Hey everyone. I Just got my 1994 LC to fire up after several years and the engine runs great. However it is dying when it is placed into Drive or Reverse. It feels like it squats down a little bit like it is trying to go somewhere and Stalls out. I have read that it could be a locked up torque converter or the solenoid is bad. I found a large tear in the air intake boot but I have taped it up well. I suppose I should inspect it further for smaller holes but I am doubting that it is the issue. I read that I may be able to unplug the TC solenoid and drive with reduced mileage. I would love to get it driving for now. also, can I get some info on replacing the TC and or Solenoid. I am not sure if I want to undertake this challenge or leave it up to the shop. I will use the search function as well. Thanks all.
LC is dying when put in gear. Torque converter or Solenoid? (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter Danman
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well the book calls for pulling the whole drivetrain as a package to get to the TC. honestly its not that bad and can be done in a weekend. i have a spare if needed. the solenoids are easy to access. i would start there. what happens if you put it in gear with the tcase in N?
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- #3
I will try that slow95. and let you know.
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- #4
Lots of updates. I shifted the T Case into Neutral. Placed the shifter through all of the gears. shifted into H range and she ran! It drives great. I am not sure why it was previously dying in Low range when shifted into Reverse or Drive. It seems like the Key was binding in the ignition and the gear shifter was a little sticky as well. Maybe an issue with the Anti theft device. Anyway. I have been busy swapping parts and getting her street legal. Thanks to slow95 for the suggestion. I will post if she acts up again.
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- #5
I have driven the cruiser a couple of times over the past few months some offroading near the Illinois River (in Oklahoma). It has been driving just fine until this morning. It is like a curse for me. I spend a chunk of money on a car and get it registered, pay all the late penalties, and something big goes wrong with it. Now that I have done a lot of piddly small repairs to her and gotten her registered and legal. This morning I was driving to work for the first time and she was acting kind of funny. A little jerky on the accelerator. She died on the 4 lane at a busy intersection. At first it was just bogging down the engine and finally died. I had to restart a couple of times and gave it a little extra gas and was able to make it to work. Is it safe to say that I need a Torque converter? Any other possibilities? Does anyone know if it is possible to unplug the torque converter solenoid and drive the truck without it powered?Any other parts that I should order and replace while I am in that area of the truck? I will probably do the U-joints while I have them apart. Please and thank you.
Why are you assuming it's related to the torque converter?
Hey @gummycarbs ! You're in Oregon too!?
His symptoms are indicative of a bad torque converter...or at least his original symptoms are. When the torque converter becomes more of a clutch with no release than a fluid coupler it causes the vehicle to stall when put into gear, brakes applied. If it were me @Danman , I would take it to a reputable shop and have the transmission back flushed and then use the trouble shooting portion of the FSM to narrow down whether it is a solenoid issue. The torque converter solenoid is a lockup solenoid, so it could be sticking and causing it to remain locked and stalling you out. But driving without it could cause overheating and dangerous operating conditions depending upon the driving conditions. You could burn up a transmission fairly quickly. Flush and Trouble shoot before disconnecting a solenoid, I do believe you're on the correct path though. If it were me I'd be looking at the solenoid and TC too, so you are headed in the right direction.
His symptoms are indicative of a bad torque converter...or at least his original symptoms are. When the torque converter becomes more of a clutch with no release than a fluid coupler it causes the vehicle to stall when put into gear, brakes applied. If it were me @Danman , I would take it to a reputable shop and have the transmission back flushed and then use the trouble shooting portion of the FSM to narrow down whether it is a solenoid issue. The torque converter solenoid is a lockup solenoid, so it could be sticking and causing it to remain locked and stalling you out. But driving without it could cause overheating and dangerous operating conditions depending upon the driving conditions. You could burn up a transmission fairly quickly. Flush and Trouble shoot before disconnecting a solenoid, I do believe you're on the correct path though. If it were me I'd be looking at the solenoid and TC too, so you are headed in the right direction.
There's not a lot of detail, but he found a leak in the intake. Intake and vacuum leaks cause all sorts of weird behavior. Mine was intermittently stumbling and even stalling in gear until I went through the whole system, replacing vacuum hoses and cleaning carbon out.
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- #10
The Intake leak has been fixed with a new intake boot Gummy. Landseer, I will try to disconnect the Egr if that will help me get back home. If it turns out to be the TC, I would like to replace all of the U-joints. Am I correct that there are 4 u-joints on the truck? 2 for the front drive shaft (identical) and 2 for the Back (identical). but there are 2 part #'s. one for the front shaft and one for the rear shaft. I am trying to figure out if I should go with OEM, Matsui/Matsuba, or Moog super Strength. Has anyone had any luck with these moogs?
Front's
More Information for MOOG/PRECISION 285
Rears
More Information for MOOG/PRECISION 389
Front's
More Information for MOOG/PRECISION 285
Rears
More Information for MOOG/PRECISION 389
- Thread starter
- #12
I disconnected the two lines on top of the EGR VALVE (not the EGR vaccum modulator). I connected them together with a vaccum fitting. I still had the same problems: bogging down and dying at low speeds and when stopped. I will check all the vaccum hoses and check back in.
But that's only the beginning. The biggest improvements on mine came from the PCV valve and hoses, and the brake booster vacuum line. There are several meters of small vacuum hoses, including tucked way under the intake manifold, plus a few solenoids. The idle air control valve gets gummed up from the PCV hose.
The EGR modulator diaphragm breaks and, I think, creates another vacuum leak path. I bypassed it by jumping the EGR sensor leads, then pulling the modulator, plugging the small lines by looping them back on themselves, and pushing a bolt head into the fatter line going to the bottom of the modulator.
Based on what you've written, I think you have a lot of stuff to check off before digging into the transmission.
One of those two.
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- #14
Ok. Update. I found a disconnected vaccum hose underneath the air intake. It was the line that tees off of the vaccum switching valve. After reconnecting that the engine started and ran maybe a little better. But it still died when placed into reverse. I replaced most of the small vaccum hoses and a few of the larger ones. I am not sure if I have done the one for the brake booster. I will check that next. Then I will replace the pcv valve. Then possibly more testing of emissions components. Any more suggestions?
Cruiser Outfitters has the Matsuba u-joints at a good price.
Expanding on what I already wrote, if you haven't gone through it already, I *strongly* recommend that you replace every single vacuum hose, including *both* PCV hoses and the PCV valve. Check your EGR modulator to see if the diaphragm is blown. If it is, then you probably have carbon further down the line and you'll need to clean it out. I used some carbon remover spray (Sea-Foam brand, probably), and some solid wire (stainless wire for safety wiring fasteners, probably), along with compressed air. I had carbon packed from the EGR modulator all the way to the VSV, and some carbon in the VSV.
Test and clean your IAC valve, test the VSV solenoids, and replace all the rubber hoses.
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- #17
Thank you. Some of the emission components are pretty pricey. EGR valve is around $300. So I want to work on the other possibile causes first. Did you remove the air intake to get at the vaccum lines/valves? Some of them seem pretty hard to get to without. I got most of them but there are a few buggars.
I didn't say anything about replacing the EGR valve. Nothing I described involves anything more expensive than vacuum hose, a can of Sea-Foam, and a piece of wire.
I believe I've gotten every hose without removing the intake, but it involved a lot of work with a flashlight, mirror, and various needle nose pliers.
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- #19
Hello all. The Saga Continues! I have replaced the PCV valve, grommet, almost all of the vacuum hoses, Removed and "cleaned" the Idle Air Control valve. I didn't take it completely apart but cleaned the rubber end. It looked pretty clean. I haven't tested it's function with voltage yet. I hope to do that soon. There was some carbon in the PCV valve hose and fitting on the TB. I removed all of that and replaced the hose. After doing this work the Idle of the Crusier became very low. 400-500 rpm range. It was running really rough. I then used seafoam into the Vacuum system, let it soak in, and blew quite a bit of white/gray smoke out of the tailpipe. The idle returned to normal. The vehicle is still dying when placed into reverse. Again, It dies pretty rough like when you stall out a standard. It really wants to go somewhere. I still need to try bypassing the vacuum modulator and see what happens now that I have fixed the other vacuum leak.
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Double check the intake hose between the air cleaner and throttle body. A crack in that can cause all sorts of odd things, especially if the engine rotates at all from putting it in gear, etc. Check the wiring harness next to the EGR pipe as well. Lots of documentation on both these things too.
