Is there any possible way to check the condition of the torque converter myself or is it just way too involved for the home mechanic to do?

 

Are you looking to buy a used one or something?

 

No. My transmission's valve body has started to give me trouble again and I read that if the converter isn't blue I could get away with just replacing the valve body.

 

Well, if it is blue, you could paint it a different color!
Ok, now the serious part....are you talking about if it had some "bluing" color to it, as in it overheated?

 

Yea. That's what I mean.

 

"Again", as in what was it doing before and now?
Is there a reason you suspect the converter is not right?
Pull the dipstick and smell if the fluid is burned.
A torque converter can act up doing things you "feel", such as: stalling the engine when you stop (lockup not unlocking), a "shudder" upon takeoff, or slipping (slipping could also be an internal trans problem). The shudder and slipping could be fixed by changing the fluid, if the cause is from having burned fluid.

 

My car is is giving me a hard 1-2 shift and the last time it did that I got the p1870 code. I am going to change the fluid the next time I have off and it's nice out but if I could I wanted to check out the converter and see if it's worth replacing the valve body or the whole transmission.