Installed an AW-71L with the TC already bolted to the flexplate, oh God...

[thony]

The story:

A Swedish God: Hey, your AW-70 was dying in your 245 and you bought an AW-71L to do a swap?
Thony: Yes, exactly what I did!
A Swedish God: And you did not follow the proper method, with the Torque Converter that has to be installed in the transmission bellhousing first?
Thony: That's right sir, that's right.
A Swedish God: Then, after bolting everything up, you started the engine and put the transmission to any gear and nothing?
Thony: Yes, pretty much...
A Swedish God: Then you read online that there's a specific method to install these transmissions?
Thony: Hmm, yes sir.
A Swedish God: And you had to remove the transmission again to realize you maybe broke the pump and/or the torque converter.
Thony: In fact I did remove it, again, and the sleeve on the torque converter is bent. Now what???

***************************

Okay so that's pretty much the story, without me talking to some form of Swedish divinity.
I removed the transmission and torque converter and the sleeve from the torque converter is bent and the converter itself is hard to put back on the transmission shaft.

I know (correct me if I'm wrong) that I can't use the torque converter from my old AW-70 right? Is there a way to change the sleeve, or to unbent it? And by having the transmission out, would it be worth swapping the AW-71 pump for the AW-70 pump, in case I broke it?

Let me know if I'm missing something, or if you have any suggestion. Doing an automatic transmission swap is already a pain, doing it twice is my punishment for not following the proper procedure, but doing it a third time would be me crying under my car.

Picture of the torque converter, from the AW-71L, with bent sleeve.

Picture of the pump... that's the pump right?

 

[James M]

So wait you installed the torque converter onto the motor, then the transmission separately?

I can't offer any advice on how do proceed, except go back and stop yourself, or install the manual in the background and call it a day

 

[thony]

Going back in time was my first option, for some unknown reasons, I can't find a way to. Yah, not proud of myself on this one

 

[2manyturbos]

It may not stop there. Check the flex plate. That usually gets bent as well. You are not the first to do this.

 

[ZVOLV]

You can't use a locking torque converter with a non locking trans or vice versa.

And you gotta get the torque converter depth correct on install. THREE clunks. You gotta engage the pump tangs with the notches in the TC. It can be tricky.


You may have damaged the pump, TC, and the flexplate. It's a common rookie move. I stopped a guy once from slamming the trans into the engine with a 1/2" impact on the bolts.

 

[2 old for this]

Let hope someone else learns for your mistake.

 

[johfraser]

"that's the pump right?"
The Swedish God: So, you started taking a complex piece of equipment apart without consulting the proper divinities first, again?

 

[thony]

"that's the pump right?"
The Swedish God: So, you started taking a complex piece of equipment apart without consulting the proper divinities first, again?

Some people never learn, right?

That's the pump from the old transmission, at least...
Will try to revive everything tonight, straightening the torque converter sleeve, changing the pump, and inserting properly the torque converter to the shaft in the bellhousing.

I'll also take a careful look at the flexplate.

 

[MasterBlaster]

straightening the torque converter sleeve

Not just a "sleeve", but also the fluid pump's drive shaft, and sealing surface. If it's not dead straight relative to the torque converter's mounting pads and pilot, the wobbling shaft could take out the pump in short order, and any scratches or damage on the outer surface (or the wobbling) could have the trans spewing fluid past the seal.

Your single picture doesn't really show *how* the "sleeve" is bent. Is it not vertical anymore? Is the opening oval instead of round? Is it crushed and buckled (there's some kind of mark 1/2 way up the left side), possibly damaging the converter body itself?

 

[ZVOLV]

^^^ yep. That converter is done. You will puke fluid it you attempt to put that back in. Tolerances are down to the thousandths. Even a slight groove in a TC can cause a leak.

It looks like you are trying to stuff a non-locking converter onto a locking converter transmission pump. It ain't gonna work. (see how there are NO tangs on the pump for the converter even to seat into...)

Get a locking converter, inspect the flexplate for bent, try again.


Don't trip. It's a good learning lesson. I smashed a flexplate into my block the first time I did an AW install. I didn't get the third CLUNK to engage the TC to the pump. I forget the TC depth "spec", but I wanna say 24mm into the bellhousing. I've had to stand the trans on end and spin the TC many many times before to get it to seat. Sometimes you get lucky. It may help to look for the "flats" on your locking trans pump to get an idea of where you gotta spin the TC to get that final CLUNK to seat the TC to the pump.