Manually shifting an automatic

[Zektor]

Mad-Mic,
Thanks for the advice. So really then, if I want to make the tranny last as long as it can, then I really have to leave it in D and let it do the work. Or, shift into the other gears at standstill rather than on the move.

I want to save the tranny, so that is what I will do!

One last question. If I change my tranny fluid... not flush! ...will it improve the smoothness of the shifting etc.

Cheers
Dazza

 

[Piet]

Every 30,000 miles I get a Tranny Service.
Change filter, fluid, adjust bands, shift points etc....


Shifting goodness!

 

[Mad-Mic]

yep you got it for long tranny life let it do the work unless from a stand still. i change my fluid every 15k miles with mobil 1 synthetic tranny fluid.

 

[Edmond]

yep you got it for long tranny life let it do the work unless from a stand still. i change my fluid every 15k miles with mobil 1 synthetic tranny fluid.

Michael,

Just saw that at Pep Boys today, it was $5.98 a quart!

What kind of filter do you use?

 

[78SilvAnniv]

Comment on drop from N to D...

DON'T DO IT!!!

Besides the two other warnings I read, you run a high probability of dropping your driveline!
*was present during one such event, boyfriend was REALLY bummed out! (late 60s early 70s Malibu)

Transmission life.
My tranny is almost 25 years old, original equipment.
Relatively minimal service considering it's life.
Probably over 200,000 miles on the tranny.

I shift manually when I am first at lights on the hwy (just up to 55 or 60mph) and if I need to stop quickly and don't have enough room, I will down shift to 2nd to assist the brakes. I have found that to down shift to 1st without 'grabbing' the car, she needs to be going REAL slow already, or I hear the drivetrain stressing, so I pretty much never force her into 1st, I shift into 1st after the tranny has already done it.

I do not drive this way all the time, but I do utilize these options regularly enough. Up shifting thru the gears (1,2,D) about 3-5 times a week and down shifting maybe once every 1-4 months.
Heidi

 

[Evolution1980]

Disclaimer I'm no mechanic and my thoughts below are scattered...take two and call me in the morning...
---------

I'll probably catch hell from others, as I'm out of my forum (C3's :L), but I manually shift my TH350 all day long. I don't know if having an ECM assisted tranny makes any difference, so I might be completely wrong applying this to a C4.

I think most factory auto transmissions (ATX) are setup for economy. Meaning, it shifts where it thinks it's going to get the best overall mileage (more or less). Or what the demands are of the engine.
Deciding where your car shifts a lot of times depends where your foot is (i.e., how much throttle the car has). If you just put the car in drive and let it start rolling, it will eventually pop into 2nd gear, and maybe even drive. Why? Because there's no load on the drivetrain. If you drive causually, the car will shift later into the RPM range. If you put your foot down, the car will shift at still higher RPMs.

Manually downshifting from D to 2 is no big thing, as long as the difference in RPMs isn't outrageous. Your car does it all the time. I guess what most people don't realize is that 1-2-D on your column are the exact gears that "D" uses. Manually selecting 1 or 2 simply keeps the car in that gear (unless ECM assist doesn't allow that). Again, choosing your gear is no big thing. You can keep the car in 2 as long as you want. If you are burbling around and you jump on the gas, it will probably downshift into 1st. Very little difference than if you manually put it down into first. Like Heidi, I use my lower gears to stop me if I'm coming up on someone a bit hotter than I'd like. Or if I'm racing, let's say through a sweeping corner, I'll put the car in 2nd to keep the engine at it's peak torque. Otherwise, the car will shift into D, then back into 2nd when I throttle it out of the corner. In racing, it's all about keeping your car in it's power band, and that usually isn't when you're in "D". I guess maybe I manually shift because 1) I don't care about mileage. 2) I'm all about keeping the engine at it's peak power. 3) The car sounds so much more vicious at higer RPM's.

Like Heidi said, never neutral drop your ATX. Bad Bad Bad...

SO!
Will manually shifting your ATX wear your tranny & torque convertor more? Probably somewhat. But over the length of your car's and tranny's life, are you gonig to enjoy your car or just burble around town. Everything has a price. But I would say that manually shifting at reasonable RPM's isn't going to destroy your tranny or tq conv after 3 years of driving. (When I say reasonable, I don't mean going from Drive at 2500RPM, and throwing it into 1st, which would be REALLY hard on the drivetrain. Although it will handle it for the most part, the immediate change in RPM puts a major stress on everything. But doing a D to 2 let the RPMs drop some, then down to 1...I do it all the time...(doesn't mean it's right, but it's not wrong either :L)


For the C3'ers out there reading this, manually shift all you want. The TH350 and 400 are good for the beating. C4 folks? I don't know...

 

[Mad-Mic]

Evo i'm like you not a mechanic by no means but not mechanicially disinclined either. i went to lincoln tech back in early 90's but being young wild and raring to go followed other means but am constently working with my uncles top alcohol dragster team.

i got all my stuff at pep boys i'm sure it wasn't the best filter gasket set but i think it was warner? i also believe in enjoying the ride sometimes i do sometimes i don't.

Heidi,

i don't understand why he'd drop the driveline by just changing fluid? i've heard of dropping the tranny after a fluid change if it's never been done and over 50k in miles. what happens is all the viscosity of the fluid breaks down over time and usage but the actual gasket particles keep it going. thats why most say don't change it if it's never been changed cause it might screw up and eventually start slipping with in days of the change so it's up to the user. since i've had my vette with 30k in miles i did all the fluids and will keep doing them with syntec.

p.s. my bad i see it now don't neutral drop it. yeah thats a no no learned the hard way showing off in my brand new blazer back in 88 had to drive home in front wheel drive.........lol glad warrenty covered that one i was only 16 at the time but pops wanted to kick my butt! :bash so after that little fiasco i learned that was a big :nono

 

[lt4 gs]

Look..........i wouldn't want to start any arguments here...........so i'll just say .............
"my experience".............geesh........anyway.......started shifting these manually in a 62' Olds..Starfire 394/345hp...had a great 20 roll..............then in 65' Olds JetStar I 425/370hp........the new gm turbo ......was a grabber right from the start......she'd light em' up really good..............we won't even talk about the 727 punch button..........the last auto i had ...........was my 93' 40th w/ Z07 and 3:07 rear..........w/stage III chip mod I would pull regular shifts at 63-6400rpm's ..................93 is the last year it even makes any sense to shift manually..............unless you re-do the computer and add a shift kit..........it won't matter..................but when you decide to drop kick your corvette through the dragrace of life .......don't climb into first gear...........over 30mph........