"Bryant, Craig" <Craig.Bryant@kingpharm.com> wrote:
: My newly bought 2003 Dakota Quad Cab 4x4 SLT Plus came with the original
: window sticker. Quote, "2003 Dakota Pickup 4WD 8 Cycl. 4.7L (287 CID),
: Multipoint Fuel Injection. 5-speed automatic trans. w/LOCKUP TORQUE
: CONVERTER.
: What's a lockup torque converter?
A torque converter transfers power from the engine to the
transmission via transmission fluid from one set of blades pushing
against another set. (Imagine taking two fans and pointing them
at each other, then turn one of the fans on. The other fan's blades
will move because the air from the first fan is pushing on them.)
This is essentially how a torque converter works; picture a shaft
running from the engine to one fan, and a shaft from the other fan
to the transmission. There is no physical contact from one "fan"
to the other. Obviously, this is a somewhat inefficient process,
which a lockup torque converter solves by adding a clutch which
will physically "lock" the two sides together when certain
conditions are met.
A lockup torque converter is a good thing. It'll increase
efficiency which is good for MPG, and drag racers generally like
them too since they will lock the driveline ratio down and eliminate
the variability that might be introduced by a non-lockup torque
converter.
--
-Jon-
.-- Jon Steiger --- jon@dakota-truck.net or jon@jonsteiger.com --.
| '70 Barracuda, '90 Dakota Convertible, '92 Ram 4x4, '96 Dakota |
| '96 Intruder, '96 Kolb FireFly, '99 Cherokee, '01 Ram 3500 |
`----------------------------------- http://www.jonsteiger.com --'
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