Manually changing gears in Auto trans - Ford Forums - Mustang Forum, Ford Trucks, Ford Focus and Ford Cars

MKII240T · 09-22-2003, 15:52

Can manually changing the gears in an auto transmission affect the wear or damage it in someway. I have shifting b/w 3rd & 4th gears in my EL XR8 without any trouble. Just wondering if there is any harm in doing this

s_pak · 10-07-2003, 06:06

Hey Thomas,

I'm no expert but I read somewhere that it does cause undue wear over a period of time. How much would be hard to tell. If your downshifting as part of your braking procedure they reckon it is cheaper to replace pads than a box but hey, sometimes it's fun to manual change the auto!

Perana XR8 · 10-07-2003, 06:11

I wouldnt think that it would casue too much wear in the trans as 3rd gear is the strongest in the box. I do this all of the time and have had no trouble at all in my EA Ghia.

madmelon · 10-07-2003, 06:36

Sometimes downshifting is handy...otherwise brakes may overheat and fade. (obvious, but i thought i might mention it any way)
i don't see how manually shifting between 3rd n 4th will increase wear at all...unless you forget to change...alot

JC-XR8 · 10-07-2003, 09:34

Shifting between 3rd and 4th is no problem - around town, you don't really even need 4th. Shifting back to second at speeds under around 80km/h is also OK, but going back to first a lot can cause problems. I use mine asa manual every time i drive - but always between 2, 3 and 4. I only ever go back to 1 when I am towing the boat up a reasonable hill.

1LOWEA · 10-13-2003, 00:43

i have a 3spd auto. I get so bored driving i always change the gears between 2nd and 3rd. I herd it is bad to put it into 1st unless u are taking off from a stop. I always when slowing down gear down to second, then when taking off i change it to 3rd when i feel the revs are high enough. I mean, if u dont have a manual, u can atleast prentend you have one.

jmartion · 10-13-2003, 00:49

dont do it in a BTR 4 speed(esp dropping to first). i killed mine by doing that.

now i have to shift every gear manually.(by choice, mind you)

TopGhia · 10-13-2003, 01:46

Leave it in 3 around town, and put it in D for highway driving. They were not designed for "boy-racer" gear changes. :)

yeah right · 10-17-2003, 15:56

The only "extra" wear would be from the torque coming FROM the wheels causing the gears in the box to be loaded in the opposite side of the teeth to what they normally which is acceleration - if you know what I mean. hmm tricky to try & explain what I'm thinking.

Changing down to 1st while decelerating would put a lot of extra load in that direction of the gearsets normally the gearsets would only be under load when accelerating in 1st - not when decelerating. You have to remember that the trans doesn't normally do downshifts until you drop below a certain speed - and even then only once you begin to accelerate again does it shift down.

But to be perfectly honest I don't think changing manually would be a problem in any modern trans - except maybe the downshift to 1st - and only then cos of the load coming from the wheels when it wasn't probably designed to be taking that.

AusXH · 10-18-2003, 01:57

I've always changed gears manually on my auto's and have never had a problem related to this.

I just replaced my auto after stuffing something unrelated but the place that swapped it for me pulled my transmission all the way down while I watched (only took 15mins). They inspected all the gearsets and bands as is was dismantled and considering the gearbox had 200k kays on it, it was still looking very healthy.

The new box is in and I'm changing gears manually still.

A theory I have is that being an electronic gearbox they dont change gears (up or down) unless certain parameters are met and therefore if its happy to change back to 1st because I tell it to, then there isn't a problem.