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Is it bad to go from drive to 3rd, and to 2nd gear...
I have a question for those of you who are more mechanical than I. But first....
I drove manual transmissions all throughout my teens and 20's. when I turned 50, three years ago, I bought my '02 C5 with an A4 because I didn't like the feel of the M6, and an automatic seemed so much better suited for the ridiculous LA roads of today. There is always traffic in this stupid city.
I drive in lots of canyons (mostly Topanga and Benedict) and I quickly got in the habit of putting the car in 2nd gear a lot, then back in 3rd, etc. three years and 19,000 miles later (89,000 total), I just found out reverse and 3rd gear are gone. I'm looking at a rebuild for about $2,800. The mechanic is well established, owns six Chevys, and I trust him. I love this car. It's my escape. My opium. I'm going to fix it and hopefully drive it for a long time (unless I sell it and get another Corvette).
Is it bad to have shifted my automation transmission regularly while driving? Did I ruin the transmission? For future reference.
I bought my black Z 3+ years ago... when I turned 50.
I have heard manually shifting the auto in these cars is hard on it, once. Watching, curious.
For $2800 I'd think you could get a nicely done tranny that'll withstand some spirited driving, but I'm pulling that out of the blue sky.
Hope all goes well for you.
I have a question for those of you who are more mechanical than I. But first....
I drove manual transmissions all throughout my teens and 20's. when I turned 50, three years ago, I bought my '02 C5 with an A4 because I didn't like the feel of the M6, and an automatic seemed so much better suited for the ridiculous LA roads of today. There is always traffic in this stupid city.
I drive in lots of canyons (mostly Topanga and Benedict) and I quickly got in the habit of putting the car in 2nd gear a lot, then back in 3rd, etc. three years and 19,000 miles later (89,000 total), I just found out reverse and 3rd gear are gone. I'm looking at a rebuild for about $2,800. The mechanic is well established, owns six Chevys, and I trust him. I love this car. It's my escape. My opium. I'm going to fix it and hopefully drive it for a long time (unless I sell it and get another Corvette).
Is it bad to have shifted my automation transmission regularly while driving? Did I ruin the transmission? For future reference.
It looks like it really might have been bad for your tranny. You should get 200K miles on one. Just leave it in 3rd and let the transmission do the shifting.
thank you John. It's perfectly clear after reading those comments that I made a $2800 mistake over the last three years. Fortunately I have the money to fix it, and then I may decide to sell it at some Point and get a C6 with a manual transmission.
Last edited by speedmaster64; 09-23-2017 at 01:21 AM.
Is it bad to have shifted my automation transmission regularly while driving? Did I ruin the transmission? For future reference.
Shifting an automatic with the shifter can be bad, or it can be good. It depends entirely on when you shift it, how you shift it and why you shift it.
When an automatic transmission "shifts" gears, there's always some wear on the clutch packs inside the transmission, and there's always some heat generated. How much of each depends on how it shifts and why. A firm, quick upshift under moderate acceleration is probably the type of shift that generates the least wear and the least heat.
If you use the transmission as another brake, with long, lazy downshifts where the transmission slowly drags the engine up to high revs, that's going to generate the most wear and the most heat.
If you move the shifter to a gear position that is the gear that the transmission is already in, or a gear higher than the gear it's currently in, no shift occurs and there's no wear and tear and no additional heat at all. So, stomping it to go from 4th to 3rd, and then selecting "3" when it's already shifted to third is not a bad thing, generates no heat and no wear and tear. Also, to your example, if you're at a stop sign, about to turn onto your favorite "canyon road," and you slip the shifter into "3," there's no down side to that. The transmission just won't shift to 4th as you accelerate down your favorite road. When you lift off the gas at your target speed, it will stay in 3rd and that's probably what you want.
Originally Posted by captaineddie
I have always downshifted when going down steep hills. Like you, I would like to know if it's harmful.
Again, that depends on how you do it. Have you ever noticed those signs with the truck going down the hill? Those signs are always before the steep down hill, often still on the up side of the approach to the top. That's when it's time to down shift. Shift it down with some accelerator input, so the shift is quick and firm. Slow down first (with the brakes) if you need to, put a little right foot in it as you pull it down, then coast after it's firmly in the lower gear.
Brakes are for slowing down. Never ride the brake down a hill at a constant speed. You'll have no brakes at all at the bottom of the hill if you do that, and if you need to slow or stop at the bottom, well, you'll do more damage to the car overall in the wreck you get into because your brakes don't work than you would from the wear on the transmission from down shifting.
Lower gears are for limiting top speed on down grades, and for better power and acceleration out of corners or whatever.
Automatics usually select the right gear when it's needed. Using the shifter a bit to "prod" it when you do have the right signals will sometimes speed up the process with little down side. In that respect, pulling the shifter to 3rd as you push the pedal down for a passing situation, or as you're exiting a corner won't do much added wear. You're just giving a stronger signal, and with the power, the transmission will make an appropriate, quick, firm shift. It was going to shift anyway eventually. The mistake is shifting down to "3" as your braking for the corner, with no throttle input. Then you're asking for a high wear, high heat, unnatural shift that will do damage over time if you repeat that a lot.
The big mistake is trying to use the shifter as a brake. That will wear out and tear up a transmission in short order.
Oh, and on the Corvette especially, be gentle with the shifter. The bushings on these cars are a weak link, too.
Shifting an automatic with the shifter can be bad, or it can be good. It depends entirely on when you shift it, how you shift it and why you shift it.
When an automatic transmission "shifts" gears, there's always some wear on the clutch packs inside the transmission, and there's always some heat generated. How much of each depends on how it shifts and why. A firm, quick upshift under moderate acceleration is probably the type of shift that generates the least wear and the least heat.
If you use the transmission as another brake, with long, lazy downshifts where the transmission slowly drags the engine up to high revs, that's going to generate the most wear and the most heat.
If you move the shifter to a gear position that is the gear that the transmission is already in, or a gear higher than the gear it's currently in, no shift occurs and there's no wear and tear and no additional heat at all. So, stomping it to go from 4th to 3rd, and then selecting "3" when it's already shifted to third is not a bad thing, generates no heat and no wear and tear. Also, to your example, if you're at a stop sign, about to turn onto your favorite "canyon road," and you slip the shifter into "3," there's no down side to that. The transmission just won't shift to 4th as you accelerate down your favorite road. When you lift off the gas at your target speed, it will stay in 3rd and that's probably what you want.
Again, that depends on how you do it. Have you ever noticed those signs with the truck going down the hill? Those signs are always before the steep down hill, often still on the up side of the approach to the top. That's when it's time to down shift. Shift it down with some accelerator input, so the shift is quick and firm. Slow down first (with the brakes) if you need to, put a little right foot in it as you pull it down, then coast after it's firmly in the lower gear.
Brakes are for slowing down. Never ride the brake down a hill at a constant speed. You'll have no brakes at all at the bottom of the hill if you do that, and if you need to slow or stop at the bottom, well, you'll do more damage to the car overall in the wreck you get into because your brakes don't work than you would from the wear on the transmission from down shifting.
Lower gears are for limiting top speed on down grades, and for better power and acceleration out of corners or whatever.
Automatics usually select the right gear when it's needed. Using the shifter a bit to "prod" it when you do have the right signals will sometimes speed up the process with little down side. In that respect, pulling the shifter to 3rd as you push the pedal down for a passing situation, or as you're exiting a corner won't do much added wear. You're just giving a stronger signal, and with the power, the transmission will make an appropriate, quick, firm shift. It was going to shift anyway eventually. The mistake is shifting down to "3" as your braking for the corner, with no throttle input. Then you're asking for a high wear, high heat, unnatural shift that will do damage over time if you repeat that a lot.
The big mistake is trying to use the shifter as a brake. That will wear out and tear up a transmission in short order.
Oh, and on the Corvette especially, be gentle with the shifter. The bushings on these cars are a weak link, too.
Best wishes with your repair. Please let us know how it went.
Won't hurt a damn thing and it actually helps by reducing unnecessary up/down shifts. 4L60 is not known for its durability so no failure should come as a surprise after all these years. Adding a cooler will help it live a longer, happier life especially with canyon runs.
If the transmission is upgraded properly it can handle constant upshifts and downshifts just fine. I had the 4L60E in my 96 Impala SS rebuilt with all the available performance upgrades available at the time, like beast sunshell, high flow pump, larger 2nd and 4th gear servos, 5 pinion planetaries, kevlar clutches and extra clutch packs it handled road courses just fine and never gave me any problems. For those who don't know those cars are 4300 lbs without the driver so the stresses are much greater on that transmission than a C5 will ever put on one. With that said, if you really want to beat on it and constantly shift the transmission your better off with a manual.
if you havent takenit in already call Ron at TRC transmission in chatsworth he can build you one that wont break without the corvette tax. Hes done many sticks and autos over the yrs not one failure yet
everything from stockers to big blocks on nitrous....
09-22-2017, 08:54 PM
Is it bad to go from drive to 3rd, and to 2nd gear...
Best wishes with your repair. Please let us know how it went.
