No torque converter lockup?

[npenson]

I have a 93 sho atx that i bought from a friend. the problem is the torque converter is not locking up properly. I have a short trip to work in the morning but the torque converter will not lock up at all on the trip, unless i shut the car off and restart it. I can do this anytime after the motor has warmed up and always seems to work, but if I dont it never locks up. I have read some stuff on the Thermostaic cooling valve but am unsure if removing this will solve the problem. And were exactly is it located? The trans seems to shift fine other wise just would like to fix this problem.

Thanks
Nick

P.S. car is completly stock other than a K&N and 116,000 miles.

 

[SHOZ123]

If you have the big GEN 2 ATX cooler try blocking some of it off in the winter.

 

[SHO#7]

Have you gone on any trips longer than your few mile commute to work. It can take 20 minutes or better on the highway before they lock up sometimes.

Mike

 

[revhardSHO]

Yes, its normal for the SHO ATX to operate without TC lockup until the transmission has warmed up.

 

[TicoSHO]

Sorry, this may sound dumb, but I don't know much about the mechanics of cars.
What is a Torque Converter? I have seen it in threads but I'm unsure of what it is and what it does. How do you know when it locks up or not? Does the car shift at diff speeds, shift harder.....?
Thanks

 

[SHOZ123]

This us all an OEM programing blunder too.

 

[Axianator]

What is a Torque Converter? I have seen it in threads but I'm unsure of what it is and what it does. How do you know when it locks up or not? Does the car shift at diff speeds, shift harder.....?

Torque converters are only used on vehicles equipped with an automatic tranny.

For more information about what they are and how they work, hop on over here:

http://auto.howstuffworks.com/torque-converter.htm

This us all an OEM programing blunder too.

Actually, the programming isn't (directly) to blame in this case ...

 

[SHOZ123]

I suppose the GEN 3 and Gen 2 ATXs are quite a bit different. I had mine to the point of locking in 4th in 20F weather and cold starts within a mile at 50 mph.

Can't really get it where I want it though, yet.

 

[TicoSHO]

Thanks Axianator.
That has got to be one of the best sites on the net. I've been there a couple of time before.

I'm still a little confused though. How can you tell if the TC is locking up or not? How different will you car drive and shift?
Thanks.

 

[npenson]

Yes I have drove farther than 20 mins. But the problem is I can let the car warm up and drive a mile or two, stop put the car in neutral shut the car off and restart, than the t c works fine. Just trying to figure whats up. I understand what everyone is saying about the warm up time for the tranny. But I dont need all that warm up time if I shut the car off and restart it after a mile or two of driving.

Thanks for all the input

Nick

 

[SHOZ123]

On my GEN 3 if the TC did not lock up in a certain time then it quit trying. Until I turned the motor off and restarted.