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Torque converter whining

24550 Views 16 Replies 5 Participants Last post by  arnoldrover, 
J
Hello

I have a problem with my gearbox at the moment, it sounds as if the torque converter is whining, in touch with the engine speed.

Went underneath the car when the wife touched the accelerator and it does sound as if its coming from the bell housing/torque converter area.
Car still drives but i am not doing so at the moment just in case, it is a bit rough on the downshifts though.
Changed the oil 10,000 miles ago with the proper esso lt stuff and filter.
Have had a quick check of the torque converter bolts and they are tight.
Is it gearbox replace or torque converter replace?
I have done a search and it points to the converter, has anyone had any similar problems
Its a 2004 4.4 bmw petrol with 84,000 on the clock.
Many thanks in advance
John
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RRPhil
John,

Do you not think that it's more likely to be the pump that's whining rather than the converter? - the pump is driven off the converter impeller (at engine speed). First thing to do is to check the fluid level in the transmission to make sure that the pump isn't sucking in air/cavitating. The fluid level must be checked with the engine running and with the fluid temperature around 40 deg. C

Phil
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RRPhil
If your transmission's going into cooling strategy mode in this weather it certainly sounds like there's a problem somewhere in the cooling circuit! Can you hear the whining noise while you're driving along? If so, I just wondered if you noticed an appreciable reduction in the noise when your transmission goes into 4th/5th gears? When the converter LUC is engaged (4th & 5th) there's a big cut in the flow of fluid being sent to the cooler.

Phil
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RRPhil
That’s bad luck John.

I appreciate that you probably need your Range Rover back on the road sooner than this but the offer’s there if your transmission wants to come up to Blackburn for its holidays for 2-3 weeks, I’d be happy to fix it for just the cost of the parts. A re-manufactured torque converter is around £300, the overhaul kit £145, fluid £85, filter £25, plus there’s one or two seals specific to the L322 which aren’t included in the overhaul kit. You’re therefore looking at around £600 for parts, plus the cost of shipping the transmission (say £50 each way). Assuming that in addition you have a couple of burnt out clutches that need their plates replacing, well, we’re probably up to £800 now.

An independent garage will charge around £40-£45/hour + VAT and the ‘official’ removal time is around 4.5 hours for the transmission so that comes to £450 or so to get the transmission in & out.

The way the costs add up you can see that these places which will do the complete job for under £2000 (including the cost of a new oil cooler and a re-manufactured torque converter) are doing it for a pretty competitive price.

£6000 at a Land Rover dealer……now that’s not so good.

Phil
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RRPhil
Glad you're all sorted, John.

Can you share with us how much the swap cost ? (but fair enough if you'd rather not)

Phil
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