Transaxle or torque converter?

Hi. 1990 Mitsubishi Lancer. FWD.

The previous owner said he was pulling out of a carpark with a trailer when it went "bang" and couldn't drive anymore.

It acted like it was in neutral no matter what position the selctor was in. The engine seems to idle normally. The wheels spin freely, even in park. The selector cable was attached to the trans and moved the lever properly. I opened up some of the transaxle and can't see any broken parts. There's some fine metal bits stuck to the magnets in the sump. The diff and CVs are fine. The innermost spline in the torque converter looks like the points are all flattened off, but when I put the shaft in it seems to grip fine.

Any idea if this might be the transaxle or the torque converter, or maybe some electrical fault?? How could I check?

Reply to
nottoo
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If the CV's are fine but the axles spin with the trans in park, I would actually suspect hte ring and pinion.

nate

Reply to
Nate Nagel

I've opened up the diff and no gears look broken. I can turn all 3 shafts and the others do what they should.

I suppose the park locking thing should work even without any electrics or transmission fluid aye? Since it doesn't, maybe that's a big hint that it's internal to the transmission. Or is there perhaps something else that might normally stop it engaging?

Reply to
nottoo

The wheel should not turn with park engaged and one wheel on the ground. Park is a mechanical sprag. With both wheels off the ground, they will both turn but in opposite directions. See if anything here can help:"

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Reply to
Paul

Oops, bit of a c*ck-up. Turns out park does work OK. But none of the gears do.

Don't seem to be any broken mechanical parts in the transmission at all. In hindsight I should have tried to read the codes and the manual before making a mess all over the floor.

Now I have the transmission off, is there some way to test the torque converter while it's still attached to the engine?

Reply to
nottoo

No. Some good trans shops could test it off the car but not much can go wrong with a tc. I would not expect it to be bad.

Reply to
Paul

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