sicko6

Somebody once told me that it's a good idea to put an automatic transmission in neutral at long stop lights..........supposedly gives longer life to transmission? Can anybody who knows how an automatic tranny functions corroborate this?

dkano

Unless you're going to be stopped for more than 10 minutes somewhere I wouldn't start putting the car in neutral, then back to drive. If you're going to be stopped for that long you might as well turn the car off. I'm not an expert here but I would think transmissions were built to handle being in drive when you're stopped, the RPMs are not high enough to cause any long term damage anyways. If you really think about it you might have more of chance of cause damage in the long term by switching from drive to neutral, then back to drive, try it when you're a light next time, go into neutral, then back to drive, see how the car wants to pull forward a bit when you go into drive. Will all that switching you'll have more a of chance of causing damage, and got forbid you rev the engine when the car is in neutral, THEN go into drive!!! (again, not an expert, just my opinion)

06stangGT

i actually put my grand am in neutral at longer lights

mvm549

ya that doesnt really sound like its a good idea

ford4v429

I agree with dkano-
clutches wear from slippage- auto clutches only slip when shifting...once in gear, no wear will occur at a stop, all slippage is thru torque converter- if you have a hot cam and high stall converter, well, to keep heat down- yeah put in neutral so t/c dont add heat. my 'non tranny guy' 2 cents anyway

sicko6

soooooooo........that said, is it a bad idea to use o/d-off to engine brake on a regular basis? (i.e. better to smoke brakes before the automatic transmission)

AND......does that mean I can leave it in automatic/3rd gear/manual body at a stop and not have to worry about it? I can start off the line in 1st, 2nd, 3rd, or D without any concerns?

CrimeScene

This one would need to be answered by the major gear heads out there.

I do not know anything about auto transmissions but I would look at what parts(or are being used more) in a auto trans that are being used when you are in drive and stopped,then take a look at what parts go first when a trans dies,are they the same ones? Are the related?

I would look at the adv life of them in places like NYC or LA.

CrimeScene

grasshopper

Engine braking an auto isn't so much bad, per se, it simply shortens it's life. You can look at the clutch packs much the same as your brake pads. They have a finite amount of material which is worn away every time they change state, ie. anywhere between fully engaged and fully disengaged... as pointed out by 4v429. The higher the rotational speed the state change occurs, the more wear. The more times the state is changed, the more wear. You can accept that that's the whole point of their existence and not worry about it, but just be aware of what is going on. And consider that changing the brake pads every 6months (extreme example) is far more appealing, and cheaper, than rebuilding the tranmission just once.

But yeah, don't bother shifting it in neutral at light, that's more wear.