anthrax323
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- San Antonio, TX
So after years of sitting on a stand in my garage, I finally got the drivetrain for my 2001 XJ put back together and dropped into the vehicle... only to find the torque converter is dragging on the flex plate when I went to bolt them together.
The build is based off an AMC 232 crank, which bolted up to the flex plate without any issues whatsoever (bolt pattern is the same as the 2001's 242 crank, and based on hole spacing it only bolts up one way).
When installing the torque converter onto the transmission, I did indeed get 3 good clunks. First when engaging the first set of splines, then after twisting and jiggling got a 2nd clunk (engaging the 2nd set of splines), but it still didn't seem like it was fully seated... so I spun and wiggled it a bit more and got the final big clunk/seat when it finally engaged the pump (at least I hope it did). The torque converter sat back far enough I couldn't get fingers between it and the bell housing, and after continuing to spin/jiggle it for another few minutes, I figured it was fully seated.
I then mated the transmission to the engine, and had absolutely no resistance beyond that which is to be expected from the threads themselves. I didn't force the mating with tons of bolt torque at all - they fully seated against one another even before any of the bolts were tightened.
Now, as I try to align the TC with the flex plate, I find the TC is dragging against the flex plate. Not with a ton of pressure, as if I have a friend "bump" the crank with a wrench, I can see they slide against one another a little at a time... but it still didn't seem right, so we stopped for the night. I was also able to see one of the pads on the TC through another hole (not an actual bolt hole) and it appears to be 3/16" to 1/4" away from the flex plate.
This leads me to believe that the TC has the wrong snout on it, or for some stupid reason, the 232 crank center/bore is NOT the same as the 242 crank. I've been digging for answers and pictures, but am coming up empty-handed, and this difference isn't mentioned anywhere in any of the mini-stroker recipes and builds I've found. I'm still looking through my build photos to see whether or not I managed to snag a pic of the crankshaft flange and bore to give more insight.
Anyone done a 232-based build before and care to share some insight? I'm insanely frustrated now, because I'll likely have to pull the damn transmission and pray to whatever god there may be I didn't damage the pump. Thanks in advance.
The build is based off an AMC 232 crank, which bolted up to the flex plate without any issues whatsoever (bolt pattern is the same as the 2001's 242 crank, and based on hole spacing it only bolts up one way).
When installing the torque converter onto the transmission, I did indeed get 3 good clunks. First when engaging the first set of splines, then after twisting and jiggling got a 2nd clunk (engaging the 2nd set of splines), but it still didn't seem like it was fully seated... so I spun and wiggled it a bit more and got the final big clunk/seat when it finally engaged the pump (at least I hope it did). The torque converter sat back far enough I couldn't get fingers between it and the bell housing, and after continuing to spin/jiggle it for another few minutes, I figured it was fully seated.
I then mated the transmission to the engine, and had absolutely no resistance beyond that which is to be expected from the threads themselves. I didn't force the mating with tons of bolt torque at all - they fully seated against one another even before any of the bolts were tightened.
Now, as I try to align the TC with the flex plate, I find the TC is dragging against the flex plate. Not with a ton of pressure, as if I have a friend "bump" the crank with a wrench, I can see they slide against one another a little at a time... but it still didn't seem right, so we stopped for the night. I was also able to see one of the pads on the TC through another hole (not an actual bolt hole) and it appears to be 3/16" to 1/4" away from the flex plate.
This leads me to believe that the TC has the wrong snout on it, or for some stupid reason, the 232 crank center/bore is NOT the same as the 242 crank. I've been digging for answers and pictures, but am coming up empty-handed, and this difference isn't mentioned anywhere in any of the mini-stroker recipes and builds I've found. I'm still looking through my build photos to see whether or not I managed to snag a pic of the crankshaft flange and bore to give more insight.
Anyone done a 232-based build before and care to share some insight? I'm insanely frustrated now, because I'll likely have to pull the damn transmission and pray to whatever god there may be I didn't damage the pump. Thanks in advance.
