Automatic transmission question.

[Doctor Zoidburg]

In the last few days with the cold weather ( -15c to -24c ) When I start my car in the moring it does not easily shift into drive, I have to give it gas before it goes into gear.

- Is it due to the cold?

- Is it because the transmission oil is 3 year old and needs changing?

 

[WoodPeckr]

Most likely it's the cold weather.
After a couple minutes of driving it most likely goes away.
A few years back I had a vehicle with stick shift that was hard to shift in the dead of winter till it warmed up a bit, then all was fine.
What type of car?
Have you checked your tranny fluid level?
Does the fluild still look a nice pretty pussy pink?.....

The Big 3, GM, Ford & Chrysler say to change tranny fluid & filter every 30,000 miles. I keep an eye on the fluild level and color and as long as it stays pink, I've been changing mine every 75,000 miles for the last 30 years with absolutely NO PROBLEMS with both Ford and GM vehicles!
Maybe I've been lucky.
Trannies nowadays are built to last as long as they are not abused.

When I was younger I used to go to them Mr. Transmission, etc places and they usually said the tranny was shot, or going, or had to be rebuilt, along with a big estimated repair quote, when all that was needed was a simple tranny oil change. I still don't trust any of them clip-shops.

 

[pussylicker]

There are two ways to look at it. When it's that cold, all your lubricants including grease in axel Ujoints are going to be thicker, and create more friction than they are meant to overcome, so all moving parts will turn slower, as well as your tires will be slightly square on the bottom from sitting, creating more rolling resistance, so you need more effort to start the car to roll.

The transmission runs on pressure. Cold thick tranny fluid at -20 doesn't flow as easily as warm thinner fluid through the valves and channels in the tranny. Under pressure, a cold transmission allows fluid to seep past O rings, until they swell with heat, even though cold fluid is thicker than warm fluid.

Tranny fluid should be changed every 60,000kms, but new fluid in an older worn transmission may not help the tranny run any better, while a dirty filter can cause more resistance with cold fluid.

 

[tnickp]

some places also offer a tranny flush as opposed to a fluid & filter change. the fluid & filter change will only replace the fluid that is in the tranny pan (about 4-5 litres depending on the vehicle), where as a flush will remove & replace ALL of the fluid (about 15-18 litres) including fluid that is in the torque converter, tranny cooler and all the lines. definatley a better way to go and worth the extra few bucks, seeing as your only doing it every couple of years. my dealership offers a limited warranty on tranny's that are "flushed" regularly as part of the maintenance schedule, and it cost me $169.99 + tax as opposed to $119.99 for the fluid & filter change.

 

[papasmerf]

Trannies nowadays are built to last as long as they are not abused.

About time you come out

 

[shaneen]

I add brake fluid to mine

When mine gets stiff I lube it up with brake fluid maybe your fluid needs changing!!! 3 Years??? WOW I hope YOUR not that rusty

 

[hungry]

In the last few days with the cold weather ( -15c to -24c ) When I start my car in the moring it does not easily shift into drive, I have to give it gas before it goes into gear.

- Is it due to the cold?

- Is it because the transmission oil is 3 year old and needs changing?

Another tip is to warm your car in neutral for a few minutes, this gets the transmission oil circulating. Use your emergency brake if you have to. It is always a good idea to do this in cold weather. When it is really cold, ie -40 it really lowers your rpm.

 

[papasmerf]

Another tip is to warm your car in neutral for a few minutes, this gets the transmission oil circulating. Use your emergency brake if you have to. It is always a good idea to do this in cold weather. When it is really cold, ie -40 it really lowers your rpm.

here is the drill



I live minutes from wody an he can not get it when it is below zero.

 

[james t kirk]

some places also offer a tranny flush as opposed to a fluid & filter change. the fluid & filter change will only replace the fluid that is in the tranny pan (about 4-5 litres depending on the vehicle), where as a flush will remove & replace ALL of the fluid (about 15-18 litres) including fluid that is in the torque converter, tranny cooler and all the lines. definatley a better way to go and worth the extra few bucks, seeing as your only doing it every couple of years. my dealership offers a limited warranty on tranny's that are "flushed" regularly as part of the maintenance schedule, and it cost me $169.99 + tax as opposed to $119.99 for the fluid & filter change.

True, however, there is not 15 to 18 litres in there.

The torque converter holds about 3 litres, maybe 4 depending on the size of it.

The valve body will drain out when the car is shut off.

There would also be some oil in the coolant system as well I suppose.

 

[Trapdoor]

Another suggestion:-

In the last few days with the cold weather ( -15c to -24c ) When I start my car in the moring it does not easily shift into drive, I have to give it gas before it goes into gear.

- Is it due to the cold?

- Is it because the transmission oil is 3 year old and needs changing?

Use a block heater below -10C. It'll improve everything if there's nothing seriously wrong.

For what it's worth there is a filter inside your transmission pan that cannot be cleaned without dropping the pan. I have this done about once every 5 years. Last car went 16 years. Camry.

 

[shaneen]

Have it checked for a manual valve and pump engagement issue what year make and model? V6 4 cyl? Heres info for a good place I had my tranny done last year same day service great prices Im cheap believe me I shopped around best warranty I found as well
Eagle Transmission
450 Comstock Rd
Toronto, ON M1L 4S4
Phone: (416) 615-2434
Good Luck

 

[WoodPeckr]

When mine gets stiff I lube it up with brake fluid maybe your fluid needs changing!!! 3 Years??? WOW I hope YOUR not that rusty

Who told you to do that?
Automatic transmission fluid is a fine light grade high detergent oil to begin with. Not sure if it's a good idea to mix it with brake fluid.

 

[Gentle Ben]

Who told you to do that?
Automatic transmission fluid is a fine light grade high detergent oil to begin with. Not sure if it's a good idea to mix it with brake fluid.

adding brake fluid to autotrans fluid was an old trick to get a bit more life out of a crapped out transmission, it swelles the orings and seals inside the transmission and in some cases you got a bit more life out of it.
I wouldnt try it on anything that has any value.

 

[FunSeeker27]

adding brake fluid to autotrans fluid was an old trick to get a bit more life out of a crapped out transmission, it swelles the orings and seals inside the transmission and in some cases you got a bit more life out of it.
I wouldnt try it on anything that has any value.

how much life can you potentially gain here???

 

[Gentle Ben]

how much life can you potentially gain here???

I never tried it, but I guess its a crap shoot.
There also used to be additives that were designed for doing this, might try CTC or any autoparts stores

 

[Hard Idle]

how much life can you potentially gain here???

It's not really "life", it's last ditch disaster management which you could hope might give you a 1-4 months to save up for a tranny replacement or another car, or to mask the severity of the symptoms while trying to sell the car in bad faith.

Other old time tricks included heavy gear oil and various other goos, as well as sawdust. These days Lucas will do the same job.

Thickening agents can temporarily mask wear, slow down internal leaks and compensate for lack of pressure in the valvebody. But it will also greatly increase heat build up and rapidly dirty the passages eventually impeeding flow.

The trick is more effective in dealing with a serious steering fluid leak - a refill of sludge every few days could postpone a replacement for quite some time, at least on older cars.

 

[Alexis696969]

Originally Posted by WoodPeckr

Trannies nowadays are built to last as long as they are not abused.

Other old time tricks included heavy gear oil and various other goos, Thickening agents can temporarily , slow down internal leaks and compensate for lack of pressure in the valvebody. But it will also greatly increase heat build up and rapidly dirty the passages eventually impeeding flow.

The trick is more effective in dealing with a serious fluid leak - a refill of sludge every few days could postpone a replacement for quite some time, .

here is the drill



I live minutes from wody an he can not get it when it is below zero.

When mine gets stiff I lube it up with fluid maybe your fluid needs changing!!! 3 Years??? WOW I hope YOUR not that rusty

tranny cooler and all the lines. definatley a better way to go and worth the extra few bucks, seeing as your only doing it every couple of years. it cost me $169.99 + tax as opposed to $119.99 for the fluid & filter change.

I never tried it, but I guess its a crap shoot.

About time you come out

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Doctor Zoidburg]

If your tranmission id leaking....................

I would prefer to use a commercial ring sweller and only resort to using brake fluid only if I had no other choice.

 

[TRX]

to solved that problem, your transmission fluid especially the filter needs to be changed as that always the 1st symptom in automatic transmission filter is becoming blocked. you stated you have'nt changed it for 3 years

 

[crocket]

Whats the mileage on your car?