Car dieing additinal info.

[thergen at svn.net]

I had the identical problem with a Cavalier.  Got it home by driving with
the gear selector in 2nd which prevented lockup.  It took minutes to
unlock the TCC as the pressure slowly drained through a clogged solenoid.

As it was explained to me, the solenoid, which is an electromagnet,
retains some magnetic field even when off.  This causes iron filings to
collect around the solenoid and its fluid passage and it may eventually
clog.  Seems similiar to how all the filings collect on the magnet often
found at the bottom of the transmission pan. 

Temporarily diconnecting the TCC wires would be one way to check if this
is the problem before opening up the transmission.

Tom



On Wed, 11 Aug 1999, Ken Kelly wrote:

> Rodger,
> 	A friend bought his son a used Cavalier. It had the same
> problem. It would occasionally remain locked, after the PCM
> tried to unlock it. He was told this was a common problem
> and required replacing the Torque converter. The labor cost
> with front wheel drive was very high, so He took the cheap
> route and disconnected the TCC! If it never locks there is
> no problem unlocking it! I don't recommend that solution,
> since I think with your power levels you would overheat the
> trans fluid.
> 
> 		Ken
> 
> Roger Heflin wrote:
> > 
> > On Wed, 11 Aug 1999, Ward wrote:
> > 
> > > Sure sounds like a TCC problem, The clutch is constructed like an odl style
> > > manual xmish clutch so it sure woud cause a stall if locke or draging, if
> > > this is the case the MAP values should be higher than normal, indicating a
> > > high load.
> > >
> > > Sure points out the value of the scan data over subjective observations.
> > >
> > > Ward
> > 
> > I think the MAP values are higher, I seem to remember them being 17-18
> > and they are running more like 20-21 at idle, and the fuel is way up,
> > ie before the fuel was 1.8-2.1 ms at idle it is running more like
> > 2.8-3.0 at idle now with no obvious gas smell.
> > 
> > Now the real question is, is the torque convertor clutch dead, or the
> > solenoid driving it, or are the fluid passages somehow clogged.
> > 
> >                                 Roger
>