SYMPTOMS OF A BAD TORQUE CONVERTER
purpose
The purpose of the torque converter is to prevent the car from stalling when coming to a stop, multiply torque, and drive the front pump of the automatic transmission. If you have a manual car you won’t have one, you'll have a mechanical clutch.
location
The torque converter is located between the car’s engine flex plate and the transmission. (Yellow represents the torque converter)
Symptoms
engine light
The first symptom of a bad torque converter is having your check engine light on. If the torque converter clutch is bad, these codes may show up:
P0740
P0741
P0742
P0743.
Ensure you can access your car's diagnostic codes by acquiring an OBD2 scanner here.
Now you can still have a faulty torque converter with no check engine light, so let’s move on to the next symptom.
SHUDDERING
The second symptom is shuddering. To give you a better idea, your car will shake as if you're driving on a bumpy road. This usually happens at around 30-45 mph, although it can vary from car to car.
UNUSUAL NOISES
The third symptom is unusual noises. If you hear rattling, whirring, or humming noises coming from your vehicle, it could be due to a defective torque converter.
AN OVERHEATING TRANSMISSION
The fourth symptom is an overheating transmission. A defective torque converter can end up causing the transmission fluid to reach a dangerously high temperature, resulting in an overheated transmission in your car.
Dirty transmission fluid can cause similar symptoms so I would recommend changing that out before concluding it’s a torque converter.
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