Hi folks. Thank you for this forum! I just bought an 88 Celebrity wagon and I am happy with it except for the fact that it dies if I put the brakes on hard >< If I creep up to a stoplight slowly applying the brakes it will just barely stay running but if I put to much preasure on it dies every time. Any advice would be greatly appriciated.

Sounds like you have a bad torque converter. or a bad clutch

YikesI hope its not the converter. Kinda hoping its a sensor but thats something I didn't think of. Thanks for the info.

I had a 89 celeb and when I hit the breaks or soft whatever it would die as well. Come to find out is was the solinoid sticking in the torq convertor when down shifting. I ended up selling the car for 100 bucks and buying a s-10 4.3L vs truck. But I think thats was going on with yours..

Dear Celebwagon88,

I have the same problem and I solve it by replacing the ICV (Idle Control Valve). it is easy to replace and u can do it yourself.

ORIGINAL: kc8zdf

I had a 89 celeb and when I hit the breaks or soft whatever it would die as well. Come to find out is was the solinoid sticking in the torq convertor when down shifting. I ended up selling the car for 100 bucks and buying a s-10 4.3L vs truck. But I think thats was going on with yours..


Same thing happened with my dad's '85.
Quick solution for a busted Torque Converter Lockout Solenoid:
Find it, and unplug it. It'll drop your highway mileage a bit, but not enough to make your jaw drop.

Proper solution:
Scour the 'net or the junkyards until you find one cheap enough, and replace it. Problem solved.

ORIGINAL: comingbackdown


ORIGINAL: kc8zdf

I had a 89 celeb and when I hit the breaks or soft whatever it would die as well. Come to find out is was the solinoid sticking in the torq convertor when down shifting. I ended up selling the car for 100 bucks and buying a s-10 4.3L vs truck. But I think thats was going on with yours..


Same thing happened with my dad's '85.
Quick solution for a busted Torque Converter Lockout Solenoid:
Find it, and unplug it. It'll drop your highway mileage a bit, but not enough to make your jaw drop.

Proper solution:
Scour the 'net or the junkyards until you find one cheap enough, and replace it. Problem solved.


I concur, as the same thing happened with the 85 my parents had. The car sat for about 6 months & I needed a car so I drove it for it to stall. I unplugged the torque convertor solenoid & all was well. I couldn't notice a fuel mileage difference in it at all.

I duno sounds more like a leaky brake booster to me.

i am having this same problem with my 1995 cheve lumina... it runs and stops fine for the first 30 minutes but then has troubles when stopping at a stop sign or even braking going around corners. but usually starts right back up after this happens. does anybody have the correct explaination for this?

somebody told me it was the timing trigger? he seemed pretty sure about it.. what do you guys think?

Does it happen when then the engine is cold or when it is warm? I've had that problem before with my camaro but the mechanic told me to buy a new set of brakes. He recommended brembo brakes (http://www.car-stuff.com/brembobrakes.htm) and calipers. But it went pretty good after that.