I have A 92 F150 with a 302 and AOD trans. I just had the trans rebuilt due to fried direct clutches. I had all new seals and internals replaced. But as I was short on money I did not buy a new torque converter. The guy at the shop said the old one was flushed but i am not completely sure as it still had a little fluid in it when I got it back. In my ignorance....I did not flush it myself. I just stuck the old one back in the freshly rebuilt transmission without a second thought. I put in the correct amount of fluid and used a gauge to correctly set the TV cable pressure. I get the truck on the road and it will shift through all gears including OD (I had no 3rd or OD before rebuild). But now it has no power or good acceleration and hangs on to 1st gear too long and bogs in 3rd and OD and starts poorly. And seems to have a whistling noise coming from the trans. I am almost certain this is the old TC causing all this. My question is, could this old torque converter have messed up my whole new transmission? Could debris inside of the old TC have screwed up the internals on my trans? I drove it MAYBE 2-3 miles before parking it and haven't moved it since. I just hoping that I haven't royally screwed myself.... I would really like some input on what I should do next. Should I just pull the old TC out and install a new one with all new fluid in both trans and TC? Or do i need to take the trans back to the shop and have them go through it (after I put in a new TC)?

 

the trans should be fine unless there was some REALLY nasty stuff in that TQ. if it was me id replace the TQ with a new 1 and fresh fluid.

 

No way to flush a TC properly, and any debris from the clutches and failed trans that may have been trapped in the old TC can travel into the valve body, and it only takes a spec to cause a valve or solenoid to stick.

A rebuilt OEM TC for that trans is only $150 or so.....but odds are now you will need the valve body dropped and gone through again. In all the years of running a shop, always put n a replacement TC. Good luck and keep us updated.

 

Okay thanks for the response guys. I think I'm going to just buy a new TC and all new fluid. And while i have the pan dropped ill go ahead and pull the valve body myself and give it a good cleaning. I've seen a VB from one of these AOD's taken apart before so I believe it will be fairly simple for me to take apart and put back together. Then put it back in with fresh fluid and new TC. Is there anything else that should be done in the middle of all this? I suppose blowing out the cooler lines would help get any crud out as well. But are there any other components of the trans (other than the VB) that could be affected by debris? Just want to make sure I get it right this time around!

 

Dont drop any of the little ball bearings that are in the valve body!!

 

Yes, ill definitely be keeping a watchful eye on the check ***** in the VB. I've heard they are VERY easy to lose if you aren't careful. Does anyone know if it is possible to have a transmission flushed without it being in the vehicle? I want to get out every bit of trash that may be inside the trans, and having it flushed at a shop would surely get rid of any debris within the case. I just don't want to throw in a new TC and freshly cleaned VB, only to have it get clogged again because of some debris that was still sitting inside the case. Not to mention another 60 bucks worth of fluid down the drain.

 

Just a follow up on what I did to solve my problem. I went ahead and bought a new torque converter and fresh fluid for the trans. After new TC and fluid was installed, i drove the truck to a mechanic friend of mine and he set up his guages to read my transmission pressures and made some minor adjustments to the TV cable and now it shifts smooth and fast like its supposed too. Some power was also restored due to the new TC. So lesson for me to learn here is to never put an old TC in a freshly rebuilt/new transmission Thanks for the help guys.