auto tranny question...

From : gene

Q: it seems there is a lot of troubles with the auto trannys in pickups...with either diesel or gas engines. why i have a 1st; gen cummins / 235000 with a 3 sp. auto with never a service call with the engine nor tranny. im leary to get a new truck with an automatic because of all the horror stories. this has been going on for years ! are the mfgs at fault here..or are the drivers too cheap to run then out of od when hauling i just find it hard to believe that this problem hasnt been corrected in the last 15 years. thoughts .

Replies:

From : john kunkel

it seems there is a lot of troubles with the auto trannys in pickups...with either diesel or gas engines. why poor design sloppy assembly practices due to mass production driver abuse/neglect; take you choice. i have a 1st; gen cummins / 235000 with a 3 sp. auto with never a service call with the engine nor tranny. im leary to get a new truck with an automatic because of all the horror stories. the 3-speeds historically give better service since their planetary gears only run in the lower gears. modern overdrive units use the planetaries in the od range which adds to wear and increases the heat buildup. this has been going on for years ! are the mfgs at fault here..or are the drivers too cheap to run then out of od when hauling transmision failures arent all that uncommon in units that never haul heavy loads or tow. i just find it hard to believe that this problem hasnt been corrected in the last 15 years. thoughts the aftermarket has myriads of modifications to increase both the efficiency and lifespan of the transmissions why the factory doesnt incorporate some or all of these mods is a mystery. the conspiracy theorists will claim that its planned obsolescence while some myself included believe its a simple case of head in the sand thinking. what problems its also quite possible that in the grand scheme of things its actually cheaper in the long run to fix them than to redesign them. proper maintenance correct operation and keeping the fluid temperature within its normal operating range are all an owner can do to get the best service from a stock unit; its still a crap shoot and an extended warranty isnt a bad idea. .

From : milesh

gene wrote it seems there is a lot of troubles with the auto trannys in pickups...with either diesel or gas engines. why i have a 1st; gen cummins / 235000 with a 3 sp. auto with never a service call with the engine nor tranny. im leary to get a new truck with an automatic because of all the horror stories. this has been going on for years ! are the mfgs at fault here..or are the drivers too cheap to run then out of od when hauling i just find it hard to believe that this problem hasnt been corrected in the last 15 years. thoughts some of it is improper maintanence but i dont think its the main fault. manufactures have been putting light/mid duty passenger trannies in full sized trucks too often imho. im hoping the trend is shifting towards using trannies that are built for work. the argument about od has been bashed around here for quite some time. put a tranny temp guage on and go by it. do what it takes to keep the temp down. i see nothing wrong with towing in od if the temp is below 200. the problem is that most do not have a guage and thus do not know. if you dont know then staying out of od might be the safer bet. .

From : max340

the aftermarket has myriads of modifications to increase both the efficiency and lifespan of the transmissions why the factory doesnt incorporate some or all of these mods is a mystery. actually if you look inside a 48re youll see it incorporates many of the mods that the big names use on the 47re. max life liberty and the pursuit of any jackass that threatens it. embellished usnavy slogan .

From : richard eriksson

i believe that auto tranny fear is mostly from hearing about the relatively very few who have experienced real problems and the very many who could tear up an anvil. what you dont hear are the millions of us who never have had a tranny problem. i have owned many pickup trucks and cars all makes and never had a problem and i am not particularly anal when it come to maintenance. i think most problems are from abuse and extremely poor maintenance. goes back to the squeaking wheel story that we have all heard. im from the south and went to new york once on business. in new york city i didnt get murdered not even once and the country side was among the most beautiful that i have ever seen. logan gene wrote it seems there is a lot of troubles with the auto trannys in pickups...with either diesel or gas engines. why i suspect that some pickup owners overload their trucks on a regular basis assuming that because the suspension hasnt bottomed out the truck must be able to handle the load. then they drive pedal to the metal as if there was no load at all in the bed. the suspension may take the abuse but the running gear gives up the ghost in short fashion. rce .

From : logan

i believe that auto tranny fear is mostly from hearing about the relatively very few who have experienced real problems and the very many who could tear up an anvil. what you dont hear are the millions of us who never have had a tranny problem. i have owned many pickup trucks and cars all makes and never had a problem and i am not particularly anal when it come to maintenance. i think most problems are from abuse and extremely poor maintenance. goes back to the squeaking wheel story that we have all heard. im from the south and went to new york once on business. in new york city i didnt get murdered not even once and the country side was among the most beautiful that i have ever seen. logan gene wrote it seems there is a lot of troubles with the auto trannys in pickups...with either diesel or gas engines. why i have a 1st; gen cummins / 235000 with a 3 sp. auto with never a service call with the engine nor tranny. im leary to get a new truck with an automatic because of all the horror stories. this has been going on for years ! are the mfgs at fault here..or are the drivers too cheap to run then out of od when hauling i just find it hard to believe that this problem hasnt been corrected in the last 15 years. thoughts some of it is improper maintanence but i dont think its the main fault. manufactures have been putting light/mid duty passenger trannies in full sized trucks too often imho. im hoping the trend is shifting towards using trannies that are built for work. the argument about od has been bashed around here for quite some time. put a tranny temp guage on and go by it. do what it takes to keep the temp down. i see nothing wrong with towing in od if the temp is below 200. the problem is that most do not have a guage and thus do not know. if you dont know then staying out of od might be the safer bet. .

From : miles

richard eriksson wrote i suspect that some pickup owners overload their trucks on a regular basis assuming that because the suspension hasnt bottomed out the truck must be able to handle the load. then they drive pedal to the metal as if there was no load at all in the bed. the suspension may take the abuse but the running gear gives up the ghost in short fashion. thats a small part of it. i believe most of the tranny problems are because of manufactures building trucks with passenger car trannies in them. people often buy trucks for work use and should expect them to hold up to their own ratings. most that i know that have had tranny problems took well care of them. most do not have problems but imho way too high a % do. i think manufactures are starting to listen though. .