Torque Converter Lock-up and engine noise.

[Guest zreatta]

Hello all. First, thanks to all who participate in this forum. I've been on before, and have found parts/answers, or whatever I've needed.

90 Reatta, 175000 miles, daily driver. Love the car enough to put some $$ into it, and recently have. With some routine maintenance (struts, rotors, etc) it has a new lease on life, but a couple problems remain.

First, the touque converter does not always go into lock-up mode when it should. Isn't there a pressure switch or something on the trans that controls this? Can't a toggle switch be put on there to manually force it into lock-up? Does anyone have instructions for this? Or is the pressure switch (or whatever, I'm just going by someone's opinion) an easy fix? Seems to act up only when its colder weather. I don't have the bucking, or stuttering problem that I've been reading about all night in this forum, so I don't think its the coil pack, etc.

Second, after the motor is warm, at idle, there is a sound in there like a small marble is rolling around. I'm told by the dealer that is sounds like the counter-balance bearing. Any thoughts? If interested, I can post a like to an audio file. It does have 175000 miles on it, but it has never run better, its smooth, powerful, etc.

I appreciate any input.

[ikesleeping]

Hi my 89 started doing this ,not going into lockup and I also noticed the temperature wasn't getting above 140. Changed thermostat and problem solved. I think there is a temperature value that has to be reached before lockup occurs.As always, stand ready to be corrected. Seriously there will be someone with a lot more knowledge than I to help if this info does'nt

[harry yarnell]

Yes, there is a relationship between temp and lockup. I think it's 160°.

The sound you hear 'may' be harmonic balancer starting to come apart.

[Guest F14CRAZY]

I agree on the harmonic balancer

[2seater]

There is a electric solenoid in the transaxle that engages the lockup. It is controlled by the ECM to engage and disengage the clutch. Several items need to be correct to allow lockup. It is powered through a switch on the brake pedal and the ECM switches the ground on and off. The engine must be up to a high enough temperature to go to closed loop operation, as correctly pointed out in the other post. That temperature does vary from car to car but is in the 130*-145* range for closed loop operation. The last item is the TPS must be at a high enough voltage to allow lockup. In other words, the throttle must be open a small percentage to allow it to engage. Below a certain percentage of opening, like close to idle posistion, it will disengage. A manual switch can be used to operate the lockup, but it would require a lot of manipulation in normal driving to turn it on and off without either lugging or killing the engine. It can be a useful testing tool, but isn't really practical for normal use.

I do not know about the marble rolling sound might be, and the dealership could be correct. One other common cause for a noise at idle, that goes away at higher rpm is the damper on the front (belt end) of the engine. You can use a mirror to look at it or simply run your fingers over the outer face of the damper. The front face is large piece of rubber and it should be smooth. If you can feel cracks or pieces missing, it is likely the source of the noise.

[Guest F14CRAZY]

Lockup can manually be controlled in Diagnostic Mode. I'm pretty sure the same conditions need to be met (closed loop, throttle, etc)

[Guest Dolores]

Just curious what brand of struts did you put on your Reatta. And did it make a very noticeable difference. The reason I ask is back in 1996 when I put Monroe struts on the car I didn't notice much of a difference and was told "It's a sports car." I get my car back this Saturday from my mechanic and it will have new struts - AC Delco in the front and Napa in the rear. Thanks for the info.

[Guest MauiWowee]

Good example of a hijacked post.

Please start new thread

[Guest EDBS0]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Hello all. With some routine maintenance (struts, rotors, etc) it has a new lease on life, but a couple problems remain.</div></div> zreatta volunteered, ...

Dolores inquired <div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Just curious what brand of struts did you put on your Reatta. And did it make a very noticeable difference. </div></div> <div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Good example of a hijacked post.

Please start new thread </div></div>

Looks OK to me. So where is the problem Christmas spirit please

[Guest MauiWowee]

You're right..............so sorry

Just trying to go along with Barney's observation....

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body"> A big part of the problem on this and other forums ....people start new subjects inside existing postings. Then when you try to find them the subject at the top is not linked to the item you remember seeing on a post.

If we could stick to a subject and start a new one when appropriate, that might help.

</div></div>

[Guest EDBS0]

no problem, I,ll return you to your regular reading me to...

[Guest zreatta]

Thanks to all who replied. I truly value the information. I'll follow up on a couple items.

I'm aware of the tempurature/thermostat thing for the TC lockup, as I had fixed that problem with the thermostat on my Lesabre T-Type. While that was the first thing I looked at when it got colder outside, it would still engage once in a while. The last few days (its still only been about 25 for a high) it has engaged nicely. Not sure I understand the relation with the brakes, however, because when I'm going down the highway and I feel the TC should engage, I tap the brake, and it engages. That's why I thought I could use a toggle, but I'm sure as someone mentioned, that would be impractical. As you all know, that lockup provides some good gas mileage.

I forgot to mention something about the noise in the motor at idle. I still get the noise with the belt removed eliminating the accessories. So, could the noise still be the harmonic balancer? Obviously, that is still turning. I got a spare engine the other day just to have, and of course, the balancer is missing. Would probably be better off with a new one anyway.

As for the struts, I guess that got covered in another thread, but I'll answer it here anyway. My fronts are still good, the rears were so bad, I couldn't take the small bump going into my garage. On the highway, if you took a turn too quick that had a bump, the back end would kick out. I replaced the rears with Napa struts. I truly love the handling of the car now, I would use them again.

[Guest F14CRAZY]

I'd describe the harmonic balancer going bad noise as a fairly rapid "tock"

[2seater]

The TCC gets it's 12 volt power through a switch on the brake pedal. There is more than one switch on the pedal. If tapping the brake helps engagement, the switch may be out of adjustment or the pedal isn't returning all the way.