Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Engine braking (downshifting) with a automatic transmission?

Thanks for the replies all 😎

Point of interest just last month West Virginia I believe, I saw a semi flying downhill the other way on a long grade, trailing dense smoke like a Ju88 that just got hammered by the RAF. Dunno the outcome, they did have runaway truck ramps. Coulda been in Pennsylvania.

‘Nother question....

How often to replace the automatic transmission fluid?

Depends on conditions, towing, loaded, etc. @ 50K for a simple drain and fill. Pull the dipstick and smell to see if it smells burned. Always check for appropriate fluid.

When I,m coming into Salt Lake from the East on I80 with my 8000 travel trailer behind my Tundra I just lock it in 3rd gear and cruise at about 60 MPH

Hardly ever using the brakes. Also in the Trundra if you are in drive and you start hitting the brake the trans will shift lower by itself. Also in the mountains

I increase the trailer braking, on my brake controller, I just leave it there until I get back to flat ground.

..............I for one disagree with this so-called "lifetime" ya never need to change your trans fluid hype from some auto manufacturers. All trans fluid sooner or later breaks down and will eventually fail to properly lubricate the internal parts. The more the fluid breaks down over time and miles losing the ability to properly lubricate, the higher the liklihood for excessive heat which is any transmission's worst enemy. Check your owners manual to see if there is a recommended mileage for your transmission's fluid and filter to be changed............And then investigate what full synthetic trans fluid options are compatible with your vehicle. Using 100% synthetic eliminates petroleum acid based by-products found within conventional trans fluids that tend to wear down the internal parts faster such as the clutches, gears etc and using 100% synthetic will keep the inside of your trans much cleaner and run cooler.

100% synthetic costs more per quart, but well worth that extra cost imo as a preventative maintenance option.

I am not an Amsoil dealer or a distributor, nor do I have any business affiliation with Amsoil other than to buy their products. Amsoil has perhaps the best 100% synthetic lubricants on the planet; if not the very best on the planet as numerous tests and reports have shown that exceed Mobil One as well all other well known synthetics in almost every category. The idea is preventative maintenance, or to prevent you from having to see the inside of of a trans shop lobby for as long as you own your vehicle.

Regardless of how good Amsoil is or how good any other synthetic is you should still follow the reco'd mileage interval between changes. In my Ram truck I swapped over from the OE trans fluid to Amsoil at 55K miles and then changed the fluid and filter again at 125K using Amsoil.

Go on you tube a type in "million mile Amsoil challenge"....There you will find a two part video made by a guy who either still owns or did own a 1999 Chev van that he used for his multi-state delivery business which he bought new....At approx the 930,000 mile mark the engine was pulled and what was thought to be a larger problem only turned out to be only a valve grommet or something to that effect. And his OE transmission? At the time the video was made, 1.2 million miles on it and still going strong using Amsoil 100% synthetic trans fluid.

There are other lesser expensive choices besides Amsoil. If you happen to be running conventional trans fluid, swap over to a 100% synthetic.

John Schlimmer is the guy's name...."Million Mile Amsoil Challenge" on you tube.

Small world, I have a Nissan Frontier. It is a 2010 with 4WD. A 3.5 liter six cylinder. I live in the NC mountains. Got a long steep hill about a mile long I have to drive every time I go into town. A real brake fryer. I always downshift into low, run it at about 40 mph. I have run that hill at least 600 times in this Nissan and no transmission problems.

I lived on a short steep hill in NW PA town. At the bottom was the main road through town...................and the river. No wall as I recall, just a guardrail.

I did the Salt River canyon many times when I lived in that part of AZ. Not the only way, but the quickest to get to Phoenix for air travel, Costco, etc. But, that was in the early 2000s. My first time going down and up was during the monsoon, in 1975. Driving a 1954 Chevy Bel Aire with vacuum wipers. A very nice semi driver pulled over starting up the hill so I could pass, or I would have had some very slow wipers going for a few miles.

And yes, even with a 2 speed Powerglide, I used low gear once I got it slowed down to below 25MPH coming down. Holding a 4000lb car back with those undersized drum brakes (Not even power brakes) was never fun..

Some newer automatic transmissions don't even have a dipstick. Just follow the manual I guess.

My Nissan is a 2010. No dipstick. I guess, you never need to add transmission fluid.

This post is not about diesels, but I'll just add that if you do lots of driving in hills and over mountain passes, absolutely nothing beats a diesel and today's excellent exhaust brake systems.
Couple of years ago, I headed west over Wolf Creek Pass in SW CO, towing a travel trailer with my GMC Sierra Duramax. Using my cruise control, and with the Tow/Haul mode and exhaust brake activated, I was able to make it all the way from the summit of the pass westward to the bottom without ever once touching the brakes. This system really works well.

2019 Escape S, 2.5L six speed auto. I'm impressed how the cruise control and auto transmission will use downshifting and engine braking to maintain my speed on steep down hills. I like to switch to S mode and play with the shift button when I need to slow down. 69,000 miles no issues with the brakes or the transmission yet.

Brake dancers on downhills are annoying.

Those no dipstick transmissions get changed by the dealer.

Good grief Geno, I didn't realize you were 90 + years old...... drum brakes.... powerglides..... hell, that schit was obsolete by the time I was a teenager .... although we did run that crap... being young broke and all.

The stupid is strong in many post here.... the old transmissions turbo 350 & 400's , C4 & C6, Torqueflights etc..... downshifting didn't hurt them one bit, it was of limited effectiveness as the torque converter would slip, as it was designed to do.
The newer transmissions in trucks at least are designed to lock the converters and downshift in the tow/haul mode.
The real deal is the Ram with the Cummins, now that is an animal in the braking department and worth the coast of the diesel option in my book

On a slightly different track, this is dealing with manual transmissions in the 18 wheeler. When you get to a hill on the interstate, and there is a five-mile downhill that is steep, and they have signs "THREE TRUCK RUNOFF RAMPS NEXT 4 MILES. MAX SPEED 45 MPH."

You better shift down into 7th gear and let that transmission handle that hill. If you try to ride down that steep hill in 10th gear and let the brakes handle it, you won't make it. Your brakes will begins smoking and then will catch on fire. Either you have to eat the runoff ramp, which means you have had a bad day, or else you ride it on down and pull over. Your brakes catch fire, then the tires catch fire and the trailer burns up. Either truck runoff ramp or burned up trailer, your trucking career has come to an end.

Since the Op is a Texan and many Texans have opined.... again about things they know nothing about I am not surprised..... and Birdy you ask a legit question ..... for a flatlander

Agree with your assay of some stupid stuff - you are correct about the auto trans effects. Those who speak against that because replacing brake shoes is cheaper than "repairing" an auto trans seem to not know the territory, and most likely have never experienced serious brake fade - at which point the brake system is a zero - useless.

More than once I have seen and smelled smoking brakes on i70. Happily never been there for a wreck scene.

I spent some time welding on the bridge at white bird idaho.....seen a few come by cooked off.