skinnedknuckles
Junior Member
I can't get my torque converter to seat properly on the transmission input shaft. I've tried a few techniques from YouTube but I'm not getting all 3 "clicks" nor the proper setback clearance from the face plate. (2001 Dodge Ram 1500 4WD with 318 and 48RE transmission)
When the torque converter is horizontal on the bench I can align the stator ID with the drive hub but as soon as I tilt the torque converter to put it on, it seems like the stator falls down some fraction of an inch which prevents it from sliding onto its portion of the input shaft. If this theory is correct, I can think of a couple of tricks I could try.
If I stand the transmission up on end, I won't have gravity constantly pulling the stator out of alignment.
Also, I was wondering if I put the torque converter in my freezer for a long time if the AT fluid would become thick enough to prevent the stator from falling down and out of alignment.
Looking down inside the drive hub of the torque converter I can see that the inside diameter of the stator is not uniform but has regions with and without teeth. This made me wonder if some special alignment was needed but the gears on the transmission input shaft look completely uniform all the way around so it seems it should accept any alignment.
During removal I had to slide the torque converter off the shaft while it was still bolted to the flex plate because I couldn't rotate the crankshaft to loosen all 4 bolts. It seemed to come off without any trouble. If the torque converter was damaged during that process wouldn't that damage be visible to the naked eye? Everything seems straight and square as it should be.
When the torque converter is horizontal on the bench I can align the stator ID with the drive hub but as soon as I tilt the torque converter to put it on, it seems like the stator falls down some fraction of an inch which prevents it from sliding onto its portion of the input shaft. If this theory is correct, I can think of a couple of tricks I could try.
If I stand the transmission up on end, I won't have gravity constantly pulling the stator out of alignment.
Also, I was wondering if I put the torque converter in my freezer for a long time if the AT fluid would become thick enough to prevent the stator from falling down and out of alignment.
Looking down inside the drive hub of the torque converter I can see that the inside diameter of the stator is not uniform but has regions with and without teeth. This made me wonder if some special alignment was needed but the gears on the transmission input shaft look completely uniform all the way around so it seems it should accept any alignment.
During removal I had to slide the torque converter off the shaft while it was still bolted to the flex plate because I couldn't rotate the crankshaft to loosen all 4 bolts. It seemed to come off without any trouble. If the torque converter was damaged during that process wouldn't that damage be visible to the naked eye? Everything seems straight and square as it should be.
