Torque Converter clutch won't stay locked up

I went to boot there, but I was assigned to the U.S.S. John F. Kennedy
before I transferred to the U.S. Army.


"Craig" > wrote in message
ups.com...
| Just a quick aside, John. I used to know a sailor named John Riggs who
| sailed the Great Lakes in Michigan. Not a chance, I bet, but worth
| asking.............
|

Oops. Meant recreational sailing and cruising on the Great Lakes around
Michigan. I was US Army 67-70 and wish I had been on the Kennedy. Less
mud:-)

Hey dr bob. Try this on for size. As fussy as I am, and careful about
service, I checked my radiator and found my coolant down almost one
gallon. The plastic overflow tank had a stain that I took for the fluid
level, but it was empty. How I let it go this long, I don't know.
Anyway, I'm thinking that it's really possible that this was causing
the tranny problems. There may be a temperature sensor that was getting
either 1) no coolant to it, or 2) only steam to it. Could this possibly
give mixed signals to the computer and cause the TCC problems? My temp
guage operated properly in the normal range. I haven't had a chance to
go out and test drive it, but will tomorrow and see if the problem
cleared up. I will also try to find out where the coolant is going. I
know it's not going into the transmission, and don't suspect the
engine, either, but likely a slow leak radiator-wise. Whatever is is,
it's realively slow.

Let me know when you get an answer....I want to know this one too ('92
EB)


"Craig" > wrote in message
oups.com...
| Hey dr bob. Try this on for size. As fussy as I am, and careful about
| service, I checked my radiator and found my coolant down almost one
| gallon. The plastic overflow tank had a stain that I took for the fluid
| level, but it was empty. How I let it go this long, I don't know.
| Anyway, I'm thinking that it's really possible that this was causing
| the tranny problems. There may be a temperature sensor that was getting
| either 1) no coolant to it, or 2) only steam to it. Could this possibly
| give mixed signals to the computer and cause the TCC problems? My temp
| guage operated properly in the normal range. I haven't had a chance to
| go out and test drive it, but will tomorrow and see if the problem
| cleared up. I will also try to find out where the coolant is going. I
| know it's not going into the transmission, and don't suspect the
| engine, either, but likely a slow leak radiator-wise. Whatever is is,
| it's realively slow.
|

Got an answer this morning when I drove to work. Outside temp about 45
degrees. TCC locked up right away at 47 mph. About 5 miles down the
road it unlocked, and would not lock again. So here we
are............square one.

I may have found the problem and fixed it. As I was going into town
today, the TCC unlocked again. I redirected immediately to my
transmission shop and they attached the code reader and analyzer. It
came up 186, I believe, and they said that was showing a problem with
either the Throttle Position Sensor (TPS) or the Mass Air Flow Sensor
(MAF). I went home an checked out the TPS (OK), and removed the
filament block for the MAF and found them severely caked with dirt and
gunk.

Having cleaned the filaments before when the engine was pinging and not
running properly, out came the Throttle Body Cleaner and my small, soft
artists brush. I very carefully cleaned the filaments and reinstalled
the block and connectors. After a test drive the transmission appears
to shift properly and lock up right on schedule - and stay locked up
while cruising. I'll give it another shot tomorrow on the highway.

I wasn't aware that the MAF signal affected TCC lockup, but they say
it's part of the mix of data used. I'll follow up in a few days and let
you know if that did it for sure.

(If this is a duplicate, it's because I had a problem posting it the
first time - sorry)

Looks like the dirty MAF sensor was the curprit. Lockup is fine now.
Lost the spark knock/rattle, too. Oh yeah, loose radiator hose clamp
was the problem with the coolant loss. Dribbled down to a crossmember
and dispersed, so it never showed up on the garage floor. Whew. All set
for another 190,000 miles............

Thanks for posting the resolution Craig.

"Craig" > wrote in message
oups.com...
> Looks like the dirty MAF sensor was the curprit. Lockup is fine now.
> Lost the spark knock/rattle, too. Oh yeah, loose radiator hose clamp
> was the problem with the coolant loss. Dribbled down to a crossmember
> and dispersed, so it never showed up on the garage floor. Whew. All set
> for another 190,000 miles............
>

Just wanted you all to know that it has been a week, two long highway
trips, and a lot of other local driving. No more problems.The MAF
sensor was absolutely the problem, and cleaning it resolved the
problem. Now if I could just find out how I screwed up my cruise
control (posted elsewhere).......

Just for the sake of argument, what is wrong with your cruise control?


"Craig" > wrote in message
oups.com...
| Just wanted you all to know that it has been a week, two long highway
| trips, and a lot of other local driving. No more problems.The MAF
| sensor was absolutely the problem, and cleaning it resolved the
| problem. Now if I could just find out how I screwed up my cruise
| control (posted elsewhere).......
|