Which additive do I put in my transmission?

Don't ever use additives in your trans its a waste of money and can even cause problems . If its cold enough let your car warm up in neutral before driving off. Last week I drove in temps of -40f and experienced the same problem (let it warm up).

Jim.J

The best additive might be some service. First, tell us how many miles are on the odometer. Second, tell us the last time that the transmission had a filter and fluid replacement.

---Bob Gross---

Sounds as if your seals, in the trans, are starting to get a little hard. When this happens, they are not as flexible and cause problems. When it gets too cold, they contract and the fluid will bypass the seal and thereby not engage a clutch pack. Once it warms up they will expand enough to make a proper seal and you are on your way.

I personally don't like additives at all, but if I was going to try one, I'd stick with the Lucas product.

Patrick

Mght be a crack in the clutch drum. This was a problem I had after a rebuilt was done. Car wouldn't go over 12mph till after you drove it about 8 blocks, then all was fine. Only did it if it was colder than 35 degrees.

========= Harryface =========

1991 Pontiac Bonneville LE, 3800 V6 _~_~_~_~276,100 miles_~_~_ ~_~_

additive,,,,,,,what for????

162,000 miles + and i haven;t even changed the filteror fluid. Its still pretty red.

Lucky minority.

I bet you'd be surprised to see the bottom of your ATF pan and magnet.

That's way too many miles on the same fluid, IMO.

I was once told by a Canadian resident that it's better to place the vehicle in neutral as that will warm up the trans as well If it's in park, the trans will supposedly not warm up.

Not sure if that's true or not, but when I warm up my vette, I check the temp gauges for coolant and trans fluid. If I leave the car in park, the tranny fluid doesn't seem to warm up much at all. If I put the car in neutral, the trans fluid does warm up much faster.

Just my $0.02

Rick

My neighbor used to say the same thing until his tranny died. Transmission filters and fluid have a finite life and just because the fluid looks good doesn't mean that it's still doing its job as designed. I change both of mine on a regular basis and I've never had major automatc transmission problems. As for additives, I normally don't use them but recently my TCC solenoid was sticking and I added some Sea Foam Transmission additive (from NAPA) and it cleared up in a couple of days.

Im Right mumbled : 162,000 miles + and I haven't even changed the filter or fluid yet, its still prety red.

When I worked for an Amaco Gas Station / Service Station in 1984 our lead mechanic changed the transmission oil in a 66 Buick LeSabre or was it a Wildcat.? After he was done. three of us had to push the car out of the door as the car would not move on its own accord.

That car was so used to running on worn thinned out fluid, it wouldn't operate with new fluid.

The owner was very upset that the car wouldn't run. He blamed us for ruining his car. He refused to pay the greek what he owed for the trans oil change. So we ended up keeping his car for over 3 months ( locked in a fenced in lot ) or so till the owner finally agreed to give us the title for the labor rate so the car could be junked.

========= Harryface =========

1991 Pontiac Bonneville LE, 3800 V6 _~_~_~_~276,100 miles_~_~_ ~_~_

R,

What does your trans temp usualy gauge run at? Was that a facotry gauge or did you add it ?

I'd like to put one in my car but the auto parts stores around here stock garbage for gauges, little tiny dials on them too.I like 3" diameter Autometer's.

========= Harryface =========

1991 Pontiac Bonneville LE, 3800 V6 _~_~_~_~276,100 miles_~_~_ ~_~_

Can't recall as my corvette is stored for the winter, and I haven't run it for a while with all the white stuff we've been getting here. You should know, right? You're a fellow Chicago area resident as well, right?

If you'd like, I can let the car warm up real good and see what it reads and report back to you.

Factory. I'd have no hope of knowing how to install one.

I'm with you on that one. Who wants to have to squint at their gauges?

Rick

I forgot to say that I have 120,000 miles on the car. Also, I change the fluid and filter every 20,000 miles so that will not be the problem.

_~_~_~_~_~>>Chicago Southwest Suburbs.

========= Harryface =========

1991 Pontiac Bonneville LE, 3800 V6 _~_~_~_~276,100 miles_~_~_ ~_~_

I've used Lucas transmission fix before on a 440t4 trans (which I'm almost positive is what you have in that car) as a "stop-gap" method of prolonging the inevitable (replacing the trans, or replacing the car), due to cold weather shifting issues, as well as a slipping 2nd gear clutch. It actually worked...... For a while (about 5000 miles). If nothing else is wrong with the tranny, i'd just make sure to warm it up prior to slapping it in gear, and forget about the "snake oils"

Transaxles tend to warm up far most quickly in neutral or in drive... Neutral is best, idling in drive for a long time will wear out the trans eventually.

Well whaddya know? Me too!

Would you mind if I sent you an email so we can disclose which towns we live in without everyone and their brother knowing as well?

I still say synthetic trans fluid is the best "pour in fix" going. Figure on an early filter change, as the synthetic loosens old dirt. I've seen synthetic fix more than one neglected transmission. If your fluid is still red, that's all the more reason to upgrade to a superior product, and congrad. yourself for being a responsible driver.