sorry for post after posts but i dont have much time and i have all these questions !
the cl is the first auto i ever owned and i cant get the shifting feel outa my system yet .. so i still downshift to d3 and shift back up to d4 often .. i even used to put her in 2nd sometimes that i dont do that nomore ... but i still shfit up and down d3 d4 alot everyday ... i thought since d3 is there its designed for that but lots of people tell me not to do that ..
im kinda concerned for the tranny now

 

unless you got 2g's layin around, I would take it easy on the tranny

 

i dont have 2gs laying around at all !! but i wanna know why is it bad for the tranny .. if there is a d3 and d4 then it means that u could drive the car either in d3 or d4 .. so why not ???

 

man- I am all over your posts tonight (heh heh)

The owners manual says u can drive it in D3 up to 55mph, but downshifting all the time just puts extra strain on the tranny which you dont need with the 3.0. Our cars are notorious for tranny problems even if you dont drive them hard.

 

its ok to do it. 3rd and 4th clutches arent our problem cheldren 1st and 2nd are. when ur in d2 thats only 2nd gear it doesent downshift to 1st. tho it is best just to leave it in d4 and drive, unless ur racing. i mean competetivly driving.

 

What if you were to override the TCU and turn the auto into a semi-auto - like a tiptronic. Where it only shifted when you wanted it to - in theory the tranny would shift less often. Would it last longer? Maybe I am crazy, but it should be doable.

Basically from what I see about the difference between D4 and D3 is D3 up-shifts later - and you have no 4th. D4 up-shifts sooner and can seem to decide what gear it should be in at low speed - and you have 4th for overdrive.

 

yea you can make the electronics for that work and then get back to us...

 

I would watch ALL parts of these trannies! Mine slips when it downshifts from 4 to 3 on the highway.

 

its impossible with these trannies. they use throttle position and speed to judge when to change gears. if u made it change at a certain rpm over whats allowed u will burn up the clutches quick. kind of like when u have a bad vss. (vehicle speed sensor) the #1 leading cause of death to these m7za trannies.

 

how could i check my speed sensor before i get tranny problems ??
its a habit for me to drive the car hard, very often .. its my only fun time, in the whole day !!

 

u have to ohm it out.

 

hmmm ! ohm it out ey .. hehe didnt click for me bro .. do u mean i have to open the tranny and use an ohm meter and check the sensor ???!!! what is the proper reading for it nwayz ?

 

I wouldn't do the D4 to D3 downshift if you can avoid it. I used to do it a fair amount and I just had to replace my tranny at 135K - when they took it apart, they said the insides were a mess and quite worn out. I definitely thinks it puts extra strain on the internals and would avoid doing if you want your tranny to last a long time...alternative, shift often and pay $2800 like I just did.

 

i shift from 1 to d4 all the time on my 2.2. no problems so far. i like to always be in a gear because our autos dont know when to shift, so like when coming out of a turn i'll drop it in 2 and then to d3. its computerized, so it really cant hurt it.

 

i hear ya on that one. but its still damaging, and still auto

 

tis true.

 

the sensor is on the outside. i have to look up what the res. is pos to be.

 

d3 just mean it wont go to over drive. if i'm gonna race anybody i would just leave it in d3, else just drive it in d4...2 and 1 is to haul heavy things and u dont want the tranny to shift to 3rd or 4th.