Gentlemen,

After driving my aero I ('91 4.0 a4ld) for some time I became aware of the fact that they have very "loose" or high stall torque converters. This can be good for performance, dragsters use very high stall converters for their quarter mile races. Why they use a loose converter for the 4.0 torque monster I will never know. But anyway, eons ago high stall converters were never used for street cars becase of their inefficiency, slushy feel and HEAT generation. Lots and lots of heat, just like a slipping clutch, lots of heat.

With the advent of the lock up converter, one can have the best of both worlds, increased launching torque and efficiency when it locks-up.

But here is the problem, 1, many cel codes will disable converter lock-up. I don't know why the programmers do this, maybe they don't drive cars in cyberland. 2. Under heavy load the converter will unlock and revert back to the slippy heat making thing. An unlocked aerostar torque converter under heavy load (towing) makes more heat than the largest external cooler can remove. I believe this is the cause of the many posts relating to the a4ld blowing all its fluid out of improbable places.

There is a solution. First, clear all cel codes IMMEDIATELY. You can't drive indefinitely with an unlocked converter.

Second, when you tow or haul rocks on the highway, you must drive in a way to ensure the converter is locked-up. This may mean driving in D rather than OD. It may mean that one needs to soft-pedal the throttle to keep the trans locked-up.

If you can't keep the converter locked-up in whatever you are doing, you are overloaded and destroying your A4ld.

Ken