I have 95 sc400...and it's obviously having some issues.

can someone tell me the way the car would behave if the torque converter failed? (if it would affect the engine's behavior in neutral etc.) It had been doing the notorious 40mph vibration for awhile.

also any info on what would happen if the tranny took a dump would be very helpful as well.

 

symptoms will vary but usually there is a a long delay from shifting from park or neutral to any gear. Prolonged driving with a bad converter will burn up the front pump and then your clutches fail after that. Im not to sure about the trans in our cars though. Ive rebuilt GM and Ford trans but never taken apart at Toyota's.

 

well like i said, it was vibrating when at 40mph til the TC would finally lock (did that for about 3 months) then after some highway driving it began bucking violently...so i slowed down and tried to cruise at about 50mph (was only 2 miles from home) and it smelled like something was burning and a slight rattle noise. then the engine felt like it let go of the rest of the drive train and i coasted to a stop...the car shut off and some thin smoke came from behind the engine.

in park the engine turns on and idles at the right speed but it sounds awful and the lights go dim/bright dim/bright like it wants to stall. when i rev it sounds like theres little pieces of something rattling around somewhere too.