torque converters? what?

I never thought about torque converters before, I don't even know what they do exactly. But I recently found out that a higher stall speed on the torque converter will make my 1/4 mile times rise. My problems:

What size of a torque converter fits on my 98 LS1 4l60E? From what I heard they recommend 3000 to 3300 stall, but what size?

How hard is it to change one? What all goes into it? Do I have to pull the transmission off, I'm guessing I do :( Is this tough though? Should I do it myself or have a mechanic do it?

Early thanks!

http://auto.howstuffworks.com/torque-converter.htm easiest way to do it. also the high stall torque converter improves times cause it allows you to launch at a higher rpm which allows for more power at the launch

yea especially if you get an aftermarket cam, you can match up the cams to your stall

torque converter is a fluid coupler, two fans seperated by a strator in a fluid, on fan, connected to the engine output shaft, spins in the fluid, pushing it through the strator, wich puts pressure on the second fan, which is connected to the trans input shaft, making it spin. stall speed is the speed at which the converter will spin up to with the tires not moving. higher stall puts you in peak power, rather than lower rpms where you have to build up to peak power. this higher stall allows more power to the rear wheels for better acceleration. the downside is that this is acheived by making the converter less efficient, aka increasing the slippage on the fan blades. this causes higher crusing rpms on the highway (unless its a lockup converter) and higher trans fluid temps. making a trans cooler a must.

yup, thats it

oo and do you kno the normal operating temp of a trans?

not off the top of my head, i would say............... 160-200 degrees???????????? i only say it so someone will call me on it and hence give you your answer ;) cuz if i didnt say anything, no one else would either lol

haha slick

of course i could have typed out all that stuff, but i chose the route of laziness and posted the link...

haha lazy bastard... its all good.. im a lazy ass mofo myself

your tellin me about lazy.. Just readin' all that $hit tired me out... shit, i'de quit breathin' if i had the choice.. even sleep is too much work

haha. sleep is one of my favorite things to do, if im not in bed in im workin on my car, i got fired from my job 2 weeks ago so im jus kickin back for now

shit as a matter of fact im layin in my bed right now

yeah me love sleep.. I try ta get fired all the time.. But I work for my old man so it never works..

haha, i got fired for "harrassment" this crack head guy kept throwing water on menand sayin shit, so i threw a glass at him, and he came at me with a knife, and i get fired!!!

shitty deal.. ahh it woulda been worth losing the job to beat the guy to a bloody pulp!

haha,this dude is crazy tho, hes like always on drugs, and alot bigger then i am, im jus turning 18, i was real close to hittin him but he had a knife in his hand, so i jus joked him about it, i said what does it make you feel like a man to pull a knife on someone bitch, haha oo that ticked him off, but someone came over and grabbed him

good info guys, thanks.

anyone know the stall speed on the factory converter?

and are these hard to change? it looks like you have to pull the whole tranny out! anyone done that before?

im sure its pretty low, my car use to chirp sometimes when i put it into gear

yup pull the tranny. it's not hard it's just a pain in the ass, camaro's are one of the worst vehicles to pull the tranny. you'll have to remove the drive shaft, shift cable, unplug the VSS, tranny lines and a few other things. you'll need jack stands and lots of socket extensions. the converter just pulls out of the tranny, but can be fun to get back in sometimes, you have to spin it till it kinda "pops" twice, or goes in twice. make sure you put in a new torque converter seal, there only $3 and it's cheap insurance.

yup pull the tranny. it's not hard it's just a pain in the ass, camaro's are one of the worst vehicles to pull the tranny. you'll have to remove the drive shaft, shift cable, unplug the VSS, tranny lines and a few other things. you'll need jack stands and lots of socket extensions. the converter just pulls out of the tranny, but can be fun to get back in sometimes, you have to spin it till it kinda "pops" twice, or goes in twice. make sure you put in a new torque converter seal, there only $3 and it's cheap insurance.

And how long does this all take? My first time attempting this.

Also..what size is the torque converter? 9" 12" I'm all lost with this, lol

Thanks

the size kinda just depends on alot of stuff. your best bet would be to call a trany or converter shop and ask them. they can probably tell you spacifiacaly what one would work or they can build you a custom one. you could even call B&M cuz they have converters. if you are planning on getting a spacific brand then just call that company up and ask them what would work. they will want to know what trany and car and if its stock or what all you have done to it, mainly just the cam specs if you have replaced the cam. oh and what you plan on using it for, street/strip, or just race, stuff like that. on the street your not going to want much above 2500 probably cuz you would have to rev to about 2200-2300 before you even start moving.

oh and about the temp for a trans... if im not mistaken the optimal temp is like 150-160. thats just what is best for the trans and for performance. i have an aftermarket converter in my chevelle and it stalls at 2200 rpm's and i dont have a second trans cooler on my car, it only runs through the radiator and it runs right at 150 degrees.

probly take a few hours. i think the 700R4's and 4L60E's use a 9in. torque converter, but i'll have to measure mine and see