The TCRA seminar program will be held at the Detroit Troy Marriott. Located 35 miles from the Detroit Airport; transportation options to the hotel include Car Rental or Ride Shares.
As always, this year’s event will be more than just talking about torque converters. Registered attendees will be treated to a tour of the Henry Ford Museum, then the Ford Rouge F-150 plant, and ending the day with a Reception featuring exclusive access to the GM Heritage Center. As always; the Saturday speaker roster will be filled with the latest technical and business information from some of the most recognized Industry experts.
As always; if you’re a torque converter rebuilder, there’s really no reason to explain why you need to attend the TCRA event: This is where you get a first look at the latest advances in torque converter repair techniques and understand how to diagnose both converter and transmission control circuits to get to the root causes.
One of TCRA’s primary goals is to make a broader impact on the industry than its name implies; by creating interaction, open dialogue, and camaraderie between converter suppliers and transmission rebuilders. No two industries have ever been tied as closely as automatic transmission and torque converter repair. You can’t have one without the other. But, all too often, the technical sides of these businesses remain separate. Worse, they find themselves pointing fingers at one another when something doesn’t work right or last as long as they think it should.
That’s a problem for both technical communities of the transmission and torque converter industries who are too dependent on one another to try to work separately. They need one another to identify the latest problems facing their industries, and they need to work together to correct them.
The TCRA annual seminar program is one of the best places where the two sides of the transmission-torque converter can meet and share their concerns in a forum that’s designed to help both industries become more successful.
There are many similarities between automatic transmissions and today’s torque converters: They both have clutches, seals, and bearings that require the same attention to prevent noise vibration harshness (NVH) issues.
Both require the same oils, demand the same cooling and lubrication, and operate under the same driving conditions as one another.
In fact, the torque converter and transmission have more similarities with one another than you might think. The friction material, fluid, bearings, and clearances are just a few of the aspects in common between converters and transmissions.
And just like the transmission to which the converter is coupled; the sump filter, shaft bushings, sealing surfaces, and electronic and hydraulic circuits all play an essential role in the performance of the torque converter, which in turn, plays a vital role in transferring torque from the engine to the wheels.
For instance, the TCM controls solenoids, which control the stroke of valves in the valve body. Valve operation is predicated on the condition of the valve body bore; if that valve controls a TCC circuit, converter clutch performance depends on all the interactions that occur ahead of it in the circuit.
Selecting the proper converter for the application is crucial to the transfer of available torque to the transmission, and it can cause the vehicle to perform wonderfully or seem as though it’s towing a boat anchor. TCRA members have direct access to resources that are unavailable outside the Association, providing them with the latest information to make sure they match the right converter to the vehicle and transmission.
Neither the transmission nor the torque converter can work independently from one another; both need to work together to provide the vehicle with the performance that the customer expects. It goes without saying then that both the transmission and the torque converter rebuilders need to work together to identify and repair the root cause of today’s problems, and to repair any mechanical device, you need quality parts, technical expertise, and a keen understanding of how even the smallest change can have a major impact. The annual TCRA seminar addresses these interactions and aims to educate attendees in a way that helps everyone in our industry. That’s one of the main goals of the TCRA seminar program, and some of this year’s speakers are an indicator of how closely tied both industries are; they include Rodger Bland (ATRA/Gears), Joe Rivera (ProTorque), John Parmenter (Precision International), Bobby Mace (Transmission Digest), and other OE and Aftermarket Supplier Technical Professionals.
An important part of the TCRA seminars is to help create a clearer view of which problems aren’t caused by the torque converter, and which ones could be. The annual TCRA seminar program is one of the best places for anyone specializing on either side, or both sides, of the transmission pump to meet and share their experiences in a forum designed to help both industries become more successful… technically and financially.
Whether you’re a torque converter rebuilder or a transmission shop, the TCRA seminar program has something for everyone.
