Help needed dianosing a bad torque converter

[turnvinal]

Hi all,

Need help diagnosing a problem.

I have a 2005 Dodge Neon that has been sitting for a while. I’m cleaning it up to sell it (it has a lot of new parts, tires, etc. so I want to get my $ on the new stuff out of it rather than donating it.)

I’m told I have a frozen torque converter but I’m not convinced. And before I rip it apart I’d like some additional advice; second opinion so to speak.
As I said, the car had been sitting for a while, 2-3 years. With a few twists of the wrench I got her running again. When I put her in drive she didn’t move, so I gave her a little gas. Still didn’t move, so I gave her more gas. She lurched forward a few feet and abruptly died; it was rather violent and there may have been a noise or two from under the hood, but it all happened really fast.

I restarted her, no problem. Put her in reverse, she moves backwards. If I put her in drive she IMMEDIATELY dies. She doesn’t hesitate where RPMs dip and then stall out, just dies like its an electrical malfunction.

Reverse = drives no problem

Neutral = sits there and runs like she should
Any drive gear = dead engine

There isn’t any weird chunking or grinding noises other than the rough idle she’s had for a while.
Based on how abruptly the card dies, my gut says this is an electrical problem, broken wire or sensor. But I was told torque converter. I’m the first to admit that transmissions are not my bailiwick, but it doesn’t make sense to my limited understanding of torque converters that a bad one would allow the car to reverse but not move forward. I would expect to see the same behavior in both directions.

Thanks in advance for any guidance,
~John

[anotheridiot]

Torque converters are a mystery of life. All I know when my stall was too low, it acted more like a hydraulic brake on the car. Think of a clutch car, if you just pop the clutch without giving the car any gas the car will always die. Reverse I believe is 1:1 like your last gear and not somewhere around 3:1 you are starting in going forward.

[silver_bullet]

Not trying to be a know-it-all, but IIRC, reverse is normally geared like 1st gear.... could it be a lockup converter issue? As that would only occur in forward gears....I believe you are probably on the right track looking at electrical gremlins..

[turnvinal]

Thanks for your replies guys! I'll be getting under the car this weekend and will hopefully find a frayed wire.

As for the hydraulic brake stall scenario, I hadn't thought of it in these terms. Whenever I do that in my clutch car there is a physical jerk of the car, at least under the hood as it stalls out. In this car, it just dies. I had my wife manipulate the shifter while I observed and there was no movement in the engine bay when the car died. Makes me more suspicious that it is an electrical problem.

[anotheridiot]

Not trying to be a know-it-all, but IIRC, reverse is normally geared like 1st gear.... could it be a lockup converter issue? As that would only occur in forward gears....I believe you are probably on the right track looking at electrical gremlins..

That is also something I was dealing with. Like I say, Torque converters are a mystery to life for me. (hence my name). I do think the lockup is a better answer. When we are manipulating our 700R4 with a switch for the lockout solenoid to engage when you are in fourth gear, if you do not have a relay in line with your brake switch to disengage that solenoid, the car will just die when you try to leave again.

[Deaf Bob]

That is also something I was dealing with. Like I say, Torque converters are a mystery to life for me. (hence my name). I do think the lockup is a better answer. When we are manipulating our 700R4 with a switch for the lockout solenoid to engage when you are in fourth gear, if you do not have a relay in line with your brake switch to disengage that solenoid, the car will just die when you try to leave again.

Hmmm... Sounds like the problem I was having with my Suburban.. Dying at lights or stop signs. Little throttle helped.. Always fired back up