Why is it that the list ( the diesel section in particular ) is so quick to scream "rip off" or "I'll sue" when the person(s) making such claims has marginal knowledge of what they are working on? ( the "fight back" parts thread, the Toyota oil change guy that _still_ has not posted answers to my very specific problem solving questions and a few other threads.

The first thing to figure out is why the shifter was physically difficult to move past neutral to rev or park. Was the chattering sound present while the motor was running or did this occur with the motor off while moving the shifter? Nothing else matters until this is solved.

Blindly ripping the car apart without detailed analysis is a sure way to not solve the problem and possibly introduce self inflicted problems.

97 SL320: Perhaps my original question, as posted, was too subtle. I'll rephrase it- Is it normal for anyone to be unable to determine whether a torque converter has failed without destroying it (cutting it open), thus having to charge me $150 for a rebuilt one, automatically? I can't think of a part I've replaced that I couldn't see or feel or know was broken. Even electrical parts can be tested before replacement.
The shifter wouldn't shift from N into R or P when the engine was off. With the engine running, it took several tries to get into R, with no noise, and several tries, finally with chattering, to get into P.

Skaa

Having skimed the thread I'm going to second RS Curtis. Sounds like someting is spinning when you're changing gears making noises & making it difficult.

http://askville.amazon.com/heard-park-automatic-transmission-automobile-hill-day-hills-San-Fransisco/AnswerViewer.do?requestId=26878216

For the governor

I haven't taken a 722.3 to bits yet so I can only go on the experiences of others that I've read about. I think you need to tread carefully there. It seems to be a difficult part of the transmission to fix.

Good luck

__________________
1992 W201 190E 1.8 171,000 km - Daily driver
1981 W123 300D ~ 100,000 miles / 160,000 km - project car stripped to the bone
1965 Land Rover Series 2a Station Wagon CIS recovery therapy!
1961 Volvo PV544 Bare metal rat rod-ish thing

I'm here to chat about cars and to help others - I'm not here "to always be right" like an internet warrior



Don't leave that there - I'll take it to bits!

Ska, I fully understood the converter question. The issue I have is that someone with apparently minimal knowledge is blindly taking the transmission apart, taking a seemingly random, difficult to inspect part to someone else for diagnosis then leading with the presumption that they are going to be "ripped off".

A much better approach would be to ask neutral questions on how the torque converter can be tested out of vehicle.

All of that aside, this transmission diagnostic has gone completely out of control by tearing everything apart without prior logical testing. There are many tests that can only be done with the transmission assembled.

So, the very first step in diagnosis would have been to see why the shifter won't / is difficult to move into rev or park. For most any automatic transmission the only moving parts here are a spool valve for the hydraulic portion and linkage to engage the parking pawl.

Again, nothing else matters until the shifter movement issue is solved.

He did post it as a question ,torq converter rip off???

Indeed and quite a good question in my opinion.

Is it reasonable to destroy something to see if it was OK?

There's got to be a better way of doing it than that - I don't know what that could be - I'm scratching my head over here...


...working on a solution at double slow time!

__________________
1992 W201 190E 1.8 171,000 km - Daily driver
1981 W123 300D ~ 100,000 miles / 160,000 km - project car stripped to the bone
1965 Land Rover Series 2a Station Wagon CIS recovery therapy!
1961 Volvo PV544 Bare metal rat rod-ish thing

I'm here to chat about cars and to help others - I'm not here "to always be right" like an internet warrior



Don't leave that there - I'll take it to bits!