Torque Converter Problem or Engine Problem?

[jeff.richard.young]

Dear A-body Guys,

I hope you don't mind a newby throwing out a problem.

I've just bought this 88 Celeb wagon, in great shape, except . . .

(There's always an "except" with a 20-year-old car!)

Except when I'm in the middle range of third or the middle range of fourth the whole car shakes and rumbles. It's about 50 mph in 3rd and 60 mph in 4th. If I accelerate to about 5 mph faster, everything is fine, or if I back off for a second and let the torque converter lock up, everything is fine.

I also have rough idle, and hesitation at low rpm when driving. I've read some of the good advice on this forum about what to check, and am just about to start investigating that.

But I would like to ask whether that torque converter thing could be set off by the engine problem, or not?

Thanks!

Jeff

[notsoslimshady76]

Try lightly tapping your brake pedal while this rumbling happens. If it goes away, your torque convertor / solenoid is going bad.

[86euro]

I would start with plugs and wires first. Your shake could be caused by a misfire under certain loads and RPM's. If you start with the things you KNOW the car needs, it may end up taking care of problems that you're not so sure about.

[mickstan_VR]

First, Welcome to the group!
Second, it sounds like a hard miss to me. It could be any number of things though. A tune-up is first on the list. Look at the plugs. See if there are any that are discolered. Check the plug wires. Make sure they're not worn or burnt anywhere. Clean the throttle position sensor. Spray out the throttle body and passages with Gumout. A bad oxygen sensor will cause a miss. Does it do it a certain speed? Or at a specific rpm?
Give us more details....

[turbokinetic]

Try what 'Shady said and ease on the brake during this rumbling period. If the rumble subsides at the moment the brake light turns ON, then the torque converter clutch (TCC) is making this problem. It's called TCC "shudder" and is caused by a harmonic at certain RPM's between the engine firing frequency and the damper springs in the converter. The damper vibrates and the clutch slips intermittently amplifying the vibration.

The fix is to change the trans oil, and add some "anti-shudder" oil additive. This is a known problem that especially affects Fords but can affect these cars too. The wrong oil or worn-out oil can exacerbate this problem.

BTW I worked breifly at at a dairy about 40 or 50 miles from Bonham! Still visit yearly. Small world, huh?

[Tuddi]

Try what 'Shady said and ease on the brake during this rumbling period. If the rumble subsides at the moment the brake light turns ON, then the torque converter clutch (TCC) is making this problem. It's called TCC "shudder" and is caused by a harmonic at certain RPM's between the engine firing frequency and the damper springs in the converter. The damper vibrates and the clutch slips intermittently amplifying the vibration.

The fix is to change the trans oil, and add some "anti-shudder" oil additive. This is a known problem that especially affects Fords but can affect these cars too. The wrong oil or worn-out oil can exacerbate this problem.

BTW I worked breifly at at a dairy about 40 or 50 miles from Bonham! Still visit yearly. Small world, huh?

What else can we expect when we have a specialist tranny guy amongst us? :cheers:

[CieraSL92]

I would bet money this is a miss. Mine did the same thing with slightly worn plugs and factory wires at 140k.