stall converters

[RegalX]

I have a question about the quality of different brands of stall converters. I am a broke college kid so I just rebuilt the TH-350 trans in my car myself and had a B&M 2100 stall in it, I trapped 104mph last year. Last winter I was cheap and bought a Jegs house brand 3000 stall for my car and ever since I havent been able to trap over 99mph. I know the converter is looser than the other, but I didnt think I'd lose up top. I am able to pull 1.9 60' now but it seems up top its not pulling like it did before, has anyone else experenced this? If I were to buy a Huges, B&M, or TCI converter would I gain any trap speed back?

any help would be great, thanks Justin

 

[GNeric]

Unless Hughes has changed their practices, don't get one of theirs. I had one in my 85 and after being promised a free stall change, I was refused it when I was going to send it back in for a cracked hub. They were going to charge me more to fix it than it cost in the first place. I had a local rebuilder go thru the converter and they found bent fins and one that broke completely off and was wedging itself between the impellar and pump portions inside. I originally was able to trap 105 when I first got this converter and before I found the crack, it was down to a consistant 96mph. After the fix, it was back up to 101 and stayed there.

 

[turbojimmy]

I just found out that my 2-year-old (6,000 miles) 9x11 has a split stator. It might have 20 1/4-mile passes on it at the most. I lock the converter maybe half the time. I've had a couple of other 'cheaper' converters in the car in the past and haven't had much luck with them either.

I spoke to a couple of well known 2004R gurus (who also frequent this board) and the advice I got was this: lockup converter= Precision; non-lock-up: the real Art Carr. And the age-old adage holds true: you get what you pay for.

I bit the bullet and got a 5-disk Vigilante. It's not installed yet but I have great expectations for it. I would scrape together the cash to buy a quality converter now and avoid headaches later.

Jim

 

[chris718]

jim im looking forward to some of that converter /performance data.it will benefit others on the forum as well.very strange converter although it works well.i think id use them in the future if it was needed for the car.

 

[turbojimmy]

jim im looking forward to some of that converter /performance data.it will benefit others on the forum as well.very strange converter although it works well.i think id use them in the future if it was needed for the car.

It is a strange converter, but my car is down on power. I found last night that the problem is that the fuel pressure is not getting any higher than 40 PSI. There was nothing wrong with the O2 sensor - the O2 mV was legitimately dropping off. That explains the sluggishness, knock, and the surging on the highway.

Once I have enough fuel to do a boosted launch it may feel more loose, but I like it already. It's nice and tight when you're just cruising around and stalls when you nail it.

I'll post up some data once I get the fuel issue sorted out.

Jim