Torque Converter 1995 Ford F-350 / E-350 Chassis

Factory converters are not spot welded. A spot welded converter would leak like a sieve.

Hand welding a converter doesn't add any stregnth to the converter. If it takes someone a couple hours to hand weld a converter then they have no idea what they are doing. I've watched people hand weld converters. A slow welder can do it in about 15 minutes. It isn't difficult.

What does add a lot of strength to a converter is a billet cover. The factory converters have stamped covers. The billet covers are MUCH stiffer. The factory ones can bend, which reduces the surface area in contact with the internal clutch. The billet cover will remain flat.

i Corky,

You sent me a private message, I can not open it. There must be a subject line in order to have something to click on to open the private message.

Have you found a good place to buy a torque converter?

The factory torque converters are machine welded, probably spot welds. There are also hand welded converters, but expect to pay for a couple of hours welding at $100 per hour. THey would be much stronger, and checked for mistakes along the way, so much less likely to fail.

Fred.

i Corky wrote:
Can you replace the transmission torque converter with a heavy duty one?

Call Hughes performance in Phoenix. They will build you whatever you need. They built me an E40D and converter for my drag truck. 1994 Lightning putting 650 HP to the rear wheels.
their business is hi performance transmissions.

Moved from Forum Technical Support

Yes.

Just don't take it to AMMCO, they will take apart the whole transmission, and then sell you a rebuild if you have the money to get the truck back.

Try to find a smaller independent shop. They don't have to completely remove the transmission, only slide it back about 12" to get to the bolts and drop it out from the bell housing.

You might even check with your local community college or high school, and see if they will change it for free as a project. You might bring in donuts as a sort of tip for doing the work, or ask the teacher if they might need something for the class, like a new torque wrench (these can run upwards of $100) or special tool.

You can check places like SummitRacing.com for torque converters. Just make sure that you are getting the right kind. The kind for a car - especially a race ready car is high stall speed, such as 2,300 RPM before it locks up, to let the engine rev high before moving the car at high speed. You want something with a much lower lock up, say 900 RPM for a truck. THey sell both, just call to make sure you are getting the best one for your application.



Fred.