How to Improve the Performance and Reliability of an Automatic Transmission

Transmissions are designed to help the vehicle move with little effort from the engine. Gearboxes are the most complex object in a car, aside from the computer system. Keeping the transmission clean and working properly ensures a longer service life.

There are three types of transmissions: mechanical, automatic and electric. Manual and automatic transmissions have service intervals. Electric transmissions do not have interservice intervals, as they are sealed units.

There are 6 ways to improve the performance and reliability of an automatic transmission. These include transmission maintenance, changing driving habits, driving in low gears under load, maintaining engine performance, properly centering tires, and fitting tires to the correct size.

Part 1 of 8: Checking the condition of the automatic transmission

Required material

• flashlight

Step 1: Open the hood of the car and check the transmission fluid.. Most vehicles have a transmission fluid dipstick.

Some vehicles have a plug on top of the transmission to remove and test fluid. Other vehicles may be considered maintenance free, which means you cannot service the transmissions.

Step 2: Drive the car around the block. Pay attention to the gear shifting in all gears.

Make sure there is no lag when shifting gears. This may cause the transmission to fail.

Step 3: Check for Fluid Leaks. After the road test, take a flashlight and look under the hood or under the car for the transmission.

Check for fluid leaks from the transmission anywhere.

Part 2 of 8: Automatic Transmission Maintenance

Necessary materials

• reptile
• Disposable gloves
• Drip tray
• flashlight
• Safety glasses
• SAE and metric wrench set
• SAE and Metric socket set
• small funnel
• Protective clothing
• Jack
• Wrench
• Jack stands
• Wheel chocks

Step 1: Park your vehicle on a level, firm surface.. Make sure the transmission is in park (for automatic transmission) or 1st gear (for manual transmission).

Step 2: Install wheel chocks around the rear wheels.. Apply the parking brake to block the rear wheels from moving.

Step 3: Raise the car. Jack up the vehicle at the indicated points until the wheels are completely off the ground.

Step 4: Install Jacks. The jack stands should be located under the jacking points.

Then lower the car onto the jacks. In most modern cars, the jack stand attachment points are on a weld right under the doors along the bottom of the car.

Step 5: Take a vine and crawl under the car.. Locate the gearbox oil pan.

Step 6: Place a drain pan under the transmission oil pan.. Some transmissions may have a drain plug on the oil pan.

You can remove the oil pan plug to drain the fluid.

Step 7: Remove the bolts from the transmission oil pan.. If the oil pan does not have a drain plug, leave the bolts in front and behind the oil pan.

Slowly remove the rear bolt from the oil pan and drain the fluid, and then slowly loosen the front bolt, allowing the rest of the fluid to drain from the pan. Remove the gearbox oil pan.

Step 8 Remove the transmission oil filter.. Take the new filter and place it in the gearbox.

• Attention: If the filter came with a rubber bushing, make sure you install a new bushing. This prevents internal leakage at the pump inlet.

Step 9: Scrape the old gasket off the gearbox housing and oil pan.. Place a new gasket on the oil pan and install it to the transmission, hand tightening the 2 bolts.

Tighten the rest of the bolts by hand.

Step 10: Using a torque wrench, tighten the bolts from inside the sump to the outside of the sump.. Torque to bolts up to 8 ft lbs.

Then retighten the bolts to 12 lbf to ensure a good seal.

• Attention: Do not overtighten the gearbox housing bolts. This will cause the oil pan to leak.

Step 11: fill the gearbox. Remove the dipstick or plug from the gearbox.

Place a funnel on the open port and fill the transmission. If you have a dipstick, be sure to top it up to the cold line. If you have a plug, fill the transmission to the bottom of your fist.

Step 12: start the engine. Keeping your foot on the brake, shift into gear.

After a few seconds, shift into neutral and then into reverse. Now put the transmission in neutral and then in park. This prevents any damage if the tires slip through the brakes.

Step 13 With the engine running, check the transmission oil level.. Add oil to the cold mark on the dipstick or up to the stop on the plug.

Close the gearbox plug or insert a dipstick. Turn off the engine.

Step 14: Raise the car. Jack up the vehicle at the indicated points until the wheels are completely off the ground.

Step 15: Remove Jack Stands.

Step 16: Lower the car so that all four wheels are on the ground.. Pull out the jack and set it aside.

Step 17: Remove the wheel chocks.

Part 3 of 8: Changing Driving Habits

Step 1: Start the car and test drive with an assistant.. Have an assistant monitor the dashboard while you are driving.

Have an assistant record when the transmission shifts and at what RPM it shifts. Most vehicles have an RPM sensor, but if there is none, have an assistant record the speed at which the gear change occurred.

Step 2: After the road test, analyze the recorded data. See at what RPM or speed the shift was made.

Step 3: Take the car out for another test drive.. Make an effort to change when you change gear.

It will either speed up or slow down depending on how hard you press the gas pedal.

It is best to drive half a tank of fuel from full line to half line. Then, when you need to fill up, check how many miles you have driven. Refill with fuel and drive the vehicle to the center of the line. This time, use the alternative templates that you and your assistant came up with. Chances are you'll find that the car is more stable and you've covered more miles.

Part 4 of 8: Driving in low gears when loading or driving around the city

Step 1: When operating the vehicle without load or driving on the highway, set the transmission to upshift..

Step 2: Use the correct transmission setup. When operating a vehicle with a load or driving around the city, install the transmission of the choice of drive.

Do not upshift the transmission. Upshifting the transmission while driving around town or when the vehicle is overloaded puts too much stress on the gears and internal clutches, causing slippage.

Step 3: Use the correct transmission when towing. If you are towing a trailer, set the transmission to the second option and manually change gears as the speed increases.

This helps prevent premature transmission failure and extends transmission life.

Part 5 of 8: Maintaining Engine Performance

Transmissions are often neglected. When the engine overheats, the coolant in the radiator boils, causing the transmission fluid to stagnate in the radiator heat exchanger. Mechanics fix engine overheating, but forget that overheating burns additives out of gear oil. When transmission oil is varnished, it no longer cleans or protects the transmission.

If the engine overheats or misfires, correct the engine problem before working on the transmission. Once you've repaired the engine, you can tackle the gearbox. If the engine is overheated, service the transmission.

When the engine misfires and slows down the engine, the transmission oil pump slows down, causing the oil pressure inside the transmission to drop. When the oil pressure drops, the clutches begin to slip inside the transmission. Eventually, the clutches wear out so much that the transmission won't engage.

Part 6 of 8: Proper Tire Alignment

Tire alignment can make a big difference in how a transmission performs in traffic. You can adjust the toe alignment yourself without special equipment.

Necessary materials

• Disposable gloves
• flashlight
• Jack
• Pipe wrench
• Protective clothing
• Jack stands
• SAE and Metric socket set
• SAE and metric wrench set
• Safety glasses
• Roulette
• Wheel chocks

Step 1: Park your vehicle on a level, firm surface.. Make sure the transmission is in park (for automatic transmission) or 1st gear (for manual transmission).

Step 2: Put on disposable gloves and install wheel chocks around the rear wheels.. Apply the parking brake to block the rear wheels from moving.

Step 3: Raise the car. Jack up the vehicle at the indicated points until the wheels are completely off the ground.

Step 4: Install Jacks. The jack stands should be located under the jacking points.

Then lower the car onto the jacks. In most modern cars, the jack stand attachment points are on a weld right under the doors along the bottom of the car.

Step 5: Get a Helper to Help You Align. Put on safety goggles and take a tape measure.

Measure the front wheels from the front of the tires and from the back of the tires. Don't forget to also measure the distance from the center of the tires.

• Attention: You may need a flashlight to see the lock nuts or hub mounting bolts.

Step 6: Loosen locknuts. If you need to adjust, loosen the jam nuts on the steering outer ball joints on a rack and pinion system or on the bushing on a steering system.

Have an assistant hold the steering wheel before making any adjustments. Use a wrench or pipe wrench to turn the steering shaft or bushing. Threads leading to the engine pull in the front of the tires and pull out the rear of the tires. The threads leading to the tire bring the front of the tire out and the back of the tire in.

• Attention: Most modern cars today have 1/16 inch toe-in. The extra 1/16" is measured at the back of the tires. Older cars have 1/8" toe-in. The extra 1/8" is measured at the back of the tires.

Step 7: Tighten the lock nuts or bushings. Re-measure in front of the tires and behind the tires to make sure you have the correct measurements.

Step 8: Raise the car. Jack up the vehicle at the indicated points until the wheels are completely off the ground.

Step 9: Remove Jack Stands.

Step 10: Lower the car so that all four wheels are on the ground.. Pull out the jack and set it aside.

Step 11: Remove the wheel chocks.

Part 7 of 8: Checking the correct tire size

Tires cause wear to transmission systems; they wear out transmissions either when overloaded or when overspeeding, depending on tire size.

Necessary materials

• Disposable gloves
• Large flat screwdriver
• Tire iron
• Wrench
• Protective clothing
• Safety glasses
• Wheel chocks

Step 1: Park your vehicle on a level, firm surface.. Make sure the transmission is in park (for automatic transmission) or 1st gear (for manual transmission).

Step 2: Put on disposable gloves and install wheel chocks around the rear wheels.. Apply the parking brake to block the rear wheels from moving.

Step 3: Raise the car. Jack up the vehicle at the indicated points until the wheels are completely off the ground.

Step 4: Install Jacks. The jack stands should be located under the jacking points.

Then lower the car onto the jacks. In most modern cars, the jack stand attachment points are on a weld right under the doors along the bottom of the car.

Step 5: Use a pry bar to remove the nuts from the tires.. Remove tires from wheel studs.

• Attention: Use a pry bar to loosen the lug nuts on the bars. Do not remove clamp nuts. You may need to remove the caps to get to the nuts. If you do, use a large flathead screwdriver and remove the caps.

Step 6: Purchase other tires to be installed on the car.. Slide the tires onto the wheel studs.

Step 7: Install the clamp nuts and hand tighten with a pry bar.. Use a torque wrench to tighten the clamp nuts down.

Tighten the wheel nuts in a star pattern to prevent wheel wobble or wobble.

Wheel nut torque values:

• 4-cylinder and V-6 vehicles: 80 to 90 lb-ft.

• V-8 engines on cars and vans: 90 to 110 feet.

• Large vans, trucks and trailers: 100 to 120 feet.

• 3 ton and 4/120 ton vehicles: 135 to XNUMX ft-lbs.

Step 8: Raise the car. Jack up the vehicle at the indicated points until the wheels are completely off the ground.

Step 9: Remove Jack Stands.

Step 10: Lower the car so that all four wheels are on the ground.. Pull out the jack and set it aside.

Step 11: Remove the wheel chocks.

Part 8 of 8: Test driving a car

Necessary materials

• flashlight
• SAE and Metric socket set
• SAE and metric wrench set

Step 1: Drive the car around the block. Listen for any unusual noises or vibrations that could damage the transmission.

Step 2. Find the same conditions as before.. When you return from a road test, check the conditions you were in before.

If you have had to service the gearbox, check if any fluid is leaking. If you had to adjust the operation of the engine, then check the engine to make sure that the problem is fixed.

If you had to align, take a flashlight and your tools and check the tightness of the bushing nuts and locknuts. If you had to remove the tires, take a torque wrench and recheck the lug nuts for looseness.

The union nuts must have the same torque value as before. Use a flashlight and visually check for damaged wheels or studs.

If your vehicle is still having transmission problems after changing the transmission oil and filter, or if you do not notice any improvement after changing your driving style and inspecting your vehicle, further transmission service may be needed. If the problem persists, you should seek help from one of the AvtoTachki certified mechanics who can diagnose the problem.