2006 Toyota Prado v6 Petrol auto

[ozysteve]

Im looking for some advice......

06 prado 4ltr petrol Auto and have noticed when towing the van I get the revs moving up and down......im told its the torque converter locking and unlocking.........as is mapped by toyota in the control box for the car.

Will a torque converter lock up kit be of benefit to me...and if so, where is the best place and how much are they roughly........

I want to keep the car, I know it very well and it owes me nothing

im in Perth.

cheers

steve

[rip]

Before getting lockup kit, try not using D but select a logical auto gear and try that instead. With 200 series it is 4 for us.

[ozysteve]

ah yes, , ok.......by pulling the gear selector lever over into the manual mode


will that help with fuel consumption too? and keep the heat down

[Old Techo]

Ozy, some thoughts...

http://www.candm.com.au/forum/viewtopic ... 80#p182580

http://www.candm.com.au/forum/viewtopic ... 52#p186152

http://www.candm.com.au/forum/viewtopic ... 53#p135653

http://www.candm.com.au/forum/viewtopic ... 91#p135491

[ozysteve]

thank you for the links. having read them, its still seems people have a variety of views.

Still a bit unsure as to the best choice........but again, thank you for going to the trouble of linking me,

What would you do Old Techo?

[Old Techo]

Steve, my thoughts were expressed in my first link.

I'd considered my own modification to provide a locking facility but it all got too hard trying to understand the Toyota circuit diagrams so I gave up.

Had I'd gotten any further then more things had to be considered. I don't think it's as simple as flicking a dumb lock-switch on the dash. If the TC (torque convertor) is kept locked during a gear change this could impart sudden transitory loads on the whole drive train. I expect that the TC unlocked provides buffering or give whilst the box changes ratios via clutches and bands. Therefore if I designed a modification I would want to sense an imminent ratio change signal to unlock the TC. This means adding some smarts to the otherwise dumb lock-switch.

Since I abandoned the whole idea of doing an electronic mod I've become so used to manual ratio control that I prefer it. Whether towing or not I rarely leave the auto in 'drive' or 5th. I often use 4th and 3rd descending hills when not towing. In steep areas even 2nd and 1st. When towing I use 5th only if I have a tail wind or a down hill run. So mostly I'm locked in 4th and tow in that gear at 90 kph but up to, and if in a hurry and can be for long periods, at 110 kph on freeways. This corresponds to 2750 rpm.

If you still want to go down the TC locking road then be convinced by the provider that their mod does not place undue stress on the entire drive train, especially the auto box as they cost arms and legs

[ozysteve]

thanks mate, , yeah i did see your comments,

I appreciate your advice too, , thank you

so, , looks like I will be spending the money on something else then...........mmmm what to buy