Hi, folks! Noobee here. To keep my first post short I'm going to not give a lot of background. If we need some 'splaining, let me know as the topic progresses and I'll do my best. [edit] It got long anyway.
I am running a motorcycle trike with no gearbox. It's an experiment, based on the theory that given enough engine torque and a torque converter, a mechanical gearbox is unnecessary. With my final drive ratio and the proper tire diameter I've been able attach the torque converter from a Moto Guzzi Convert to a 1200cc Guzzi engine (native shaft drive) and in effect run a drive shaft directly from the t/c driven turbine to the differential -- no mechanical gear reduction, no clutch, and only a transfer case to get powered reverse. It gets up and moves from a stop like a volvo, and does 90+ mph. Keeping up at highway speeds and passing are not problems.
What is becoming an increasing problem though is low speed and stop-and-go/construction/accident/urban rush hour stuff. 9,000 miles ago it was peachy, and I was in Alaska, where nobody ever got heatstroke. Now the trike is in AZ, and it is suffering.
The fluid heats up quickly and pressure drops in an inverse relationship until at idle rpm I have zero pump pressure and temps pushing 200f. I need to hold the idle up to keep pressure, but when stopped, the fluid coupling slippage makes the fluid hotter, faster. The result is that the trike becomes very reluctant to start rolling from a stop, and it shudders badly with poor lockup/acceleration until pressure has been back up for a few minutes. It can take several miles before pressure and temperature are back within operating parameters. It feels as though there is no fluid circulting through the t/c.
The torque converter was spec'd for DEXRON II. I did not like the performance of the new and improved DEXRON substitutes, especially for their operating temps and foaming, so I settled on 5606A. The 5606A is what it has been running for the trip from Alaska through the lower 48, but I think it is failing in this hotter Arizona weather. The symptoms began in Kansas and got steadily worse as I ran old route 66 to AZ. At this point I'm concerned for safety and a complete meltdown in hot city traffic.
Sooooo. . . . I'm once again looking for alternative fluids to feed my experimental hydrauic drive. Key details are
engine-camshaft-driven fluid pump.
flow and pressure feeds a torque converter/fluid coupling
(5606A when working good)
Pressure relief at 28#
low pressure no less than 10#
nominal urban pressure ~18#
nominal highway pressure ~24#
nominal highway temp ~20-40f above ambient temperature, rising slightly on grades and hills. Road speed itself has no direct relationship to temp above 40mph.
nominal urban temp 150f. Stop-and-go is augmented with electric radiator fan.
(5606A currently)
low idle pressure 0
nominal urban pressure 4-8#
nominal highway pressure 15-18#
nominal highway temps unchanged - 20-40f above ambient.
nominal urban temps 180 - 220f.
I am inclined to try some sort of tractor hydraulic fluid, like a 10/30 or iso 46, with minimal additives for slip and valve lubrication, and a lot of antifoam. But I see nothing about how these perform in a fluid coupling/torqueconverter as the drive fluid.
What would you folks suggest?
I am running a motorcycle trike with no gearbox. It's an experiment, based on the theory that given enough engine torque and a torque converter, a mechanical gearbox is unnecessary. With my final drive ratio and the proper tire diameter I've been able attach the torque converter from a Moto Guzzi Convert to a 1200cc Guzzi engine (native shaft drive) and in effect run a drive shaft directly from the t/c driven turbine to the differential -- no mechanical gear reduction, no clutch, and only a transfer case to get powered reverse. It gets up and moves from a stop like a volvo, and does 90+ mph. Keeping up at highway speeds and passing are not problems.
What is becoming an increasing problem though is low speed and stop-and-go/construction/accident/urban rush hour stuff. 9,000 miles ago it was peachy, and I was in Alaska, where nobody ever got heatstroke. Now the trike is in AZ, and it is suffering.
The fluid heats up quickly and pressure drops in an inverse relationship until at idle rpm I have zero pump pressure and temps pushing 200f. I need to hold the idle up to keep pressure, but when stopped, the fluid coupling slippage makes the fluid hotter, faster. The result is that the trike becomes very reluctant to start rolling from a stop, and it shudders badly with poor lockup/acceleration until pressure has been back up for a few minutes. It can take several miles before pressure and temperature are back within operating parameters. It feels as though there is no fluid circulting through the t/c.
The torque converter was spec'd for DEXRON II. I did not like the performance of the new and improved DEXRON substitutes, especially for their operating temps and foaming, so I settled on 5606A. The 5606A is what it has been running for the trip from Alaska through the lower 48, but I think it is failing in this hotter Arizona weather. The symptoms began in Kansas and got steadily worse as I ran old route 66 to AZ. At this point I'm concerned for safety and a complete meltdown in hot city traffic.
Sooooo. . . . I'm once again looking for alternative fluids to feed my experimental hydrauic drive. Key details are
engine-camshaft-driven fluid pump.
flow and pressure feeds a torque converter/fluid coupling
(5606A when working good)
Pressure relief at 28#
low pressure no less than 10#
nominal urban pressure ~18#
nominal highway pressure ~24#
nominal highway temp ~20-40f above ambient temperature, rising slightly on grades and hills. Road speed itself has no direct relationship to temp above 40mph.
nominal urban temp 150f. Stop-and-go is augmented with electric radiator fan.
(5606A currently)
low idle pressure 0
nominal urban pressure 4-8#
nominal highway pressure 15-18#
nominal highway temps unchanged - 20-40f above ambient.
nominal urban temps 180 - 220f.
I am inclined to try some sort of tractor hydraulic fluid, like a 10/30 or iso 46, with minimal additives for slip and valve lubrication, and a lot of antifoam. But I see nothing about how these perform in a fluid coupling/torqueconverter as the drive fluid.
What would you folks suggest?