Torque Converter c280
 

I mentioned this in an earlier post but......

When I brake to come to a full stop, the car feels as if it is still providing a forward push. I suppose to describe it, it's like you're using one foot and slightly pressing the gas and braking with the other. It's like a little tug of war and I'm thinking this is not helping my stopping distances. It all ends with a slight blip of the rev as the car comes to a full stop. I initially thought maybe it had to do with the engine management, i.e., MAS, or the throttle setup with the bowden cable, etc., or the transmission.

However, I'm beginning to wonder if it has anything to do with the Torque Converter. Since the torque converter transfers the power from the engine to the trans to the wheels, is the conditions I'm describing mean there's something going on with the TC? Is it going bad? And/or to take it further, is there something going on with the transmission fluid, e.g., fluid level? Since the fluid is really where the everything is transferred vis a vis?

Last note: I'm using Mobil1 Trans fluid. Thanks.

No, that won't have anything to do with the torque converter. You feel as if the engine is not at idle when you are decelerating?

If you mean by idle that the engine is no longer providing forward momentum, then yes, it still feels as if it is providing forward momentum to the deceleration process. However, it's not really noticeable until the last 5mph to stop where it seems to take extra effort to stop that last little bit. Then the revs on the engine wil blip up slightly then settle to just above 5k rpm as if the trans has finally at that point disengaged from the engine. When I say trans, I was also thinking the torque converter, after reading how the torque converter and trans fluid work with an automatic trans in disengaging power from the engine as you come to a stop.

Can you explain why you seem pretty sure that the torque conv. has nothing to do with the problem? It seems it would at least indirectly relate to the problem.... Just wondering Ali.

By the way, I know it shouldn't feel this way from other cars but also I have ready access to 94 c280 (same engine, trans, etc.) and it comes to a stop very nicely. Compared to mine, as I mentioned, it seems as if I'm having a small tug of war with my car. Thanks for any comments (from Ali and anyone else).

96C280 - I think I know what you mean. My 97 C230 has a different trans but at the last downshift, at single-digit speeds, when it drops into 1st gear it feels as though it gives a little "push" like it's lunging just a tad. Is that it?

The torque converter is nothing more than a fluid coupling between the engine and input shaft of the transmission. The 96 with the 722.4 tranny does not even have a lockup clutch. It would be absolutely impossible for the mechanical torque converter to create power and make the car surge forward.

Yes it does that, but also it seems as if the car have this additional momentum that the brakes need to overcome to stop the car. Again, as if I'm were to feather the throttle and brake at the same time. Ali, from what I read about the TC, it transfers power, so why can't it affect forward momentum? It sort of does the work of a clutch when stopped and moving from a stop except in an automatic, doesn't it? That kind of feels like the problem, the engine speed is maintained to the drivetrain for too long.

Go to www.howstuffworks.com I am sure they have a good writeup on how torque converters and auto transmissions work. Your problem would have to lie somewhere in engine management.

C230 - car does not want to stop smoothly
 

I know this is an old post, and the torque converter may not be the problem, but my car does the same thing.

When I am braking and the car is about to stop, I normally lift my foot off the brake (slightly) to prevent that little jerk just as the car stops. But with this mercedes the car seem to want to keep going and I have to keep my pressure on the brake. This makes a smooth stop quite difficult and driving around town a real pain.

Anyone else have this problem or know a solution?

regards

chuck
1999 c230

try it in "W" mode, no first gear, and see if it stops.

Consensus on that trans is that first-gear push when coming to stop is normal