OMG! I broke my PI Dragon converter! - Page 2

KC95SC400 · 10-19-09, 08:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by scfou

Maybe you shouldn't manually shift an auto. I'm no good with torque converters, but is this one made specifically for you to shift manually? There's an old saying that a lot of stock auto boxes break when you treat it like a stick. Isn't that true?

I don't shift it manually......

I have a Suprastick, but that just controls the shift solenoids which is the same thing the stock ECU does.

KC

KC95SC400 · 10-23-09, 07:01 AM

So, turns out that PI's warranty is 1 year. Thought I saw somewhere that it was two... Either way I'm over.

Regardless, I have sent it back to them for possible repair and a re-stall. They told me it the cost would start at $225 and not be anymore than a new converter. If it turns out to be reasonible, I will likely go ahead and have them fix it and from now on, not have the converter locked up during shifts at the dragstrip.

This brings me to a question. I would like to go higher than the 2800rpm stall. Any suggestions? Keep in mind this is my daily driver but I do take it to the strip allot and think a higher stall would greatly benefit my 60 foot times. So the question is, what is the highest streetable stall speed I can get away with. With the Vortech, max power is at max RPM and max tq is pretty high as well.

Still looking into a built transmission or aftermarket parts to build it myself.

KC

2jzlex · 10-23-09, 07:07 AM

4K stall is pushing it for a DD in my opinion.

KC95SC400 · 10-23-09, 07:22 AM

I was thinking around 3200-3800. I need to go look at my old dyno charts to see where I start making good torque.

There is a HUGE difference between the Dragon 2800 and the stock 2200. Track and daily. The stock stall does indeed suck and definately does not work with my mods. I went to the track Wednesday night and I have lost .15 - .2 on my 60 foot. Was running very well on the top end with the cold weather though. Had a new PB trap speed of 113.92.

KC

KC95SC400 · 10-29-09, 01:22 PM

Updates:

Bought a rebuild kit and an "upgraded" second gear sprag from IPT for my broken 96 transmission. Also decided to by a transmission cooler while I was at it to upgrade my current cooler setup. Total was about 820 shipped. Should be here tomorrow. Got a rebuild quote for 350. I already have a modded valve body which I will swap over when swapping the transmissions. Also bought some megan sc400 racing mounts to put in at the same time.

Finally got some info from PI about my converter. Customer service there is iffy at best.

I called them yesterday and was told they got the converter in late Tuesday and that they would call me later in the day. I called them today after not hearing from them and was told that there was nothing wrong with the converter! I then told the guy he was wrong and that the turbine teeth were stripped / folded over. He went to look at it himself and called me back to tell me it was indeed broken. DUH!

It's going to cost 285 to get fixed, re-stalled and shipped back to me. This is honestly way less than I was expecting. The stall will be around 3500rpm. I won't likely get it back untill sometime mid next week which will be about the same time I'll have my transmission rebuilt and ready to put in.

KC

ihiryu · 10-30-09, 08:30 AM

KC sorry about your luck. Did you check bushings on the rear end? Have you driven the car on the lift to see if it's happening without any load on the suspension?

Also what stops you from going manual? With all the converters that are coming out and build threads, I'm surprised you aren't going manual with a R154

KC95SC400 · 10-30-09, 05:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ihiryu

KC sorry about your luck. Did you check bushings on the rear end? Have you driven the car on the lift to see if it's happening without any load on the suspension?

Also what stops you from going manual? With all the converters that are coming out and build threads, I'm surprised you aren't going manual with a R154

I actually did figure out my noise. It was a stupid mistake. The bolts that join the driveshaft and the differentail (through the rubber insulator) have washers. I put the washers on the wrong side which made the bolts stick out enough to hit the subframe under load.

Possibly an idicator that I need to change some of my subframe mounts..? My diff mounts are all new to fairly new OEM stuff.

Why don't I go manual? With all the money I've spent on the auto I probably could have done it by now. It's not really my thing though. And, auto transmissions, when they work correctly, are better for drag racing.

I have been thinking about trying some solid driveshaft couplers to replace the rubber but I can't seem to find them. I really thought I saw them before. Have also been thinking about getting the Titan solid diff mounts, at least the ear mounts. I could also use to replace all of my control arm bushings...

The list goes on and on.....

KC

KC95SC400 · 11-03-09, 07:32 PM

Update:

I don't know what the heck is going on with the guys at Precision Industries but I got my converter back today and it is NOT fixed. I, not knowing a whole lot about the inner workings of a converter, looked inside of it and could clearly see that the teeth on the stator are STILL MISSING!

I don't get it and I'm kind of pissed about it but I'm trying to restrain myself in bashing them too much, for now. So anyway, sent it back out to them. I'd be really lucky to see it again before the week is out.

On the plus side I did get my motor mounts, my rebuild kit and cooler today. I took some pictures I'll try to upload later. I plan on dropping the transmission off tomorrow to the rebuilder. Seeing all the parts together makes me feel even less confident in tackling the job myself.

KC

2jzlex · 11-03-09, 07:59 PM

Hahahaha.

Don't take that the wrong way man. Sometimes crap like this just happens, and there's nothing we can do about it, except shake it off and laugh if you can. Welcome to modified cars. I've sent AEM boxes off to have the EPROM replaced and have it go bad within a few days again. Another full week of downtime FTW. Try and let it go and take the time to do other things that you've been neglecting in lue of your time with the car.

KC95SC400 · 11-03-09, 08:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 2jzlex

Hahahaha.

Don't take that the wrong way man. Sometimes crap like this just happens, and there's nothing we can do about it, except shake it off and laugh if you can. Welcome to modified cars. I've sent AEM boxes off to have the EPROM replaced and have it go bad within a few days again. Another full week of downtime FTW. Try and let it go and take the time to do other things that you've been neglecting in lue of your time with the car.

Not taken wrong. It is kind of funny really.

It is sad though. These guys are supposed to be pros and they can't see something that is obviously broken? This car is my daily driver, the only thing that is good for me is that I did keep the stock convertor and I work in a shop so I was easily able to swap it out to get the car back on the road. But man, I feel sorry for the guy that doesn't have the same luxury and has to wait and / or pay the labor multiple times for the swap.

I'm also glad I looked at it and saw the problem wasn't fixed BEFORE attempting to put it back in. Then I'd have been really mad.

KC

2jzlex · 11-03-09, 10:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KC95SC400

Not taken wrong. It is kind of funny really.

It is sad though. These guys are supposed to be pros and they can't see something that is obviously broken? This car is my daily driver, the only thing that is good for me is that I did keep the stock convertor and I work in a shop so I was easily able to swap it out to get the car back on the road. But man, I feel sorry for the guy that doesn't have the same luxury and has to wait and / or pay the labor multiple times for the swap.

I'm also glad I looked at it and saw the problem wasn't fixed BEFORE attempting to put it back in. Then I'd have been really mad.

KC

I highly doubt they even looked at it. It was probably a mix up with shipping. I mean if you think about it, that makes absolutely no sense. That's not even like they tried to fix it and it broke again or someone didn't recheck something. Sounds like it was just a straight up mixup with another converter. I've dealt with PI also and yeah they can be kind of distant with tech service. Either way it sucks and hope it gets worked out.

kanukem · 11-05-09, 04:24 PM

I thought PI Dragon converters were supposed to be pretty buff =/. Try Boost Logic. Don't they have one?

KC95SC400 · 11-05-09, 05:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kanukem

I thought PI Dragon converters were supposed to be pretty buff =/. Try Boost Logic. Don't they have one?

I thought so too.

For now, I'll stick with PI. It's far cheaper to have this one fixed than buy a new one. If they ever fix it right that is.

KC

KC95SC400 · 11-05-09, 05:11 PM

Pics of the IPT rebuild kit and my new cooler.

The IPT kit uses Raybestos blue plate clutches. They are the darker ones. The others are BorgWarner. The "upgraded" second gear sprag is on the far right. I have not seen the stock one so I don't know how much beefier it is.

The cooler is MUCH bigger than my current setup. I am currently using three coolers. The radiator cooler, the cooler which used to be the power steering cooler and a small cooler bought at PepBoys. I will likely bypass the radiator and may keep the other two in the loop.

I dropped my transmission off yesterday to be rebuilt. Will call them tomorrow, if they don't call me first, to get a status update. I sent my still broken converter back to PI, should have gotten there today although I have not heard from them yet.

KC

spin all 4 · 11-08-09, 01:47 PM

KC, good to see John at IPT taking care of you.

I saw a huge thread on the www.supraforums.com about the PI converters being junk for the supra app. You may want to look it. It sucks because it's not like we're domestic v8 guys and there are 100 different converters to chose from.