Torque Converter Clutch
There are so many different car parts involved in keeping our vehicle working. The design of a vehicle is quite complex and many people are not familiar with how each car part works. Honestly, you could drive a vehicle for years before something goes wrong and then once something breaks down you are forced to learn what a particular car part is before you have it replaced or repaired.
Once of the car parts that are extremely important but rarely mentioned is the torque converter clutch. This part is absolutely necessary and found in all types of automatic transmission vehicles. Since manual transmission vehicles have a clutch that connects the engine to the transmission they do not require a torque converter clutch in order for the vehicle to slow. However automatic transmissions do not have a clutch so a converter clutch is necessary.
In a manual transmission vehicle the engine is able to continue turning at a complete stop because the clutch is pressed. When the clutch is pressed it prevents the engine from dying when it is not in a forward driving motion. This is possible because pressing the clutch causes the engine to disengage from the transmission. Since an automatic transmission is not equipped with a clutch to press, a torque converter is used as a substitute. The torque converter is fluid coupling. It allows the engine to continue spinning independently of the transmission allowing the car to be idle. The harder you press on the vehicle's gas pedal the more fluid that is released in the torque converter causing the gears in the transmission to turn quicker.
The way all of this works is rather complex when the torque converter is actually inspected at a closer look. There are several parts required in order for a torque converter to work. These include the housing, the fins, the pump, the blades and the fluid. The housing is attached to the flywheel of the engine which allows it to spin at the same speed the engine is moving. The fins are also attached to the housing so when the housing spins so do the fins. The inside of a torque converter sort of resembles a washing machine in the way that when a washing machine spins during a rinse cycle all of the liquid is drained from the clothes to the outside holes on the side of the basin. When the pump pushes fluid inside the converter, the faster it spins the more fluid is drained out into the turbine which then spins the transmission.
Although the way torque converters work may be complex it is what makes it necessary for us to purchase and drive automatic transmission vehicles. If you suspect your torque converter clutch has a problem you should have it looked at by a mechanic. In order to repair a faulty torque converter clutch you must have quite a bit of knowledge on how they work and how to install them properly. Often the torque converter clutch may not be the reason your car is having problems and something else within the engine or transmission may be the problem.
Some of the signs that the torque converter clutch can be going bad is gear slippage. You may notice that the car is not accelerating properly even when the appropriate amount of gas is given. This can seem like the engine is lacking power. You may also notice that the vehicle shifts hard instead of having a smooth transition from one gear to the next.
If your vehicle is showing any of these signs then you should have it looked at by a professional in order to solve the problem before any serious damage can be done to either the transmission or the engine.
