4HP22 torque converter seating question

[ryan roopnarine]

i really doubt that 2mm is sufficient on any transmission, especially since you are complaining about binding. disclaimer: i've never done a 4hp22. try to turn the engine from the crank bolt. if you notice ANY unusual tension compared to when you took it apart, back the housing out as much as you can and disconnect flywheel/tc. on my 4l30e i had this problem. i only spun the tc until it made the first engagement or "drop" towards the tranny case. i found afterward that the tc engages the shaft in two stages. the first set of spins gets it down, but not enough. i had to spin it some more after the initial engagement to get it to finally seat. i don't think you should have to engage in any bellhousing antics to be able to rotate the tc to get it to align to the flexplate, simply turning the tc with your finger through the access slit and rotating the engine with a wrench should get the job done.

[Dash01]

Ryan, setting aside your caveat about not having worked on this particular tranny, and assuming it to be essentially the same as yours:

You mention a two stage seating sequence, where the TC goes mostly into place with the first spin, then seats a bit further in with more spinning. I've read from other sources about getting that second click. How much further into the tranny housing comes with a second click? How much more spinning of the TC is needed to get this?

And, if turning the engine by hand (in clockwise direction as seen looking rearward) by the big nut at the front, with the drive plate bolted to the TC, why wouldn't this action serve to do the final spinning of the TC into its second-click seated position? In other words, would turning the coupled engine/TC by hand be sufficient, without needing to pull the engine/tranny apart for further hand-turning of the TC for final seating?

[ryan roopnarine]

Ryan, setting aside your caveat about not having worked on this particular tranny, and assuming it to be essentially the same as yours:

You mention a two stage seating sequence, where the TC goes mostly into place with the first spin, then seats a bit further in with more spinning. I've read from other sources about getting that second click. How much further into the tranny housing comes with a second click? How much more spinning of the TC is needed to get this?

And, if turning the engine by hand (in clockwise direction as seen looking rearward) by the big nut at the front, with the drive plate bolted to the TC, why wouldn't this action serve to do the final spinning of the TC into its second-click seated position? In other words, would turning the coupled engine/TC by hand be sufficient, without needing to pull the engine/tranny apart for further hand-turning of the TC for final seating?

1) further in the second click...--It goes in a rather significant amount from engagement 1 to engagement 2. i'd approximate that it goes in the same distance from "free" to 1 as it does from 1 to 2.

2) turning the engine by hand...I don't have an official technical reason for what i'm about to say, but, from my observations, i'd say that engagement 2 is the only depth in which there is significant enough depth for the torque converter to "press in" and ride on the flywheel rather than ram itself against the flywheel. remember, the tq converter bolts are only required to be torqued to about 17lbft (on my transmission, i don't know what yours is). it is kind of paradoxical--the torque converter only needs to "ride" on the flywheel somewhat to transmit power, rather than be extraordinarly snug.

as for spinning the engine now--no, because (in my limited experience) if the torque converter is ramming the engine and preventing it from turning easily, it has likely gone in at an angle (however minute

engine->| \ <-torque converter
| \
| \

because of the nature of how you put the transmission in to position.

if you are really lucky, and you know for a fact that there is a second engagement on your particular transmission, i'd back the transmission out as far as the bolts will let it, until you can spin the tq converter with your fingers, and spin that sob for a solid minute or so (while pressing down on the converter with your other hand). you should get a good deal of excess space after you do this. if nobody else with hp22 experience chimes in, please fell free to pm me.