In drag racing, a transbrake is a special valvebody installed in an autoamatic transmssion which selectively places the transmission in first and reverse

    simultaneously, effectivly holding the car stationary as if the footbrake was applied.The transbrake is activated by the driver who pushes a button that

    sends electrical  current to a solenoid at the transmission.With the transbrake engaged, the throttle can be increased to any position for the launch without  

    the driver worrying about the car moving. At the blink of  an eye before the green light illuminates on the Tree the transbrake is released (by the driver

    releasing an elecrical switch or by a delay box "timing out" also triggered by a switch) the car comes to life like being shot out of a cannon,the engine

    already at peak RPM and the transmission in first gear. When using a delay box, the reaction times are stellar to say the least.

     I'm not writing this for the professional, this is for the average Joe looking to get his hands a little dirty on the weekends so we won't be using any

     scary terminology here.  Most automatic transmissions use a combination of fluid pressure and clutch packs to operate.The fluid  lubricates the clutch

     packs and provides the hydraulic pressure required to allow the transmission to shift gears. When the fluid  goes bad,you can count on the clutch packs

     not being lubricated properly which leads to them wearing away very quickly.   In addition, the transmission won't shift as it was meant to and the fluid

     means everything, so let's talk about 3 things you should know. 

   -Transmission fluid breaks down under heat. If you live in a warm climate, you should change the fluid regularly.

   -Transmission fluid is cooled by your car's radiator in most cases. If your engine overheats, than that means your transmission will have overheated as 

    well, breaking down the  fluid,the transmission won't shift as it was meant to and that will cause the clutch packs to have a  shortened  life span as well.

    The fluid should be changed immediately. Transmission coolers can add years to the life of your trnasmission.At around $50 in cost,it's worth it compared

    to the $1000 or more to rebuild your current transmission.I install one on all my vehicles,especially when towing as we are every weekend.

                  

     It's no secret that heat kills automatic transmissions, and in high-performance street-strip applications, the problem is especially a problem.Small diameter

     torque converters coupled with stop-and-go traffic greatly increase the heat level in an automatic transmissions. In most cases, the extra performance heat

     under the hood can have the same effect as heavy loads, trailer towing and desert conditions.

     The ideal operating temperature for an automatic transmission is  175° F. At approximately 240° F, important additives in the ATF begin to cook. the

     result is the formation of varnish inside the transmission. At approximately 260° F, internal transmission seals which are typically manufactured from a

     polyacrylate material) begin to harden. The end results are leaks, both internal and external,simply because the seals lose their elasticity at approximately

     295° F, transmission clutch plates begin to slip because the oil is breaking down further. At approximately 315 ° F, seals and clutches start to burn out.

    Carbon forms in the oil and for all intents and purposes, the transmission is junk. Just for your information.a typical transmission will die within 1000 klm's

     if subjected to 300° F + heat.

      Water burnouts will not hurt units, except if you are shifting from low to high as you are comming out of the water. Shifting under conditions stated will

      cause premature clutch wear. Suggest deceleration as you come out of the water or power burnout to the line being sure the tires never grab the pavement.

     .

       All water burnouts suggest starting in first or second, but get into high gear before coming out of the water. Normally Turbo Hydros do not have roller

       clutch trouble, except occasionally in the Turbo "350", but for durability reasons it will pay to follow the suggestion as stated for preventative maintenance.

       Be sure to decelerate as you come out of the water or power burnout to the line being sure the tires never grab the pavement.

       All water burnouts should be started in second gear and shift to third if necessary. If you should start burnout in first, shift immediately to second gear

       before tires com out of the water. No matter whether it be second or third gear you are in, as you come out of the water, you should start to decelerate

      All water burnouts should be started in second gear and shift to third if necessary. If you should start burnout in first, shift immediately to second rear

      before tires come out of water. No matter whether it be second or third gear you are in as you come out of the water, you should start to decelerate

      or do a power burnout directly to the staging line being sure the tires never grab dry pavement. The power burnout provides the best E.T.'s if no dry

      burnout is done. No matter if you have a trans-brake or not, we suggest not doing dry burnouts!Note:RearEnd Breakage and Driveshaft Breakage!

      If rear end or driveshaft breaks while in first gear acceleration or burnout, remove transmission and check the rear roller clutch for damage.

   

                      A torque converter is a fluid-coupling device that also acts as a torque multiplier during initial acceleration.

                     The Torque Converter consists of four primary components.

                    converter to the flywheel (eingine) and contain the fluid. While the cover is not actively involved in the characteristics of the performance,it is
                    important that the cover remain rigid under stress (torsion and thrust stress and the tremendous hydraulic pressure generated by the torque

                    converter internally).     

   Turbine: The turbine rides within the cover and is attached to the drive train via a spline fitted to the input shaft of the transmission.When the turbine moves,

                    the vehicle moves.

  Stator:    The stator can be described as the "brain" of the torque converter, although the stator is by no means the sole determiner of converter function

                    and characteristics. The stator, which changes fluid flow between the turbine and pump, is what makes a torque converter a torque converter

                   (multiplier)and not strictly a fluid coupler.With the stator removed, however, it will retain none of it's torque multiplying effects.In order for the

                    stator fo function properly the sprag must work as designed.  

           

               1. It must hold the stator perfectly still (locked in place) while the converter is still in stall mode (slow relative turbine speed to the impeller

                   pump speed).

               2.Allow the stator to spin with the rest of the converter after the turbine speed approaches the pump speed. This allows for more efficient

                  and less restrictive fluid flow.

         The sprag is a one-way, mechanical clutch mounted on races and fits inside the stator while the inner race splines onto the stator support of the

         transmission. The torque multiplier effects means that a vehicle equipped with and automatic transmission and torque converter will output more

         torque to the drive wheels than the engine is actually producing. This occurs while the converter is in its "stall mode" (when the turbine is spinning

         considerably slower than the pump) and during vehicle acceleration. Torque multiplication rapidly decreases until it reaches  a 1:1 (no torque

         increase over crankshaft torque).

         A typical torque converter will have a torque multiplication ratio in the area of 2.5:1. The main point to remember is that all prperly functioning

         torque converters do indeed multiply torque during initial acceleration. The more drastic the change in fluid path caused by the stator from its

        "natural" return path, the higher the torque multiplication ratio, a given converter will have. Torque multiplication does not occur with a manual

        transmission, clutch and pressure plate; hence the need for heavy flywhells, very high numerical gear ratios, and high launch rpm. A more detailed

        discussion of torque multiplication can be very confusing to the layman as high multiplication ratios can be easily considered the best choice when

        in fact more variables must be included in the decision. Remember, the ratio is still a factor of the engine torque in the relevant range of the torque

        converter stall speed, i.e.: a converter with a multiplication ratio of 2.5:1 that stalls 3000 rpm with produce 500 ft/lbs of torque in the instance

        of full throttle acceleration if its coupled to an engine producing 200 ft/lbs of torque at 3000 rpm. However, if this same engine produces 300ft/lbs

        of torque at 4000 rpm, we would be better off with a converter that stalled 4000 rpm with only a 2.0:1 torque multiplication ratio, i.e.: 300 x 2.0

        = 600 ft/lbs at initial acceleration. Of course it would be better yet to have a 2.5:1 ratio with the 4000 rpm in this example (provided this 

        combination still allows the suspension to work and the tyres don't spin). This is just a brief overview as the actual scenarios are endless.

  Impeller Pump:   The impeller pump is the outside half of the converter on the transmission side of the weld line. Inside the impeller pump is a

                   against fatigue and the ouside housing does not distort under stress.

  Stall Speed:   The rpm that a given torque converter (impeller) has to spin in order for it to overcome a given amount of load and begin moving

               1. From the torque imparted on the torque converter by the engine via the crankshaft. (This load varies over rpm, i.e. torque curve, and is

                   directly affected by atmosphere, fuel and engine conditions).

              2. From inertia, the resistance of the vehicle to acceleration, which places a load on the torque converter through the drive train. This can be

                    much that not all the weight is transferred during initial motion?).

     Note: While referring to the resistance of the vehicle to move while at rest, the torque converter's stall speed and much of its characteristics for

                  want to remember about torque converter stall speed is that a paticular torque converter does not have a "preset from the factory"stall speed

                  but rather its unique design will produce a certain stall speed depending on the amount of load teh torque converter is exposed to.   

                 This load comes  from both the torque  produced by the engine and the resistance of the vehicleto move from rest.The higher this combined

                 load the higher stall we will observe from a paticular torque converter,and conversely,the lower the load,the lower the stall speed.

                 Naturally, if the eingine is not at wide open throttle we will not expect to observe as high a stall speed as we would under a wide open throttle.

               

                 Another point concerning engine torque is that we are only concerned with what we'll call the "relevant range" of the eingine torque curve when

                 discussing initial stall speed. This means if a particular torque converter chosen has a design that should produce a stall speed in a range of say

                 2000 to 2600 rpm given the application then we would refer to this as the relevant range of our interst in the engine's torqu curve for this partucular

                 torque converter. In other words, only the torque characteristics of the engine torque is this rpm range will affect the amount of stall speed we

                 actually observe. If we are using a high horsepower/high rpm engine that does not make much torque before 3000 rpm if we are trying to use the

                 torque converter in this example because its relevant range is 2000-2600 rpm and we would expect to see poor stall (2000 rpm or less) due to the

                 poor torque produced by the engine in this range.

    

 Furnace Brazed Fins:   Greatly improves the strength characteristics of the fins. The furnace brazing causes the housing and fins to move and act
    integrally as one unit. This greatly reduces the amount of flex, which causes fins to bend and break. Also, the more rigid the fins stay while under pressure,

    the more consistent the behaviour of the torque converter.

   

Drivability Concerns in Choosing a Torque Converter:   A performance torque converter should not compromise one aspect of car performance to  
   another. When investigating a converter purchase ask whether the particular torque converter being looked at may improve initial take off at the  sacrifice

   of top end mph or other similar results, questions, etc.

   With the technology and product available today a buyer very seldom needs to sacrifice one area of performance to gain in another. However, without
   proper selection assistance or guidance (and with many under engineered products on the market today) it is unfortunate that many buyers end up with a
   product that does not best suit his needs or expectations. Too low a stall torque converter will not benefit the coustomer. If the user has an application
   which requires at least 3000 rpm stall and they purchase a 2000 to 2500 rpm stall range converter, it will normally not even give them the 2000 rpm stall.
   it will act very similar to the stock torque converter they just removed...why? Because the engine needs to operate in its optimum rpm range and since
   the chosen torque converter is below that range, it is not getting enough load from the crankshaft side to operate as designed. Symptoms include engine
   stalling when in gear at a stop, low stall speed, hesitation when going to full throttle, a "bog" when leaving from stop at wide open throttle. Too high a stall
   range torque converter will not benefit the customer. You will see this situation most often when the customer does not have sufficient gear ratio for the

   converter stall range or the engine is not capable of the appropriate rpm range (too small a duration camshaft, inadequate valve springs, too low  

   comprssion  etc) Symptoms include high "revs" to pull away from stop, "marshmallow" accelerator feel when driving at part throttle, transmission

   possibly engine overheating, and a pronounced engine rev when nailing the throttle from a cruising speed.

 

   
       
                                                                               Carburetor Performance Characteristics

    1.Fuel comes out vent tube or runs out of the booster.                               7.Stumbles under light acceleration.
     A) Lower the float level.                                                                                      A) Open up the mixture screws.
     B) Lower fuel pressure.                                                                                       B) Re-adjust the butterfly position.
     C) Remove,clean,replace needle and seat assembly.                                      C) Raise the float level.
     D) Inspect the float to make sure it's moving freely.
                                                                                                                                 
     2.Backfires through the carburetor.                                                                8.Stumbles under hard acceleration.
     A) Open the idle mixture screws out.                                                               A) Re-adjust the butterfly position.
     B) Increase the squirter size.                                                                             B) Increase the squirter size.
     C) Increase the jet size.

     3.Backfires out the exhaust.                                                                             9.Idle won't backdown.
     A) Lower the float level.                                                                                     A) Increase the initial timing.
     B) Lower the fuel pressure.                                                                                B) Re-adjust the butterflies.
     C) Decrease jet size.
     D) Re-adjust the butterfly position on the primary and secondary sides.

     4.Engine won't start.                                                                                         10.Surges at part throttle.
     A) Prime the carburetor with fuel.                                                                    A) Open the idle mixture screws.
     B) Pump the squirters to get the fuel flowing.                                                 B) Open the primary butterflies and close secondaries.
     C) Check the ignition timing.                                                                              C) Raise the float level.
                                                                                                                                     D) Increase the jet size.
     5.Fuel leaks out the throttle shaft.                                                                  
     A) Lower the float level.                                                                                     11.Black smoke comes out the exhaust under hard.  
     B) Lower the fuel pressure.                                                                                 acceleration.
     A) Lower the float level.                                                                                      A) Lower the float level.
     C )Re-adjust the primary and secondary butterfly position.                         B) Lower the fuel pressure.
                                                                                                                                     C) Decrease jet size.
     6.Idles rich.
     A) Increase the initial timing.                                                                            Try these tips next time you have the blues.
     B) Go in on the mixture screws.
     C) Re-adjust the butterfly position.
     D) Lower the float level.
     E) Decrease fuel pressure.