Change for Change’s Sake?
Change for
by Raffi Pilavian,
International Torque Converters,
Fresno, CA, TCRA Member
Change’s Sake?
E
xperience has shown that a
single comeback can cost you
hundreds, if not thousands of
dollars. The fact is, when it comes to
parts or supplies, you very often “get
what you pay for.” Sure, you might be
able to save a few bucks by choosing
lower-cost alternatives, but at the end of
the year, when you compare your sav-
ings to costs, you’ll discover that just
a few comebacks will quickly swallow
up those savings.
My good friend and colleague Joe
Rivera from Pro Torque has touched on
this very important topic in his semi-
nars, and wrote about it in the March
2009 issue of GEARS. The strategic
alliance between the transmission repair
shop and torque converter rebuilder
was initiated to reduce problems and
Figure 1
comebacks, and improve profitability
for both businesses. We need to educate
each other and keep those lines of com-
munication open.
In this article we’re going to go
over a few torque converter issues and
upgrades that can make a big difference
in the durability of your transmission
jobs. These issues and upgrades have
been around for quite some time now,
but they’re still important to keep in
mind.
GM 4L80E
Let’s start with the General Motors
4L80E. In 1999, GM initiated an update
A few years ago, at a TCRA seminar, I learned that these
to the converter manufacturing pro-
4L80E converters had design issues and that the new
cess. Like so many times before, these
clutch would crack. This can be repaired by running
design changes can sometimes bring
a bead of weld 360º around the cracked area. Many
new challenges.
builders use this process with good success.
One of the major issues with this
converter was a cracked lockup piston
(figure 1). This crack would cause lock- Figure 2
20 GEARS March 2010
Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68