TCC Trouble

[BlueBomber]

I ahve my TCC plug off due to my car stalling, with it unpluged it still stalls sometimes. Is this normal, and what would cause premature TCC failure?

[ENGGUY]

If you are talking 1993 and with some big miles on it. Maybe its not so premature.
Slippage, old fluid, and lots of years and miles, internal leaks etc. Can cause it.

[Brad97GS]

Well, the typical GM problem with stalling that you are talking about is not the TCC itself, but rather the TCC solenoid. It will typically cause the car to stall after a long highway trip, as the solenoid does not direct the torque converter clutch to disengage upon slowing down. It stays engaged as you stop, and essentially it acts like a manual tranny does if you stop without pressing in the clutch.

That can be fixed by replacing the solenoid, or just by keeping it unplugged. It won't harm anything to keep unplugged (I drove my '89 GA around for years with it unplugged). It might be around $300 to have a mechanic fix it for real.

But if it still stalls sometimes with that unplugged, then you have different issues. What happens when it stalls now? Does it chug to a stop, or does it just quit silently? IIRC, the 3300 is known to get carbon on the IAC valve, as well as in the throttle body. It might be a good idea to use some throttle body cleaner and clean those things out.

[BlueBomber]

I just had it replaced less that 6000 miles ago, but it is stalling at low speeds or when I let of of the gas and come to a stop. I can hear something engaging and disengaging like the tranny but I could be wrong. The only thing is that these were the same symptoms as before, and when unplugged the car is doing the same thing. Ill try the cleaning and maybe adjusting the idle pin a little more.

[Rockfan1815]

my thought is egr valve. The egr valve on my blazer was sticking open after it opens up on the highway and when coming to a stop it would idle horribly. Stalled a couple of times, so I unplugged it and never did it again. I was getting a engine light for it though. Are you.

[BlueBomber]

No check engine light unless the TCC is unplugged, I noticed that the car wont stall when I manually put the car into 1st when comming to a stop, it will try but then something clicks and it saves itself. It is almost like it is disengaging when it comes to a stop... I truly beleve that the TCC is bad again, I just cant believe that I just spent 200 replacing it and I live 250 miles away to get it fixed. The other problem is that reverse is slipping and grinding. I think the metal shavings are interfering with the solenoid and caused it to fail premautrely. I have no idea anyone I bring it to says the tranny needs to be rebuilt but the only thing wrong is the reverse, can they just fix the reverse band / gear?

[pokesmot]

First off the 3.3 doesnt have an EGR.

secondly, there is no way to just repair reverse... you are going to need to have the tranny dropped and overhauled to fix the reverse... so you might as well have everything replaced and rebuilt when you have the tranny out in the first place.

If the TCC is unplugged and it still stalls, the TCC is not likely your problem, especially since you mentioned that you have problems with reverse.

so, best thing to do is to take it in to a reputable tranny shop and ask how much for a rebuild.

will probably cost you around $1000 CDN to get it dropped and re & re'd.

chances are it will cost you more to fix the car than insurance will give you if you write the car off in an accident :(

[BlueBomber]

Ok well I did the throttle cleaning and now the car runs fine but the TCC is unplugged and the tranny is still shot, but it cured the stalling...Thanks. I guess I had some buildup, but I just ported the manifold and the throttle body. I guess it just got dirty again?