G'day, just got a 2nd hand turbo jatco installed in my VLT, and it had a 3000rpm stall... my VLT is pretty standard, apart from hi-flow T3 and 3" exhaust... Anyway I go to take off and I hear the turbo wind up to like 5psi+, and the car's barely moving... Had a mate in an EF falcon kick my arse today. My VLT revs its guts off and boosts up, but just crawls along. Now I'm guessing it's a problem with the stall converter or the gearbox. Cause i'm reving to 3000rpm plus, boosting at around 9psi, and still not much is happening - my mate in the EF was long gone. Also, the shifting with the box is a little weird too - when going from 2nd to 3rd, it kinda goes into neutral for a sec and then thumps you into 3rd. Also, is 3000rpm stall way too much for a stock(ish) VLT? I'm kinda over the whole idea of a stally actually - I just want a basic daily driver, not something I have to rev up at every intersection. Should I down it to a standard stall (2200rpm) and that might help? Or does it sound like I have another problem on my hands? And one more Q - can you run a VLT auto without a stally? The guy who installed my auto said no, it just wouldn't go anywhere. Is he right? Cheers, Bozza.

did you buy it off someone on these forums by any chance?

Nah 3000stall isnt to bad if you have a hiflow etc.. its not a major stally.. i think you should get the box checked out.. and yeah cars have a standard stall so you need something..

na thats not normal dude, ive got a 3200 and it should take off pretty reasonably...sounds lieka convertor problem of stuffed box(might be loose bands)

bozza are you sure the auto is in 1st gear when taking off?? what happens if you try to manual shift when you take off and move through all the gears?

It's happening when I shift manually (start in 1st) as well as when I just leave it in Drive. This is hard to sort out cause all the auto trans workshops say that they can't tell if the gearbox is a problem unless they strip the whole box into pieces... Then they say you might as well overhaul anyway. But that's $1300+ I don't have. I've got a 2500rpm stall from my old box... I might need to put that in to check. If that won't solve it, looks like I'm going back to my old n/a box. Also - loose bands - can they be tightened without stripping the box down? Some original photos have not been recovered yet.

yes the bands can be tightened without stripping the box, do a search for it i have posted up a few pics which show you exactly how to do it, in an older thread. search for posts by me in the gearboxes technical section. good luck!

can you feel the box shift 1-2 and 2-3 when you manually shift it?

Yeah sweet, I got a gregory's manual so I'll follow that and your threads Stocky and have a go this weekend. Natho: yeah I can feel it shift when i do it manually... 1-2 seems fine, but 2-3 is strange - like it goes completely outta gear for a sec then thumps into 3rd... Hopefully I'll get time to check the bands and vacuum diaphram/valve this weekend. I'll let u know how it goes. Some original photos have not been recovered yet.

pm OVL087 in regard to ur 2-3 neutral problem.. he had a similar experience with his own box recently.... and got it sorted. lata

Update: I've changed the trans. filter, pan gasket, cleaned the pan out, tightened the rear band and front band. Took if for a test, and still the same. It's just a real slug on takeoff. Do you think that it could be a stally problem? Also, I didn't put in the AT2 computer - still running off the auto n/a computer. Do you think that could be the cause of my woes?? Cheers.

doubt its the computer. what did you have in there before? is there anything else you have changed at the same time?

I had a 2500rpm stally and an N/A box - which was changed to a 3000rpm stall and a turbo box, which I bought 2nd hand and got installed at the local trans shop. Nothing else changed really... got me stumped.

what was it like with the n/a box?

The n/a box was loosing lots of fluid, also had lotsa trouble getting into 4th gear and sometimes slipped, especially when it was running hot. Was also blowing lotsa blue smoke, I think due to a stuffed modulator. I guess it prolly just needed a good service, and it might have been OK. I fitted a big trans cooler on it about a month ago, but didn't make much difference. I guess i got the turbo box just cause i thought, well i need to upgrade, for future mods etc... Now i'm thinking, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it"... Some original photos have not been recovered yet.

its certainly an odd problem. maybe its time to take it back to the place that put it in? when i asked what it was like with the n/a box, i meant in terms of acceleration..

n/a box with acceleration wasn't too bad... but still it didn't "throw you in the back of your seat" kinda thing... If you stall it up tho to or beyond 2500rpm it went pretty good. Yeah i'll take it back and get em to check it out. See how it goes.