Alex-7

I have a 90' LX 5.0 With an AOD that makes a loud whine that I'm 90% sure is coming from the torque converter.

Symptoms:

Loud whine when first started cold in park that goes away after about 20 seconds later.

After that it'll whine when easily cruising in drive untill the RPMs get up there a little bit, then it'll fade out, until it shifts to second or third then it will resume whining at lower RPMS in the higher gear.

It will all but go away when the car is totally warm, but if I get on it a bit I can hear it come back in the higher rev ranges.

This has gotten way worse as the weather has gotten colder.

The fluid is full and clean.

So, whats going on here? is it the converter?

If so my Qs are:

Is the factory converter thinking about failing in the not to distant future?

Is it likely to take anything else with it? ie, clutches or anything else?

Is it safe to keep driving it until I can afford a replacement or an upgrade?

Is it a good idea to upgrade the converter for a mild street car that's got some P heads and an E cam or TFS1 in its future? or will a stock one be fine for a tame combo like that? I don't think I can afford a custom unit, so if I upgraded it'd need to be a B&M or TCI.....something along those lines....

Thanks very much in advance,

-Alex

Alex-7

Bump!

Alex-7

Aaaaaand again.......

Alex-7

Guess that was a little premature.....lol

94StinkinLincoln

sounds like the pump. if the converter is whining, it will slip and you wont move forward. been there done that.

if the pump is the problem, it will take all the clutches out. they wont get the pressure/fluid flow like it needs and they will burn up.

as far as upgrades...dont buy a converter until you are absolutely sure on what your combo will be so u dont have to buy it twice.

NoGo95GT

^^^+1. Also, if you do plan on upgrading converters, you usually get what you pay for. TCI is a respected company, although B&M is a 50/50 chance(no personall experience however). And I would wait until you have your cam selection first. A 2800-3000+ stall w/a stock cam will hinder your car's performance, a lot. Trust me, took me 4 months to figure it out. You want a stall within 600rpm of the starting cam's operating range. For instance, the TrickFlow Stg-1(2200-6000rpm) would benefit from a 2700-3000 stall. Precision Industries makes some nice converters, although they are a little pricey.

94StinkinLincoln

a converter is a part of the car you should NEVER cheap out on, no matter what! you will hate yourself for it.

if you dont spend a min of $500 on a converter, dont buy it imo. i did it once and i was pissed every second i drove the car. a converter will make or brake the time slip.

Ultimate Converter would be the guy to go to, imo.
PI would the the second choice.

any converter less than 3000 is useless.