Hey Guys,

So here's the deal;

I'm a 17 year old kid in high school and I've taken auto for the past two years now. My truck's transmission (a 99 ram 1500 with the 46re and 5.2) was acting up badly. I took it apart and long story short rebuilt it to the letter. Checked my work over once, twice, thrice and so forth. It's all put back together and now when i go to start it the starter hits the torque converter. The torque converter is set properly as it is sitting far back into the transmission like it's supposed to and it's bolted to the flexplate. When I bolted the tranny back up I didn't have to pull it into place using the bolts. It seated beautifully. I bought the remanned converter from Torco, a reputable (supposedly) company out of California. Should I shim the starter? Also if I put the transfer case and transmission in neutral should I be able to spin the engine and converter to double check?

 

The way the starter bolts to the engine, shimming it won't help.

Recheck the part number on the torque converter..... Maybe you just got the wrong one?

 

I called Torco and asked them that very thing. Apparently the torque converter for all these trucks 42re or 46re are the exact same. Found the exact same answer online. He also claimed they never touch the teeth on the torque converter. Should I try and spin it by hand maybe to see if it's a seating issue? I'll also try something to measure these converters with string or something because I don't want to drop this tranny again if I don't have to but it may be the case lol. I've put too much into her to get rid of it. She's not going anywhere. Thanks for the reply too!

 

One would think, the way the system is designed, you COULDN'T put anything together wrong...... Maybe you are just truly talented. Might not hurt to pull the starter again, and have a look. See if anything obvious presents itself.... (broken nose on the starter maybe??)

 

May want to clarify what is hitting. Bad teeth on the starter gear can cause it to hit the tq and not mesh.

 

Hey guys,

Sorry for the late reply. The starter teeth are good and so are the torque converter's. We took off the inspection cover and tried starting it to see what it was doing. The starter was indexing but hit the torque converter due to it's (I believe) larger diameter. No damage is done to it, it just won't index all the way. The starter nose comes out and hits the teeth of the converter and just free spins. The converter is set properly as it is sucked into the transmission back an inch or so. Torco claims they didn't touch the teeth on the converter but not sure it's true. I think I just got rotten luck this time. Worst case scenario I have to tow it and have the nearest shop do it for 500 bucks. Not sure what else I can do

 

Check the local auto parts stores, and see if they have a t/c in stock. Measure them both, and compare. See what you come up with.

 

I think someone else either here or on another forum had the same problem. Not sure what the outcome was. Did you try to move the converter then start it again? Maybe the ring gear is out of round. Quality control does drop the ball from time to time.

 

Hey guys thanks for the reply, No I didn't try turning the converter and try starting but that's a really good idea Moparite, I don't really have a way of measuring it with how the space is but had it towed to the auto shop. Appointment is set up for Wednesday so we can figure out what's going on with this thing. Thanks guys for your input, you were a huge help . We're gonna put the old torque converter back in and my exhaust, gonna run me about 500 minimum (shop manual says 5.5 hrs labor to swap the converter.) Hopefully I can have my girl back on the roads in the next couple weeks. Thanks again guys!

 

Keep us in the loop about what the problem actually was, please.