My 2005 Expedition needs its torque converter replaced. The repair shop suggests that the transmission be taken apart to check for any damage that could have resulted from the faulty converter. By my estimates, it's only been bad for about 3 weeks.

The mechanic showed me some minor shavings/particles of metal from the damaged unit, all of which were in the filter. Does the filter in place generally provide enough protection to the Transmission from any materials that could have been damaged by the converter and passed on to the tranny?

Guess I'm hoping to avoid both having the converter replaced and the Tranny taken apart to check for damage. Thougths???

 

Why does the converter need to be replaced ? What kind of symptoms did it produce?
There are several possibilities to consider.
1. Depending on how much junk was found in the pan.
2. If it was more than a few, then some of that junk is probably still in the converter and the trans cooler also.
3. One of the options is to replace the converter, flush the cooler and lines and of course replace the fluid and filter and see what happens.
4. All fluid that is pumped to the trans is filtered first then pumped to the valve body and the rest of the trans components.
5. The shop will probably not give any guarantee if you don't have the entire trans (hopefully) disassembled and checked which is quite understandable.
6. A lot of this decision depends on how much and what kind of junk was found in the pan. Sediment is a normal material found in just about any trans that has been in service for a while.

 

Thanks for the reply Hanky. Here's what I know:

1. Symptoms were mild but noticeable. Once in overdrive, any application of throttle on any sort of incline produced a slipping which caused the truck to jump. Nothing hard, but absolutely noticeable. Also, once put in gear and idling (and very slow speeds), there was a clunking type of sound - similar to when you've shifted into 4WD (as if the transfer case is engaging the front axle). Pretty positive the transfer case has nothing to do with this though... just describing the sound.

2. In looking at the filter itself, you could tell there were very small metal flakes. There were also these small flakes on the magnet, enough to where you could brush them off said magnet. None of these were large in any way.

3. Will be replacing the filter for sure... and I can suggest a general flush of the system.

4. You are correct on the guarantee portion.

5. It looked as if the 'sediment' wasn't excessive but Transmissions and their components are not something I'm familiar with.

 

Just out of curiosity, were there any codes in the ECM that might have confirmed a possible converter or trans problem ?