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Maintenance of automatic transmissions - convenience has its price

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Created on June 3, 2022

Text:

Sven Jürisch

Photos:

Sven Jürisch

Design and maintenance of automatic transmissions: You don't have to worry about shifting gears with an automatic transmission. But you do have to worry about the technology involved ...

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Design and maintenance of automatic transmissions: The mechanics of an automatic transmission are a complex matter.

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Design and maintenance of automatic transmissions: The torque converter

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Design and maintenance of automatic transmissions: Simmerring

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Design and maintenance of automatic transmissions: The clutch plates wear out quickly with reckless driving.

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Assembly and maintenance of automatic transmissions: If the transmission control unit works mechanically, the pressure lines must be checked for damage and kinks.

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Design and maintenance of automatic transmissions: This automatic transmission is obviously operated by a Bosch transmission control unit.

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Design and maintenance of automatic transmissions: Defective sensors can cause shifting errors and transmission damage.

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Assembly and maintenance of automatic transmissions: Sometimes the wiring harness also draws oil into the plugs due to defective seals.

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Design and maintenance of automatic transmissions: Wiring harness

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Design and maintenance of automatic transmissions: This is how dry the contacts must be.

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Installation and maintenance of automatic transmissions: The circuit board of the control unit should remain dry, otherwise there is a risk of a short circuit.

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Design and maintenance of automatic transmissions: The sensors can be covered in metal shavings and thus impaired in their function.

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Design and maintenance of automatic transmissions: The simplest check: Check the fill level with the dipstick

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Structure and maintenance of automatic transmissions: An oil pan with residue

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Design and maintenance of automatic transmissions: The transmission oil filter

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Assembly and maintenance of automatic transmissions: If chips or even chunks of metal come to light, it often gets expensive.

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Structure and maintenance of automatic transmissions: The removed cartridge reveals a lot about the condition of the transmission.

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Design and maintenance of automatic transmissions: Water-oil cooling unit

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Design and maintenance of automatic transmissions: Oil hoses

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Construction and maintenance of automatic transmissions: A gearbox flushing device

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Assembly and maintenance of automatic transmissions: You need the right attachments and adapters to flush an automatic transmission.

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Design and maintenance of automatic transmissions: Of course, it is also important to fill the transmission with the prescribed type of oil.

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Assembly and maintenance of automatic transmissions: A disassembled automatic transmission

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Assembly and maintenance of automatic transmissions: Plaque on the transmission

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Assembly and maintenance of automatic transmissions: The sticker indicates the type of replacement transmission installed.

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Assembly and maintenance of automatic transmissions: Without a diagnostic device, you won't get very far with younger classic cars with automatic transmissions.

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Installation and maintenance of automatic transmissions: Reading out the control unit

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Summary

Automatic transmissions are also widely used in classic and modern cars. However, as they get older, automatic gearboxes often cause problems if they have not been regularly and thoroughly serviced. This article explains where the biggest problems lie, what tricks can be used to detect possible defects and how to prevent gearbox damage. This richly illustrated article explains the maintenance and pitfalls of automatic transmissions.

This article contains the following chapters

Maintenance undesirable
Expensive late effects
Act in good time
Incorrect electronic information
Pitfalls in detail
No spills allowed
So test who binds himself.
Change mood
Flushing for optimum results
Tips for checking automatic transmissions
First troubleshooting tips
How to drive gently in automatic transmission

Estimated reading time: 9min

Preview (beginning of the article)

"Always forwards, never backwards" is the old saying of the GDR's upper echelons, as the owner of the first-series Audi A8 recalls when he tried to reverse into the parking space. The luxury liner did not move a millimeter despite being in reverse gear. Only from 3000 rpm did the vehicle crawl back a little. The diagnosis came a little later from the transmission specialist "Transmission Repair" in Henstedt-Ulzburg near Hamburg: the reverse gear was worn out - and that with a mileage of just 120,000 kilometers. Hardly any kilometers and yet major damage - how is that possible? This often happens with youngtimers, explains Marco van der Low, a master mechanic at Transmission Repair who has been familiar with the plight of automatic gearshifts for over twenty years. From the mid-nineties onwards, car manufacturers removed the previously standard change intervals for automatic transmission oil from the service schedules for cost reasons. This eliminated a maintenance item for the customer, which initially had a positive effect on maintenance costs - especially for fleets. The new car customers of the past were less interested in whether the lack of an oil change would possibly promote wear on the transmission and thus provoke a later breakdown.

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