Car stalls when put in gear

[fallguy]

I have a friend that is just putting the finishing touches on this drag car. He tried to drive it the first time and when he put it in gear it immediately killed the motor. It runs fine in neutral or park, but as soon as it goes in gear it kills it. He think problem with torque converter. We put it on jack stands and then started it and then put in gear and it worked, but as soon as any load is put on it, ie on the ground, it pulls the motor down and kills it. He bought the tranny used but said it was rebuilt. It's a powerglide. The torque converter is brand new. Any ideas?

thanks!

[topsportsman1]

Torque converter is too tight for the engine,its not the right one

[fallguy]

Torque converter is too tight for the engine,its not the right one

Funny thing is that the torque converter was suppose to be a copy of mine. We sent them my converter and they were suppose to copy it with the same internals as me. They did build mine for me.

[topsportsman1]

Torque converter is too tight for the engine,its not the right one

Funny thing is that the torque converter was suppose to be a copy of mine. We sent them my converter and they were suppose to copy it with the same internals as me. They did build mine for me.

Who is your torque converter builder?
Maybe you can put your converter in his set up to verify that the two converters are not the same,or are the same.

Suppose to be and are the same might be two different things.

[mytmouz]

Since the tranny is used, there is a possibility that the clutches went south and are stuck together, just throwing that out into the mix...

[fallguy]

Torque converter is too tight for the engine,its not the right one

Funny thing is that the torque converter was suppose to be a copy of mine. We sent them my converter and they were suppose to copy it with the same internals as me. They did build mine for me.

Who is your torque converter builder?
Maybe you can put your converter in his set up to verify that the two converters are not the same,or are the same.

Suppose to be and are the same might be two different things.

We had it built somewhat locally at BTP Total Performance. http://www.btpracing.com
Trying my converter is a good idea, but we are still racing my car and time doesn't allow the swap. We are trying to get his ready for the 9/8 to test and then license on the 9th if we can. Looks like it's getting down to the wire now if we have to send off the converter.

[fallguy]

Since the tranny is used, there is a possibility that the clutches went south and are stuck together, just throwing that out into the mix...

It was suppose to have a fresh rebuild on it I believe, not sure though. It's a Dedenbear cased PG with all the goodies. Hopefully it is ok, but I guess only way to tell is to tear it apart.

[topsportsman1]

Well usually a converter company that builds a converters will loosen up or tighten up a converter if the customer is not happy for free,if its not after like a 90 day grace period.

If it was built local and is new,I'd take it back,or if the guys are really local.have them come and see for themself what its doing.

But from how you explain the matter,its too tight.Its not loose enough to keep the engine running when you put it in gear.

Is this like a 12,11,10,9 or 8 inch converter? How much money was involved with this custom converter?Some times you pay for what you get,but thats another option,Just tryin to get an idea whats going on here.

If it were me I'd bring it back,because it sounds like a "stock" converter to me

Years ago the old trick was using a vega converter,you don't suppose this is one of them do you?They would stall around 14-1800 rpms,tho,I just thinking out load.

[fallguy]

It's a very well built converter. Suppose to be good for up to 1200hp or so. It wasn't cheap. It's a 9 inch converter I believe.

He got the tranny out and took the input shaft and put it in the converter while it was resting on ground. It doesn't turn at all, so something got messed up in it. It wasn't even used at all! Just started it....put it in gear and moved like 10ft if that. He is positive it had the proper clearance etc. Looks like it gets to have a trip to BTP.

[topsportsman1]

Ok that explains it,The bearing in the converter is damaged.I'd take it back to BTP and have them cut it open and repair it.

[fallguy]

Ok that explains it,The bearing in the converter is damaged.I'd take it back to BTP and have them cut it open and repair it.

So how does a brand new converter that has 0 miles or use on it get a damaged bearing? My guess it was put together wrong or something was misaligned when they welded it up. Sucks.

[Hutchtrans]

The problem is that the turbine wheel accidentally got welded to the cover during the welding process on the OD. Make sure you check it when it returns.

Hutch