car shudder

[kunifa]

at about 80 k's when i am cruising my car shudders. i have figured out that it is the torque converter locking up because when it happens and i put it into power mode it stops.
can anyone tell me wot i can do to fix this and if it will cost alot???

also

after stopping for a moment say at the lights when i take off the car seems to be lacking power for a few seconds. its really weird and my old man seems to think that is is the fuel being too rich
i was hoping that someone would know wot this is and would be able to tell me how to fix it

if anyone can help that would be great
cheers

[Slooth]

Look for black smoke as signs of over-rich fuel. Run you finger over the tailgate above the exhaust and see if there is a black film existing. Do a diagnostics on the computer to see if any errors pop up on the sensors. In a lot of cases if one of the sensors is reading an error the car wil go into a safe set of fuel maps which mean a richer mixture to protect the engine from potential detonation.

Your pwr button also kicks the car back to 3rd so the revs are not going to be the same at 80km/h. Get under the car and give the tailshaft a bit of a shake as uni-joints in early Commodores were a common problem. Also check the gearbox mounts. The VL autos were a touchy thing - you way need to replace the torque converter. Best to ring a local auto place and see if they will take the car for a drive.

[seventh path]

mine did the same(shudder at about 80 k's and also at 2100 rpm)and it was the rear uni....

[vlcalais11]

Hey man i dont know how much you mean of a shudder cause mines doing the same thing does is break down or rev weird when pulling in over drive cause thats what mines doing and its better but not good when its in 3rd.
Lars

[Mad Dog]

It's the clutch inside the torque converter that is stuffed. Unplug the torque converter clutch soleniod on the transmission and the shudder will stop.

[kunifa]

where do i find th place to unplug it???
do i go from the transmision computer or the gearbox????
my car manual doesnt really mention anything about this

[Mad Dog]

I have attached a file with a picture that has the info you need. It come courtesy of the official GMH VL Service Manual. The pic shows the torque converter clutch solenoid on the left-hand side towards the front of the transmission.

Hope this helps.

Mick

[vl rb30]

yeah buddy im going threw the same thing its pissing me right off gould be unis could be torque or ****nows

[retro]

I found when the trans has a shudder that the nylon thrust washers that take up the end float in the trans had melted away causing the shaft to hammer away at the overdrive housing. I replaced the nylon washers with a thrust bearing.

[Sick Blue VL]

man do me a favour and check that all your plugs in the dizzy are connected same thing happened to me once and when one plug falls out it means the car is basically running on 5 cylinders (if its a 6cyl)

[rattattack1313]

check the tranny support...they wear out....

[GH05T]

so whats the worst posible $$$ for this 4th egar changing problem?

[captain_cooke]

I know it's 2 years since the last post but for anyone else with a similar problem, try looking under your dizzy cap. I found that there was moisture in there. When I cleaned/dried it out the problem was gone. Was about to pay $$$$ for someone to check it out! Also make sure your battery is in good condition. If it has any problems it will greatly effect the performance of the car and make it misfire and shudder...It's not just for starting the car, the engine management system draws from the battery and the alternator puts back the power thats been drawn already....not like the old days with the red motors where they ran from the alternator.

[SeaComms]

Mine was similar symptoms, it was the torque converter clutch, unplugged the blue wire from the computer on the right side of the steering column (because I couldnt get the plug on the tranny apart) and all is well. No longer has a lockup torque converter, but doesnt shudder any more!