Camry auto_tranny shifting <?>

Readership,

I'm a neebie to the Camry line , just aquired a well cared for '94' , need to know if the Over_drive button on the auto_trany shifter can be engaged/dis_engaged while the vehicle is under 'way' ???

Or , "stop" , then engage/disengage.

Thanks for any replies ... flame. :-) Ed.

Reply to
0_Qed
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The Owner's Manual explains the "Overdrive" button. The OD button prevents OD from being engaged. It's a "blocker" selector. If you are already in OD, pressing the button once will force a downshift to 3rd gear until you press the button again.

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    - Philip
Reply to
Philip

You can disengage it moving but I just leave it on for normal driving. It will not even actuate till motor temp is 110 or 120f .

Reply to
m Ransley

i have a '99 w/140k on it and i usually disengage it when i'm driving around town up to speeds 40-45 mph. if i'm on a road that is posted 40mph and higher i engage the O/D. i do the same w/ the '02 i picked up last month and it drives real well and the rpm's don't get too high either. it can be engaged/disengaged at any time, i've even used it for high speed engine braking, like when you almost miss an exit ramp and need to slow quickly and and don't want to just rely on your brakes to get ya there.

mike..........

Reply to
JerseyMike

i've even used it for high speed engine braking, like when you almost miss an exit ramp and need to slow quickly and and don't want to just rely on your brakes to get ya there.

-------- Remembering, brake pads cost less than transmissions, which would you rather wear out first?

------------ Once had a BMW motorcycle (R75/5). I was in college, and BMW had a reputation for long term durability with all gear and driveshaft power train - no chains. I used to like to downshift and use engine braking like you're describing. Worked great and was fun, too. One evening, in the dark and cold by a long deserted stretch along the coast, somewhere near Oceanside, CA, cruising down the freeway, I lost power and was stranded by the side of the road. Even though I'd been downshifting smoothly, turns out the extra pressure had stripped out the splines in the clutch disk.

Reply to
Daniel

Downshifting was NOT responsible for the stripped splines. That you happened to experience spline failure at that particular moment is coincidental. What you failed to do was follow BMW's maintenance schedule of separating the transmission from the engine enough to dap some of that exotic Schaburag grease on those ittie bittie splines. The service interval was something like yearly or 20k miles. You pays a little at a time or you pay a one lump sum later.

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    - Philip
Reply to
Philip

if i did it all the time and abused the tranny, then i'd be worried, but being able to use that on/off for the OD comes in real handy even manuvering on the highway or interstates when necessary. the difference is knowing when you can downshift and when you shouldn't downshift.

mike.............

Reply to
JerseyMike

There is a world of difference between pulling an automatic back thru the gears (or just one gear) and performing rev-matched downshifts with a manual transmission. In the first instance you are forcing the bands and clutches to work, while in the manual, clutch slippage is minimal if done correctly ( double declutch).

It's interesting from a learner's point of view also. Here in Australia, learner drivers are taught to downshift in manual transmission vehicles, for engine assisted braking as well as using the brake-pedal. Its improves stability and sets the car up in the right gear for exiting the situation.

I agree with your reluctance to punish the automatic.

In the case of the bike, that drive-shaft spline stripping is a design weakness. There are numerous splines in a FWD car which work happily in both direction of drive or torque.

Jason

Reply to
Jason James

Jason. The BMW K series would strip the transmission input splines if they were not periodically lubricated as mentioned in the BMW Tech bulletins. There were 22 spline "teeth" instead of the typcial 8 (BMW's explanation was dubious to me at the time). The splines on K-series final drive pinion shaft (without ParaLever)were not known for stripping at all.

Jason, in the case of FWD cars, the multi ball CV joints not only operate at an angle as necessary, they ALSO have some linear travel capability just like a slip yoke (on splines). So the only splines that are present in automatics is to facilitate locking a shaft to a hub and securing it with a circlip or locknut.

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    - Philip
Reply to
Philip

they

was

More splines is supposed to increase strength,..but where you have a sliding spline I guess more teeth means greater wear-rate perhaps.

at

a

Yep,...I now realise the BMW spline was also required to 'slide' as opposed to just 'locking' . Regular greasing would have been mandatory.

Jason

Reply to
Jason James

The BMW K series would strip the transmission input splines if they

bulletins.

explanation was

--------- The earlier design with fewer, larger, stronger splines on the transmission input shaft never presented a problem.

--------- Philip you are an encyclopedia of information. If I asked about the 28.5 hp rear engine Fiat I bought in High School for $5, with the engine in pieces in a cardboard box, you probably know things about that I missed also. :?) Never heard about greasing the splines - but then I wasn't reading tech bulletins then - there was no Internet, apart from possibly DARPA - restriced to public access.

-------- I left off motorcycle riding after the R75/5. Figured I'd done everything there is to do on a bike -- after riding 75,000 miles, rain and shine, long distance touring, plus off road hill climbing, trail riding and jumping, -- except have a serious crash on the pavement. Used to fix my friends motorcycles in exchange for an opportunity to ride them, so I got to ride the BSA 440 Victor, Triumph twins, Harley Davisdon, Honda, Kawasaki 500 three cylinder 0 - 60 under 4 seconds, etc. My favorite was the BMW, quiet, smooth, balanced, dependable (except that single episode with the clutch disk). Looks like the California CHP finally recognized their value, too.

Reply to
Daniel

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