June 24 and 25 brought us the annual Torque Converter Rebuilders Association (TCRA) seminar, in which the organization meets to talk technical issues, vote on its board, and hold seminars. More coverage of this event is forthcoming in TD’s July issue, but in the meantime, here are some of the biggest takeaways from seminar day.
John Parmenter of Precision International noted a few instances where using the right oil matters. When repairing a 6R140, he said, “you have to use the right fuel when rebuilding or it won’t run.
“A lot of guys like to use a Mobil 1 synthetic,” he went on. “And Mobil 1 synthetic is a wonderful oil. But not in a 6R140.”
Bob Warnke of Sonnax spoke about GM 6L45/90 lockup issues: “For vacuum testing these models, we have changed our information, and it’s in the very center of the valve that most of these issues come from – the TCC slip is the most critical part there.”
A later speaker was Robbie Ferguson of Raybestos Powertrain, who shared that Raybestos projects 28.6 million ten-speed transmissions on the road by 2028. “They’re here to stay, don’t be afraid of them,” he added. “We’re going to need to figure out how to work on them.”
Blake Carter of Suncoast spoke about the much buzzed-about electric vehicles. “The fact is,” he said, “we are just one technological breakthrough in batteries away from making [electric cars] very cheap.”
“So is the industry entering its winter season?” he asked. “As ominous as some of this sounds, we’re not, we’re entering the spring season. The future is in ten-speeds.”
The July issue of TD will again have more information from the seminars, and you can visit the TCRA website for more information on the group and its meetings such as this one.
