GhostGT

Yes, I know this very topic has been covered 10,000,000 times, but I want to get some input from TMS members.

I shift my auto tranny manually all the time. During a 20 minute driving, I may spend as much as 10 minutes doing the 1-2-3 dance and shifting through my gears. All goes well, UNTIL I do this a little too much...

This is how I shift:

1- Apply throttle, keep in 1st gear until about 20 mph (example) and then let OFF the gas pedal.

2- I shift the lever into 2nd, and then start to apply throttle again.

3- get to desired speed in 2nd, let OFF the gas, shift into 3rd, and apply gas again...


and so on...


I always let off the gas before shifting. At first, this seemed like a sensible thing to do. The car truly sounds and feels like a manual (just like I shifted in my Borla video).


NOW....After a while of shifting this way, the shifts get VERY harsh, make a clunk, and feel wierd. This only happens after 10-20 minutes of 1-2-3 shifting, and doesn't happen all the time. Its almost like the more I drive the car during THAT session, the worse it gets. Overnight, though, the problem seems to disappear, and I perfectly shift again the next morning.

Sometimes, the shifts feel like im slipping the clutch a little or something (like on a manual). Especially on my 2-3 shifts, it takes a LONG time for the 3rd gear to engage, and if I apply throttle too early after my 2-3 shift, the rpms shoot up about 1000 over normal, and it just feels like its slipping for a second. Its really wierd.



The funny thing is, its ALL back to normal the next day. What can I do? Should I stop shifting like this? I know it might be better if I do the 1-2-3 shifts with steady throttle application, but I can't help lifting off the throttle between every shift.

ANd also, what can a TUNE do for this? Any differences?

Thanks guys. ///Chris

adrenalin

Stop shifting like that or install a manual tranny. Seriously, I am not sure what the issue is.

WB05stang

I have to ask why are you even doing this? This auto has some pretty good shift points already. If you don't like them you can get a tuner to change them. I used to do it myself in my 60's and 70's cars but their shift points were crap. I don't see any sence in doing it in this car especially becasue it learns as you drive and you may be messing that up.

WERKED 66

stop shifting like that....the tranny is not made to be shifted the way you are....it`s my guess that sooner more than later something is going to give......

don_w

I agree with WB05stang... I might do it for and grins every once in a while, but generally is stays in "D". The tune I got from Doug has dramatically improved the firmness of the shifts (tires break loose on the 1-2 shift, and will bark 2-3 at WOT), and I had him set the WOT shift points to 6250rpm. It will snap your head back now... especially at the track with the Mickey's on.

GhostGT

Yea I guess I have to start cutting down on the shifting...its just really fun doing it. I get more sound out of the Borla's, get more 1st gear wheelspin, and a load of other stuff. I just have to limit myself to doing it a little bit...

But that still doesn't answer the main question...WHY does it happen? And its obviously not a permanent thing: ive been doing this for over 6 months now, and its the SAME exact situation all the time: it goes from perfect to clunky, then if i let the car cool down, its back to perfect. Any idea from anyone who knows a lot about transmissions?

don_w

I'm no tranny expert, but just maybe you're cooking the fluid. Someday, it won't go back to normal after it cools down.

GhostGT

Hmm that's a thought...so you're saying my trans fluid is getting really hot? Should I check this somehow after the trans starts clunking?

NiteHawk422

Well man to me it sounds like you are heating up that transmission doing the shifting that way. The automatics are not designed to be treated like a manual hence automatic. Ideally they are used in a seperate gear or a long period time. Example 2nd gear for slow speed during snowfall and times of low traction. The Transmission was not designed to be doing what you are practicing, at least not over the long term. To me it sounds like you are heating up the gears, the fluid and the transmission by doing this with your automatic. Much like a munual you are getting a mushy clutch, and the transmission is ever so slightly forcing itself into gear, resulting in the clunkiness. After a cooldown it all returns to normal, but over the long run that transmission will fail sooner. I would advise you to either trade that puppy in for a manaul or just stop doing the A.S.S. (Automatic Shifting System).

GhostGT

Yea, I'm starting to get the idea that I should stop. Do you guys think I've already done some noticeable damage over 6 months of driving? Its safe to say that over 20% of the time, I drive A.S.S ( ).

When you guys mentioned a tune, which would change the auto's shift points, I'm assuming that is only for WOT, right? I mean, you can't assign an auto to ALWAYS shift at 3500 RPM unless you go WOT...right? :scratch:

Giddyup

Chris, as long as you've got a warranty, then don't worry.........just quit with the manual shifting an auto.

GhostGT

, but how about the tune question? do you know if you can set an auto to shift higher without going WOT? Its probably not possible since it depends on user adjustment...right? :scratch:

KWMJ-KTP

The tuner does change the normal shift patterns as well as the WOT shifts. SCT seems to be the best tuner for the automatics transmissions by the way.

Part of the basic tune you will get is a overhaul of the shifting schematic that really transforms the car. The shifts are much more firm, especially at WOT. It seems to hold each gear just a bit longer, and eliminates a lot of the delay and torque reduction that Ford has programmed into the factroy tune.

As don_w mentioned above, I too get a pretty good squeal of tires during the 1st-to-2nd shift that will break the backend loose a bit, and then usually a good chirp into 3rd. The shifts seem 'instantaneous', as there is no apparent delay, hesitation or drop-off between shifts. The shift into 4th is around 95 MPH, and at wide open throttle, I was surprised and impressed by how it throws you back into the seat during the 3rd-to-4th shift.

Also, before the tune, the transmission did not want to shift back into 1st gear if I was already doing more than about 10 MPH when you went WOT. This is now gone. If I go around a turn nice and easy, straighten out and then nail it from about 10 MPH, it drops into 1st and almost always is accompanied with some pretty good wheel spin.

The tuners are well worth the money, especially on the automatic equipped cars.

porkster

I wonder if the problem gets worse during that driving session, then fixes itself for the next one, because of the transmission "Learning". You could be confusing the computer, but once you shut it off, it resets itself back to the way its supposed to be. ??

DanG

You can shift it manually, but the problem comes from taking your foot off the gas before shifting. While "under way" the drivetrain is under load, when you take your foot off the gas, it "unloads", then the auto shifts ( very hard & fast) which shocks the driveline back under load. Manual trannys don't shock when when they shift, because they are controlled with a clutch assembly.Downshifting with an auto may not be the best thing either, back in the C-4 automatic days, builders thought that every downshift would cost one up shift in the life of the tranny...
HTH,
Dan

flight96

The only thing I have a habbit of doing in my auto is putting it in Neutral at a light. Ive been doing this all my life and have not yet had a problem.

Turn2

I have a habit of putting the car in 2nd or 3rd while going downhill through a canyon. Just so I dont cook the brakes. Ya think thats a bad idea?

eighty6gt

I wonder if a manual valve body is in the works for these rigs? If you don't have one of these and you're shifting manually you're destroying the transmission, as has been mentioned.

Leaving it in lower gears to help engine braking is ok.

GhostGT

Wow thanks for all the helpful comments you guys. I have definitely started to cut back on the manual shifting. Again, thanks for the comments.

Turn2, its not a bad idea to downshift when going down hills. Thats a good thing to do sometimes, but my problem is WANTING to shift all the time.

lodom

I'm not sure about the availability of a manual valvebody since the trans has so much computer solenoid control. The computer tells the trans when and how hard to shift.

I do know that manually upshifting the SN95's previous 4R70W from first to second after holding first gear for a short while after starting from a traffic light into second gear always resulted in a firmer tire-chirping shift. It was worth almost a tenth at the track vs just leaving it in Drive.

Automatic Transmissions used to shift harder than they do today, but the manufacturers have gone out of their way to make you not even feel the shifts with the computer controls. Faster shifts in an automatic reduce clutch wear, but not to the point of making them so firm that parts are damaged. A performance car IMHO should have a performance-oriented trans, but non of the manufacturers want to hear complaints about hard shifting.