Hi.

So I found out my 92 Cavalier (2.2 I4 Automatic) needed a new "lockup Torque converter sensor" to get healthy again and don't "search" under throttle and shut-down at complete stops.

I went to dealer and pickedup this part. Now the problem is that I have no idea how o change this sensor! There is a housing in front of the transmission that I believe sensor is underneath of it. I searched to see if I could find any of thos on-line repair manuals, but no luck.

Can someone help me out please? If you know how to change this sensor, or if you have a link to a manual, please let me know.

Thanks very much.

 

Now to fix the engine stalling problem. Check your lock-up solenoid in the transmission side pan. The majority of the time it sticks when the transmission becomes hot.

30 seconds of searching on google

 

Yeah man. Thats exactly it. The solenoid. And thats what I bought to change. But again, I have no idea how to change it and where it is.
Do you have a link to any PICTURES from that google search you did?

I hope its just a "Take_out and replace" repair. I really don't wanna even THINK about ripping apart the Tranny....:cry:

 

no pics... it'd be hard to get pics anyways, cuz so many of the parts of the engine look very much alike in pics.

Look at your tranny... look for the side pan. Locate the harness connector that plugs into the replacement part... THIS is the sensor you gotta replace.

You may also have better luck at j-body.org, thught they'll likely tell you to spend the $20 on a Chilton or Haynes manual at CT.

 

Gatsby, the side cover has to be removed from the tranny...

replacing the sensor/solenoid is NOT a simple task... if you don't know what you're doing, it'd be a good idea to take it to someone who does.

or you could get a repair manual, but I don't know how knowledgeable or mechanically inclined you are.

 

ah, the old gm torque converter lock up switch problem. Very common problem. Do what i did to my old beater, disconnect it , ahahahaha. Worked fine for the 6 months i drove it

 

is it in a junkyard now? lol

 

Junk yard, puff ! Its not THAT bad of a car...

So I took off the front driver side wheel and removed the fender liner. Then there was about...10-11 bolts, (2 of them kindda hard to reach) to take off. And I took off transmission's side panel. There it was, the solenoid. I took it out of the tranny's belly, and put the new one in. Wiring was kindda a bi*ch, specially for the plug-in connector harness, since it was at the back. But I did it and put everything back on, and checked the fluid level.
This whole thing took about 2 hours, using a socket-set.

The funny part was, after I started the car and let it idel, after couple minutes, the same thing was going on! Engine "searchs", then struggles to stay-on, then stalls!

However, its much better than couple days ago. I drove it around the block and it didn't bother as much as before, however, I could hear and feel the engine still struggling a bit.:fustrated

So then I got home, parked it in my garage, and thinking that "NOW WHAT...?", I remembered that I didn't reset the ECU.
So I unpluged the -ve battery terminal for 15 sec. and put it back on. However, being very late at night, I decided to check it out tomorrow and see what will happen....

Keep your fingers crossed guys!

 

So? Did it work?

(it's morning now)


Let me post a poll, so we can take a guess if it did or not.

 

no, disconnecting the battery prolly wouldn't have changed anything... actually, you should have had the battery off while changing that sensor.

 

nah, power being cut don't matter..
shoulda just unplugged it tho to make sure that was yer problem first before replacing it

plug is one thing..sensor should be in/on the valve body..has to do with speed, pressure levels, governor stance etc..

just unplug it, if it's a 4 speed you'll still have OD, just no lock-up

 

No Over_drive, its a 3 speed auto....

Crap! Looks like I have to get it to Midas and have them trouble shoot it... It hurts to pay $75 for a test, and then, face a $350+ bill...

 

imo, it's the torque convertor..
the lock-up clutch is smoked or it's staying ON..

unplug it..
if it doesn't stall then for sure that's what it is..
there, one diag that's a lot cheaper than $75

you have a 125 non-lock
big *** shallow pan on the bottom of it..small square shaped cover on the side..
on a hoist i could still have that thing split and out in 15 minutes..

(i got my tranny ticket a long time ago..)

 

Sorry Gatsby

at least you haven't replaced every other part on the motor to try and solve the problem.

take any advise Marty gives you.

Good luck

 

Well, the newest update is that with the new torque converter sensor, not a damn thing has changed. Same problems as before.

Unplugging the sensor doesn't do anything niether. Same story going on with the sensor unpluged...

So my guess is, its something else!! God knows what though!

Any ideas what else it could be; guys?

 

 

did you miss the post that Si Veloz made??

 

my mistake tho..
in my fleeting flurry of memory recovery i meant to say 125 lock-up..

could be a dozen things now..
dirty throttle body to ???? .., but highly unlikely, if it's still stalling with the plug unhooked, is it tranny..
a sticky governor would make it slow to come out of a higher gear or shift up, but it shouldn't make it stall..

is it throwing any codes?? me thinx you be looking for something now that should throw a code..

 

No engine light, no codes... Damn...
I will take it to Midas to see whats wrong with it and if I can fix it myself.
Its better than replacing everything till at some point it gets fixed...

 

I went through the exact same shyt with my Cavalier... although it was a V6. After replacing just about everything but the motor & tranny themselves, the stalling problem still existed. Also, mine didn't throw any codes either. Eventually I got fed up & bought a new car...