Very often , I pass from D , to 3rd gear , to 2nd just to slow down without using the brakes , and then return
to D . Is this a bad habit to have ?
to D . Is this a bad habit to have ?
Downshifting
- Thread starter bastenblood
- Start date
bastenblood said:
eh, not so much as long as your not revving the nuts off it. I use 3rd all the time to hold back on hills (I live in the mountains). I don't go down to 2nd at stops or nething just if I am going slower than 3rd will engage.
Incidently when you are going down hill and select a downshift after a few seconds if the engine is above around 1200 or 1300 RPM the PCM will cut out the fuel injectors giving you more holdback and infinite gas mileage (wooo) ...
I go D, 3, 2 every once in a while because I like the sound of my engine winding down without the resonator. 
RayVoy said:
Most of the damage to a sun gear can be attributed to incorrect shimming... Or excessive shim wear... Or... abuse and old age.
If rumors were yadda yadda, you know the rest.
Good you said that though so it can be discussed... :wootwoot:
AtlWrk
Member
- Dec 6, 2011
- 674
bastenblood said:
Cautionary tale: I've done the D-3rd downshift for as long as I've owned my TB (4+ yrs). In the last 6 months or so I added the D-3rd-2nd habit as well.
Long story short: A few weeks ago I had all three torque converter-to-driveplate bolts loosen and back out. Fortunatelyish one of the bolts backed out far enough to start striking the back of the engine casting (making a god awful racket) to alert me before it let go completely.
Turns out that the clunking noise that developed at startup and the harder-than-normal shifts were the loose TC bolts slamming back and forth against flywheel holes. I can't definitively prove that the downshifting was the root cause but I do know I'm looking at replacing a flywheel in the near future.
Moral: If you're going to do it, do so carefully and you should be fine. In particular, avoid aggressive torque reversals...if it feels abusive, it probably is.