I DID do the search and as usual found enough info to confuse me...pretty easy to do. I am pulling out a 2 yr old TCI 44100 . Been chasing a vibration for all that time. As I looked at the pilot it has all the paint worn off about a 1/4 inch deep where it fits the crank , Except for about 1 inch of the diameter. I guess this is a "runout" issue? I just put in a new flywheel and ran the car, no tranny, vibration is gone. Sooo.. is there a reliable converter out there in the 3-400.00 range? Really don't have 600.00 to dump into an Art Carr and besides this is just a basic stock buid 428.
Thanks

I had them rebuild my stock Ford converter and had Jay bump the stall in it up to 1800 rpm. I have been happy with it. Before that and the mild performance rebuild I had done on my C6 I had tried a TCI Streetfighter C6 and a converter of theirs and it didn't even last 15 miles but that's a long story.

JC

from a rebuilder in your locale without spending bucks-deluxe for a "name" piece. Local is better especially if you run into a warranty issue. Stock stall FE convertors in Seattle area about $200.00 all in. JMO/E

http://tinyurl.com/Oregon-Converters

This is a link to an eBay store. Do not fear it, and it will not fear you...

Before installing make sure the converter pilot is clean and hand test fit it to the crank. Sand it smooth and put a little white grease on it and the crank. After the engine or trans is installed carefully, and converter is know to wiggle when pushing on a stud, then tighten all the bell housing bolts. Now bring one converter stud around at a time and just snug the nut then loosen it. Do this to each converter nut before tightening them. This will center the pilot. I had the same issue with a vibration and this method fixed it.

you could have your converter freshened up at a reputable transmission facility , they will rebalance it at the same time .... Coan make some good converters under 400.00 , Jay at Broaders is good to deal with too , you might have to leave a message if you call him , he can't hear the phone if he is machining something , but he will call you back

Re the paint rubbing off, your comment "except for 1 inch of the diameter". Do you mean 1" of the total pilot cover circumference (approx 5.5"), the paint did not rub off? If that is the case, either the Cover Pilot diameter or the pilot bore in the crank are not round, or there is a high point such as burr, weld spatter, or contamination preventing 360 deg contact.

Was there any damage, such as cracking, to the flexplate that you replaced?

At what RPM does the vibration occur at? Does the vibration occur at a certain RPM and does it increase as the RPM increases, or does it go away?

Does your TCI Converter have studs welded to the Cover and nuts to clamp the flexplate (which is the original Ford design), or are there lugs welded to the Cover and bolts used to clamp the flexplate(like a GM)?

If you are using bolts, make sure they are all the same length. Likewise, if you are using nuts. Different bolt lengths or nuts may weigh differently, and effect the system balance.

Mark the relationship of the Converter Cover studs (or pads) to the flex plate before you dissasemble it

Take a look at your TCI Converter and see if there are any balance weights welded to the outer diameter, or if it looks like a balance weight may of came off. If there is not at least one weight strip welded to the Converter, it probably wasn't balanced properly.

If you think there is a runout problem, you should also check the Converter Impeller Hub and the Impeller Hub Bushing in the Front Pump for wear.

Torque Converter stud pad squareness (runout) should be less than .030" with the Impeller Hub and the Cover Pilot diameters chucked in a coaxial fixture.

Also look at the stud or lug pads welded on the Cover for burrs, weld spatter, or other contamination that may interfere with the contact area to the flex plate.

If after cleaning everything off and reassembling the system, you still have the imbalance issue, you may want to try reindexing the converter 180 degrees from where you originally installed it to the flexplate. In production Ford would mark the heavy side of the converter and match it to the light side of the engine to minimize imbalance issues.

I spent 11 years at Ford T&C Div in Torque Converter Engineering, and was also on the Remanufacturing Team. I visited both the Ford Authorized and independents, including some of the high performance converter manufacturers.

Properly fixturizing the Converter to hold stud pad squareness (.030") and Cover Pilot to Impeller Hub runout (.002") during the enclosure weld process and properly Rotating Static Balancing the Converter Assy were issues that I saw out there.

Regards,
Dennis

Had great luck with Darryl Young at Target Torque Converters in No Little Rock, Ar 501-771-0290. Very professional. Tell Darryl that I sent you. Rich Mastro

nm

funny you got a bad one....

i am running a ACC boss hog torque converter behind my FE no problems yet it was pretty cheap on ebay

I too was bit by the Total Crap Industries Convertor. Mine also shook like heck behind my 428 in my Mustang. I took it out and brought it to a local convertor rebuilder and he found the snout was off by .040. It too looked like was described above, with the paint worn off of only one side. He welded a new snout on and now it is as smooth as silk.

Anthony

'67 GTA Mustang 428


'66 Cobra 440 (.060 over 428)

ATI, or Broader.

http://www.fefords2nv.com

My nephew just finished up a C-4 with a Broader kit for the small block in the '35 Ford. That stuff is nice, very nice. Can't wait to get the truckdone so we can run it. It should be about a 350 hp 302, so it should be really nice. I wanted to put an 400 hp FE in it, but...