the guy at the transmission shop. We figured the best course of action was to pull the trans pan, and go from there... If it was filled with metal shavings, he was doing a full rebuild. If it was clean, he was just doing the converter. He said in his experience, just flushing it won't do anything, at least not with the symptoms I had.

I tried to hint at my concerns of a valve body issue, and he said although it could be, the symptoms I have are exactly what a failing torque converter would have, so it wouldn't make a lot of sense to go the valve body rebuild route right off the bat.

The day came to pull the pan, and it was perfectly clean, hence the reason he just swapped the converter, did a flush, and called it a day

Considering our identical mileage and symptoms, I'd have to recommend the same course of action for you. Just be sure you don't have any engine/trans codes, as they may hint at another problem. Mine didn't have any.