Posted on 12/07/2019 12:56:06 PM PST by DUMBGRUNT
“Automatic transmissions used to be such simple things. Torque converter and planetary gear sets, shifted with governor valves that either upshifted or downshifted, depending on the changing loads on the drive line.”
I don’t know what streetable engine could break a Turbo 400 from 60’s-80’s GM. However, I read that it took 18HP just to run the hydraulics!
Every mechanic that I’ve known who has even SEEN one calls a transmission a “tranny”.
That was a typo... not 180.. should have been 1980 Town Car.
What a beast, and yeah..the air suspension time delays and height changes— always wondered about that. Was just weird. Reminded me of the Citroen with the ‘hydropneumatic self-levelling suspension” you could see adjusting up or down as it drove away.
Ultimately, I believe that Ford will be buying the cars back or be installing transmissions of a wet clutch design. They really screwed up hard here and there is plenty of paper trail.
True air suspension for the TC (rear only) was at the last months of 1989 during model change over.
Dad bought a new 1966 Pontiac Bonneville with a 389 V8 coupled to a Turbo-Hydramatic transmission. I learned to drive on that huge land yacht. It was probably the smoothest car I ever drove.
“Fleetwood Mac was turning out hits while inhaling mountains of cocaine, and the guys on the assembly line were saying “why should they have all the fun?”
Great book from a guy working the assembly line in the GM Bus and Truck plant in Flint Michigan. Explains why the door won’t fit because the quarter panel is welded on 1/2” too far in...
https://www.amazon.com/Rivethead-Tales-Assembly-Ben-Hamper/dp/0446394009
Yeah I liked my mustang. I usually drive chevys but I just had to have a mustang back then. I’ve got an s-10 works great and I’m keeping it as long as I can. Less electronics and it does better on icy/ snow roads than my other vehicles.
Agreed, the original Oldsmobile Hydromatic, also used in the Pontiacs and Cadillacs of the time, and licensed out to some other manufacturers, was a highly complex and at times touchy piece of machinery, but remember, it was the first relatively reliable and available automatic transmission for the general public. There were a lot of versions of “semi-automatic” transmissions, that used a fluid drive and a foot clutch, most generally engineered by Chrysler, and involved a four-speed gearbox, but could only upshift because there was a momentary cutout of engine power, by an interruption of the ignition.
It was a big thing when Buick introduced the torque converter and the high-low two-speed planetary in about 1950 or so, with a similar design being used in the Chevrolets a year or so later. Much simpler in design than the original Hydromatic, the design was quickly copied by Chrysler and introduced about the same time.
Ford adopted the Borg-Warner torque converter and three-speed planetary design, for several years, until they engineered their own version. I think Studebaker also used the same design.
Thanks...good recap of the early years of automatic transmissions.
Yeah.. I hate that.!! I wonder if it would do any harm if one were to drive with the traction thingie turned off..?
HOLY JUMP UP AND SIT DOWN..!!!
I don’t want to jinx myself in light of this thread, but I bought my F150 in 2010 with 46k on it... after it was involved in a minor front-end collision, and then repaired. She passed 405k last month. Numerous things replaced over that span (4 alternators?!?), but the engine (4.6L) and transmission are both still going strong.
Ford, GM, Chrysler... All are junk now.
I have a 1998 Chev K2500. 210k miles on it. I need an HD pickup so I put in a new factory engine in at 200k. Tranny still fine. Keeping fingers crossed.
Maybe you're a snowflake who is triggered by that word?
Hey, every now and then you get lucky. Or, unlucky as the case may be. The 2012 6 speed model also suffered from shifter problems, but mine did not. Rather, mine had a host of other "Mustang" problems besides the ones I orginally mentioned. I should mention that no drivers under the age of 50 ever drove my car, and it was garaged and well maintained.
His comments about Michael Moore (who he apparently knew since they were kids) are great.
You must have gotten one of
those “Friday” cars. I had
reservations about purchasing
the 2012 with the newly
developed coyote engine as
I had read a few negative reviews.
But most of those were from those
who were tuning their cars for
more performance.
The anti-torque-steer function actually can’t be disabled but it can be replaced with another algorithm like Cobb’s, I hear. Basically just a higher-powered front wheel drive thing you mostly have to live with.
The engine and drive train in my 2012 Mustang has been solid as a rock. But, it suffers from the Mustang “clunk in the trunk” as the noisy rear sway bar bushings are called. I ended up replacing them with a set for an earlier Shelby that lasted much longer than the stock ones, but they too eventually got noisy. It was just a bad design to begin with. And, I’m still trying to figure out how to remount the water pump to stop it from leaking. The Ford fix wasn’t a fix. It was just a band-aid. I should also mention that after about 25k miles the rubber gaskets that held in both front side marker lights disintegrated. I replaced them with some aftermarket ones that have since lasted forever. And, don’t get me started on parts of the interior that are starting to fall apart. Remember, this is a garage-kept car. But hey, it still does look good and run good.
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