transmission coolers

[tadaima]

Would adding a transmission on a camry be benificial? I won't be doing any hauling, but I guess having cooler ATF oil would keep things running longer.

Car has 32K on it, I notice that it doesn't shift as smooth as one that has like 100K. Is it because, a more broken in transmission has already roughed up the gears? I dont hear a clunk, but I feel a distinct jolt everytime the gear shifts. Is this normal for any new car?

I've changed the ATF in the trans and diff at 15K and 30K

 

[7TFord]

A jolt when shifting is not a bad thing necessarily. It is a sign that the shift is positive without any slippage which is better for the clutch plates in the long run. Our 01 Corolla has shifted like that since new and has 75K kms on it now.

I have used Mobil 1 synthetic transmission fluid in it though since the first change at about 1000 kms, whether that has any bearing or not on the shifting characteristics. There shouldn't be any need for a cooler I don't think. The fluid cooling is handled now by the radiator which is sufficient for every day use.

 

[tadaima]

7tFord,

Yea makes sense, but I guess when I bought the Camry, it was known for having smooth transmission. So the longer I drove it, I noticed that do they mean in terms of not feeling the transition between gears, because I sure can feel each one. All the cars that I've driven with 100K plus seems to shift without a notch between gears. I guess by driving another Camry around my mileage should really do the test.

What factors are considered when the word "SMOOTH" is used in transmissions. What I do notice is that the Camry doesn't upshift or downshift at weird parts of the powerbands. Drove a ford escort, and to me that was crazy loud and the transmission seemed to shift all the time at the slightest touch of the accelerator, then there are cars like my father's 300sel, and didnt seem to downshift while merging on the freeway till i had the pedal hard to the floor.

 

[7TFord]

You shouldn't speak about a Ford Escort and a Camry in the same breath Ha Ha!!...no comparison. Engine power has a bearing on the shifting also. Your Benz probably has enough torque to allow the car to get around at low speed without requiring a downshift and at the opposite side the Escort had no torque, thus all the shifting.

My restored 1970 Mustang Mach 1 has a 3 speed auto and will really snap when shifting as that was the way the transmissions worked then. Maybe "smooth" isn't the right term. Your interpretation of smooth may be different than someone elses. Your Toyota is a quality component and you likely need not worry about the transmission. Maybe you should have a Toyota dealer check it though to be sure there are no problems.

 

[brianl703]

quote:

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Originally posted by tadaima:
What I do notice is that the Camry doesn't upshift or downshift at weird parts of the powerbands. Drove a ford escort, and to me that was crazy loud and the transmission seemed to shift all the time at the slightest touch of the accelerator, then there are cars like my father's 300sel, and didnt seem to downshift while merging on the freeway till i had the pedal hard to the floor.

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I've heard that many of these cars will change the shift points according to how they're driven.

That is, they learn. And respond accordingly.

 

[tadaima]

Yea true camry and escorts are two different animals, well the only thing that bothers me about the camry is when I drive it in traffic, seems like when you start to move in traffic and then let go of the gas (at around 15mph), the camry seems to like to upshift right away. Looks like some mechanism that tries to save gas by upshifting as early as possible. Usually I take overdrive off and that seems to cure it, guess thats why that button is there for, but I hate to engage the OD button when I get back to speed around 40mpg, I can really feel the tranny upshift hard, it's not that it creates a large noise, but the jolt is a lot greater than I would like...but by putting the car into OD, the tranny moves into another locked gear..so kinda makes sense...sounds like I should get a CVT transmission if I like smooth riding.

 

[SteveD2]

quote:

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Originally posted by tadaima:
Would adding a transmission on a camry be benificial?

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Yeah, I've heard they run alot better with transmissions.

 

[7TFord]

An automatic transmission is designed to upshift when you back off the gas. Transmission shifting points are regulated by engine vaccuum. If you let the gas off the vaccuum changes and the trans shifts. When accelerating the engine vaccuum is different and doesn't allow the trans to shift....which is exactly what you want. You don't want it shifting to a higher gear until you are done accelerating and you back off the throttle. Sounds all normal to me!! Maybe you should consider trading to a manual!!

 

[tadaima]

7tford,

I see what you are talking about, but I guess that just doesn't seem too smooth to me. I do own a manual transmission, pros and cons to some degree.

The camry AT is good for long trips to places that I don't know or that have a lot of traffic, while the Del sol MT is for fun mainly and around town.

Maybe I am just expecting too much out of my Camry, I baby this thing so much that I expect too much from it. It's my first new car paid it all in cash and regret ever doing that again. I can see $$$$ signs floating away with the first 4 yrs I bought this.

Anyways, thanks for all the input

 

[XS650]

You should go drive another on like yours. Camry transmissions are normally pretty smooth shifting.

You need to drive another like yours because different peoples definition of "smooth" is very different. If you find out yours is normal, it shouldn;t bother you as much. If it isn't normal, then you know it needs work. Both results are better than not knowing.

As far as a cooler goes, if your fluid isn't getting overheated looking and you don't use the car unusually hard, it's probably not worth the $$ and effort.