1993 Chev Cavalier Stalling - Engine

Question: My wife's'93 cav, 2.8 liter, will drive like crazy on the freeway... 80 mph, no prob. When she pulls onto surface streets, and starts hitting lights, it will shake like a bad amusement ride, and stall. I have not noticed any rotten egg or sulpher smell, it appears to be getting gas and spark (80 mph. When I drove it, and came to a stop in gear (Auto) it would shake badly, so I put it in neutral, and the shaking stopped. I have replaced the sparkplugs, but I am guessing that there is no distributor? Or is it hidden back against the firewall. I have read some of the other posts regarding similar conditions, so maybe it's the crank trigger that's bad?

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Technican: The TCC (torque converter clutch) solenoid sticks on these cars. It causes the engine to stall, the same as if your transmission was a standard and you tried to stop without depressing the clutch. You can disconnect the electrical connector at the trans and test drive to confirm. Make sure to disconnect cold when the problem is not present. Disconnecting the connector is not advised as a permanent cure. Fuel economy will drop and the transmission can be damaged by excess heat. This is a very common problem on gm's of your vintage. BTW, no distributor. Uses a cranshaft position sensor. Crank sensor signal goes to ignition module. Module fires coil packs (coils sit on ig module and fire on intake and exhaust strokes, called waste spark system)

Owner: Could that be why the engine/trans would quit shaking when put into neutral or park, but will shake while stopped in drive? This has been going on for a year now, with the stalling problem coming on in the last month. Is the TCC a dealer part? And lastly, What is the difficulty level in replacing. Internal, or eexternal removal? Thanks for your help! Dennis

Technican: Yes that is why it quit shaking. You should be able to find it at least some part stores. Try advanceauto or autozone. Goes about $80 at dealer (if I remember correctly). Also make sure of your engine size, 3.1 was much more common in 93 (looks the same). It is internal but the transmission itself doesn't require major disassembly. It also can be done with the trans still installed if you have room to remove the cover. This problem has been so widespread, that if you go to google.com and search for "torque converter clutch solenoid replacement" you'll probably find good instructions.

Owner: Sorry for so many e-mails... I went to Google and got instructions for a GM3T40 auto transaxle... Is this correct for my 93 cavalier? Some other sites are calling out a 125?

Technican: Look on the trans id tag to determine which trans you have. or If the pan has 16 bolts this should be the GM3T240 (or TH125) Same thing, very annoying isn't it (lol). Don't worry about the number of emails. It's never a problem. You can email directly if you wish

Owner: I'm going to dis-connect the plug tonight and see how it reacts... I'm thinking positive. www.usatransdoctor .com lists tthe 125c as the available auto on the '93 cavalier. I'll let her drive it for a week, and the pull it apart to replace the solenoid next weekend. Of course nothing is as easy as it's made up to be, but I'm figuring about 5 houirs labor if I keep a steady pace. Thanks for your help, Dennis

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