Torque converter

[phat46]

Is there a way to tell if a torque converter is bad when it's out of the car? A friend said to try to turn it backwards (?) and if yout could it was bad.

[kb426]

That would tell you if the sprag was bad but not much else. I don't know if all converters have a sprag. Sorry I'm not much help.

[ragdol]

All convertors have a sprag in the stator. You can turn them & the whole stator will turn telling you nothing. Shake it, & if there is little bits rolling around it is bad. Other than that you can't tell much. What kind of convertor? Larry.

[Crosley.In.AZ]

All convertors have a sprag in the stator. You can turn them & the whole stator will turn telling you nothing. Shake it, & if there is little bits rolling around it is bad. Other than that you can't tell much. What kind of convertor? Larry.

um ... spragless converters do not have a sprag.

It takes a person with some converter knowledge to check for sprag operation... it looks simple but it is in the feel of how the parts move.  

A converter with a lock up clutch is a different animal.

Cutting open a converter & an inspection  removes all questions

[phat46]

Guess i forgot  to say it's a converter from a C-6......I have two, one is new, and I have the same symptoms from both, stalling the engine when it's put in gear....on two different trans.

[Crosley.In.AZ]

Guess i forgot  to say it's a converter from a C-6......I have two, one is new, and I have the same symptoms from both, stalling the engine when it's put in gear....on two different trans.

A  broken  sprag should not cause the engine to die when put into gear.  Usually a bad sprag or the stator  installed backwards will cause very poor performance at low speeds.  Car will be a dog , no torque multiplication.

When a stator is not held in position the oil is NOT properly directed from the pump side of the converter to the turbine side... so power transfer is poor.

Internally the converter can fail & lock up. This would  stall the engine like a clutch / manual set-up when the clutch is engaged. For this TO happen there would loose broken parts ( rattle) inside the converter

Actual Cause could be several different problems.  To have the Same trouble with 2 converters old & fresh would be rare.

Does the engine stop quickly when the trans is put into gear?  Does the engine stumble a bit , then die?

The converter could be too low stall for the camshaft. Is the camshaft stock or a HP unit?

Also on the engine side :

Carb could be mis adjusted, clogged low speed/idle circuits

Timing not correct.

Vacuum leaks