Video: Slip or is this normal?

[Carnoobie]

1) Turn your speakers all the way up. You NEED to hear it very well to make a judgement.

2) Watch and listen closely only between the 8 and 11 second mark. You wont pick up on it the first time so watch a few times. What i would do is put your mouse cursor right on the 8sec mark and once it plays to 11 secs just click back so you can key in on those 8-11secs.

Was told its normal but need more feedback.

ATF fresh as of 5 months ago. Level, smell and colour is dead on. I took the video at night so its the easiest to see the tach and no sun glaring off it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XadCsC5a3_M

 

[01rangerxl]

You're fine.

You will know when a transmission slips.

 

[Colt45ws]

Yeah, normal. That is just the way they are setup. To be really sloppy on the shifts in an effort to make them 'smooth' so no one spills their soda.

 

[abycat]

yeah i agree. seems like the way of the new stuff. Not like the old tranny's. Mine seems to almost cut the throttle when it shifts.

 

[Colt45ws]

It more than likely does. A way to get the transmission to live with super soft shifts. Easy to do with ETC, but was done before that as well. On my step-Mom's '04 Ram 1500, the Transmission controller sends a signal to the engine controller when it is ready to shift. The engine controller responds by toying with the engine parameters to 'detune' the engine for a short period of time and reduce power output. But on that its more like a sag, with ETC some can almost feel like someone is driving a manual transmission under the hood since it feels like the throttle is backed off completely then reapplied when the shift completes.

 

[Carnoobie]

Thanks for the feedback. But did any of you pick up on any slip from the 8-11 sec mark? I had to watch it over 20 times and close in in the tach dial specically while listening for the rev sound.

Couple things i forgot to mention, this soft shiftng like you see in the video (or if you can call it that) doesnt happen all the time but just here and there when the trans is hot. Because it doesnt happen all the time, thats what made me concerned. But this soft shifting i only get with the trans hot and shifting low at like 2500rpms. Anything above and i get no soft shifting ever. Shifting on hot trans at 2900rpms and above and shifts hard all the time.

For the most part my trans shifts hard especially at higher rpms. Now in my video 2500rpms is still considered very light throttle. My next rpm point that my car shifts at above 2500 is 2900 If i shift at say 2900 rpms it shifts alot harder. You can feel it. Im guessing this has to do with the increased level of line pressure in the trans. More throttle = more line pressure.

If the car is just started and trans hasnt gotten warm yet the trans shifts hard (which is good cause harder shifting the better, less wear).

 

[MaximaGuy]

You are fine, it revs 500RPM to catch the next gear.

Rest in peace.

 

[Carnoobie]

Originally Posted By: MaximaGuy
You are fine, it revs 500RPM to catch the next gear.

Rest in peace.


Oh ok.

But even though it shouldnt be reving any rpm right?

 

[dishdude]

It sounded like it was flaring up to me between shifts, which doesn't mean immediate doom, but that the transmission is near the end of it's life. One of those could last 10k, could last another 50k if driven gentle.

 

[01rangerxl]

Originally Posted By: dishdude
It sounded like it was flaring up to me between shifts, which doesn't mean immediate doom, but that the transmission is near the end of it's life. One of those could last 10k, could last another 50k if driven gentle.


Shift flares can be caused by a lot of things other than worn soft parts. Programming or tiny valve body leaks can cause flaring.

But what's going on here is so minor, I'm betting it's a normal part of the transmission's programming.

Slipping caused by worn soft parts will usually be more pronounced, it will get worse, and you will notice it in the fluid (burnt, possibly lots of clutch material).

 

[Carnoobie]

Originally Posted By: 01rangerxl
Originally Posted By: dishdude
It sounded like it was flaring up to me between shifts, which doesn't mean immediate doom, but that the transmission is near the end of it's life. One of those could last 10k, could last another 50k if driven gentle.


Shift flares can be caused by a lot of things other than worn soft parts. Programming or tiny valve body leaks can cause flaring.

But what's going on here is so minor, I'm betting it's a normal part of the transmission's programming.

Slipping caused by worn soft parts will usually be more pronounced, it will get worse, and you will notice it in the fluid (burnt, possibly lots of clutch material).


Was told burnt fluid doesnt smell like warm rubber, but smells rancid, so bad you cant out your nose to it. And if its burnt the atf wouldnt be the default Colour (which is red), right? It would be black?

So youre saying my video is normal? Even though it does look like a flare

 

[01rangerxl]

All ATF will smell kind of rubbery, if it smells like a pile of burning tires you have a problem. It will be a strong smell.

Burnt fluid might not be pitch black, it may be dark brown or very dark red. You want a light transparent red color.

 

[Carnoobie]

Originally Posted By: 01rangerxl
All ATF will smell kind of rubbery, if it smells like a pile of burning tires you have a problem. It will be a strong smell.

Burnt fluid might not be pitch black, it may be dark brown or very dark red. You want a light transparent red color.


Ok and just curious why you think the shift in my video is very minor? Wouldnt you label that a flare? Or does it look normal? Cause if you key in very closely on the tach dial just as it shifts you see it move.

 

[01rangerxl]

If you have to watch the video over and over again just to see if maybe something is going on there, it's not enough to worry about.

The last car I drove with a slipping trans was a '98 Civic and it would rev way up between 2 and 3 and felt like it was going nowhere. You KNEW it was slipping.

 

[Carnoobie]

Originally Posted By: 01rangerxl
If you have to watch the video over and over again just to see if maybe something is going on there, it's not enough to worry about.

The last car I drove with a slipping trans was a '98 Civic and it would rev way up between 2 and 3 and felt like it was going nowhere. You KNEW it was slipping.



But im just praying that its not in its early stages starting to slip.

Let me ask you, when you watched it were you able to pick up on it the first time? If not how many times did you have to watch?

 

[01rangerxl]

I noticed what you were talking about on the first view, but I watched it a couple more times after that. There is an ever so slight flare, but I really don't think it's indicating that your trans is worn out or anywhere near failing. I've driven plenty of cars that shifted just like your car. If it affects drivability that would be one thing, but a slight RPM jump during some shifts probably isn't a failing trans.

Also, what make and model is this? Remember that most autos these days are pretty complex and will protect themselves from damaging shifts and can change how the car shifts depending on how it is being driven. Sometimes this computer intervention will produce shifts that seem a little sloppy. It's far more likely that it's something the trans is doing intentionally than a true slip that you need to be worried about. A lot of autos will throw a code for excessive slipping too.

 

[Carnoobie]

Originally Posted By: 01rangerxl
I noticed what you were talking about on the first view, but I watched it a couple more times after that. There is an ever so slight flare, but I really don't think it's indicating that your trans is worn out or anywhere near failing. I've driven plenty of cars that shifted just like your car. If it affects drivability that would be one thing, but a slight RPM jump during some shifts probably isn't a failing trans.

Also, what make and model is this? Remember that most autos these days are pretty complex and will protect themselves from damaging shifts and can change how the car shifts depending on how it is being driven. Sometimes this computer intervention will produce shifts that seem a little sloppy. It's far more likely that it's something the trans is doing intentionally than a true slip that you need to be worried about. A lot of autos will throw a code for excessive slipping too.


Its an 01 civic SI, so its not a new car. but has an 04 trans on it.

Well what i dont get is, if its just the trans deciding how to behave, i dont get this all the time. Only when hot and shifting at 2500rpms and happens on occasions, but any shift over 2500rpms and never ever ever happens. It shifts hard. I would think if its normal behavour of the trans itd do it everytime at 2500rpm, but i dont know. All i know is it only happens with light 2500rpms throttle, and on occasion.

Cause when it flares, we all knw that is extra wear on the clutch pack. ALOT of extra wear. That is what worries me. Honestly if it wasnt for this, then flares wouldnt bother me at all.

So youve driven cars that actually shifted exactly just in my video? Im guessing theyre new cars and not out of date like mine?

 

[nicholas]

Lubeguard Red - will really firm up the shifts in your trans -
My 4speed versa shifted like yours - then I added the Red - nice firm grabbing and you can feel the upshifts/downshifts, less slipping.

I think many auto trans today are built for comfort and not longevity.

Just some 2cents>

 

[Carnoobie]

Originally Posted By: nicholas
Lubeguard Red - will really firm up the shifts in your trans -
My 4speed versa shifted like yours - then I added the Red - nice firm grabbing and you can feel the upshifts/downshifts, less slipping.

I think many auto trans today are built for comfort and not longevity.

Just some 2cents>


Just noticed the Lubeguard red says will provide softer shifts. is that what i really want though? Cause aside from the one shift on occasion from 2-3 at 2500rpms, my trans shifts hard. You can feel it.

So your 4speed versa had the exact same flaring as in my video? All the time or just on occasion like me?

 

[01rangerxl]

Originally Posted By: Carnoobie

Well what i dont get is, if its just the trans deciding how to behave, i dont get this all the time. Only when hot and shifting at 2500rpms and happens on occasions, but any shift over 2500rpms and never ever ever happens. It shifts hard. I would think if its normal behavour of the trans itd do it everytime at 2500rpm, but i dont know. All i know is it only happens with light 2500rpms throttle, and on occasion.

Cause when it flares, we all knw that is extra wear on the clutch pack. ALOT of extra wear. That is what worries me. Honestly if it wasnt for this, then flares wouldnt bother me at all.

So youve driven cars that actually shifted exactly just in my video? Im guessing theyre new cars and not out of date like mine?



I don't know how much computer control that transmission uses, but for many computer controlled autos "normal" could be a wide range of behavior. In my truck, both firm, hard shifts and smooth shifts are normal depending on what the trans thinks is appropriate and what mode it's in (O/D off changes shift feel). I haven't even driven many newer 6-speed autos, I'm thinking of 4 and 5 speed autos from the 2000s.

Keep an eye on it. If it becomes worse, significantly more frequent, or you see changes in the fluid, then you should be worried. If it doesn't get worse, the fluid continues to look normal, and it happens with the same frequency, I would write it off as normal operation.