I have an important question that will decide the future of my car and where I'm able to go with it on road trips.
Question is: how do I keep my transmission healthy outside of normal service when it's expected to be under continuous strain for long periods?
Basic info is I have a 1998 rav4 with an automatic transmission. The transmission is a Chrysler dodge designed a540h fit for awd.
Reason for my worry is I had to replace it before. On my previous long road trip I had to cross the Appalachians to get to Virginia. And the drive forced my to go 45 in second gear for over an hour up the mountain on the way there and back. Not even a week after returning to normal life, my transmission was slipping, the oil was in poor health and shortly died one night after going from college to work. I had it replaced with a junkyard tranny from the same year rav4 and carefully chosen for having the same mileage within 10k of mine to keep an even service sheet. I flushed it and replaced the seals then installed it. It's been almost a year and usually I would have gone on a few trips by now but that experience kinda got me scared for my cars health. It's my only vehicle, and the only vehicle for me, and I'd be devastated if I killed it again. I want to go on more adventures with my car and my friends but I want to make sure it can take what the terrain dishes out.
Any tips, kits, fixes, other transmissions that might fit the application (off-road, long distance, more durable than the kidneys of a person living in Flint Michigan?) If there are other transmissions I'd like another automatic or a manual that doesn't have a tree style shifte, I'd rather focus on the drive and the scenes rather than where 3rd is. and retain the transverse awd.
J
I agree
Joe Shumo
If all you are doing is honing a cylinder to replace the crosshatching for new rings it definitely doesn’t matter as the bore is barrel shaped / tapered anyways from wear. It’s even more dubious on an un decked block that hasn’t been line bored to correct for core shift misalignment.
Keir Stitt
Should note that whilst there's distortion from this and distortion from a cylinder head – both will be different distortion patterns.
An aluminium head is probably softer than one of these so it's more likely that the block is going to warp the head more than the head warps the block.
I'd be interested to see these measurements done with the actual head on – maybe from the crank end?
In any case the distortion is tiny and well within tolorance – your piston rings have play in them for a reason.
ihdieselman
It depends a significant amount on the design of the cylinder. Some engines don't get much distortion others see quite a bit.
Nifnix
Yeah I should definitely be able to understand what you're saying but my European ass can't do imperial units 🤣
Darryl Seale
Diesel engines, it's mandatory in my opinion. I honed some with and without, and the ones without burned oil and had more blow by.
Fred Flintstone
Great point.
Theodore Grissom
Fun fact race specific engines that have tight tolerances are machined hot with torque plates and mains torqued. Thanks for coming to my Ted talk
I have an important question that will decide the future of my car and where I'm able to go with it on road trips.
Question is: how do I keep my transmission healthy outside of normal service when it's expected to be under continuous strain for long periods?
Basic info is I have a 1998 rav4 with an automatic transmission. The transmission is a Chrysler dodge designed a540h fit for awd.
Reason for my worry is I had to replace it before. On my previous long road trip I had to cross the Appalachians to get to Virginia. And the drive forced my to go 45 in second gear for over an hour up the mountain on the way there and back. Not even a week after returning to normal life, my transmission was slipping, the oil was in poor health and shortly died one night after going from college to work. I had it replaced with a junkyard tranny from the same year rav4 and carefully chosen for having the same mileage within 10k of mine to keep an even service sheet. I flushed it and replaced the seals then installed it. It's been almost a year and usually I would have gone on a few trips by now but that experience kinda got me scared for my cars health. It's my only vehicle, and the only vehicle for me, and I'd be devastated if I killed it again. I want to go on more adventures with my car and my friends but I want to make sure it can take what the terrain dishes out.
Any tips, kits, fixes, other transmissions that might fit the application (off-road, long distance, more durable than the kidneys of a person living in Flint Michigan?) If there are other transmissions I'd like another automatic or a manual that doesn't have a tree style shifte, I'd rather focus on the drive and the scenes rather than where 3rd is. and retain the transverse awd.
I agree
If all you are doing is honing a cylinder to replace the crosshatching for new rings it definitely doesn’t matter as the bore is barrel shaped / tapered anyways from wear.
It’s even more dubious on an un decked block that hasn’t been line bored to correct for core shift misalignment.
Should note that whilst there's distortion from this and distortion from a cylinder head – both will be different distortion patterns.
An aluminium head is probably softer than one of these so it's more likely that the block is going to warp the head more than the head warps the block.
I'd be interested to see these measurements done with the actual head on – maybe from the crank end?
In any case the distortion is tiny and well within tolorance – your piston rings have play in them for a reason.
It depends a significant amount on the design of the cylinder. Some engines don't get much distortion others see quite a bit.
Yeah I should definitely be able to understand what you're saying but my European ass can't do imperial units 🤣
Diesel engines, it's mandatory in my opinion. I honed some with and without, and the ones without burned oil and had more blow by.
Great point.
Fun fact race specific engines that have tight tolerances are machined hot with torque plates and mains torqued.
Thanks for coming to my Ted talk
It’s worth it just to flex on the other mechanics