I own an '84 TA. I'm getting the transmission replaced, 700R4. After the mechanic removed it, he noticed that the lock-up connector wires were cut, and the cut looked pretty old. I've owned the car for 9 years and didn't do it. It drove fine as long as I've owned it up until recently (150,000miles), which is why i'm getting it replaced.

2 questions:

1) there is no sign of where the wires connect, no loose cut wires hanging down to show where to reconnect the cut. Where does it get reconnected to??

2) would it hurt the car or tranny, and would I notice anything to just leave it disconnected? after all, it drove fine for 9 years without it.

thanks for any replies.

 

from the info that i've gathered, it doesn't seem it would hurt to leave it disconnected. i guess it's up to the discression of how much money I'm willing to spend on getting it reconnected, ie finding the wires where it got cut from and splicing them back together @ $80 an hour.

thanks again

 

Some of us diesel guys use manual switches for every thing, even TC lock up (I don't).
Having a torque converter that locks up would result in higher fuel milage and lower transmission operating temps.

 

Some of the early 700's will not circulate transmission fluid to the cooler unless the converter is locked up. 1982 through 1984. Most have been modified to flow fluid regardless of the lock-up. It's an easy modification, and involves drilling out an area on the valve body. Ask your rebuilder, as most of them make this modification whenever they have assess to the valve body. The later models come drilled out, and don't have that issue. As for running without lock-up, in theory it should run cooler and save fuel with the lock-up intact. In reality, most of the early lock-ups lock too early, and cause the engine to lug, which can make it run hotter, and burn more fuel. We had an 84 Blazer that locked at 15 MPH. An old trick used by car dealers is to unplug the lock-up, so the car will shift smoother and feel more responsive and powerful because the engine is running faster. I had an 83 for 20 years, from 1983 to 2003. The original tranny bit the big one at 10 years of age, mainly due to the seals drying out from lack of use. On the rebuild, the modification was made so that the fluid would circulate anytime the car was in drive. We noticed that the transmission would over-heat when pulling steep mountain grades at low speeds, so I unplugged the lock-up. It corrected the problem. Since we do not live near any major highways, the car never saw highway driving, so it was not an issue. When I sold the car to a couple in Alabama, they reconnected the lock-up, as most of thier driving is on flat ground, and the car performed better with the lock-up working at highway speeds. The 86 T/A that I have now was having the same problem, with lugging on steep mountain grades. I replaced the radiator with a new three flu unit, a 180 degree thermostate, converted the single cooling fan to a factory dual unit, added an aftermarket control to turn both fans on at 180 degrees, and yes the air dam is intact. The car still overheated on mountain grades. This time instead of unplugging the converter, I installed a kit to prevent lock-up unless the unit is in overdrive. Works like a champ. The car still has lock-up, but only does it above 45 MPH in overdrive. No more overheating. This is probably more information then you ask for, but the question you is is more complicated than yes or no.