Have a fairly new Torque Converter and when the truck is cold (below freezing overnite) the engine dies when I shift into /Drive. It's my educated guess that the T/C is just too tight and with the tranny fluid cold it dies. Am I wrong here? This T/C is of unknown manufacturer as I left it up to my tranny guy to install a quality triple disk this summer. Problem didn't come up until winter. Also shifts very hard (abruptly) into lockup. I'm not happy with that issue either. Can anyone tell me what I'm dealing with here?

 

Tripple disk converters shift hard - that's the way they are built. They usually have no damper (or orifice) in the lockup piston to slow the oil flow when engaging, and they have a lot of grabby clutch material, so naturally they shift hard. Let's face it, tipple disk converters are a performance toy, really meant for racing.

I believe your educated guess on the stalling issue is correct. Not sure if you can turn up the idle on your VP44, but that would certainly help. Or set the park brake and warm up in neutral - there is more oil flow in neutral than park, so the oil warms up a little quicker.

 

Might get shift kit that way it circulates fluid in park

 

Well OK, thanks for the replies so far. Sounds like it is normal and not something bad in the TC. My concern is I'm not the only one that drives this truck. Majority of miles is towing a 8000# trailer so I wanted the triple disk. If a triple disk shifts into OD this harshly I can't imagine what a ATC five disk must shift like!