My car won't move, but my engine is running?
automatic transmissions work off of fluid pressure inside the trans that engages clutches... the burnt smell if from the clutches burning.... time for a new tranny of an overhaul... changing the fluid isnt gonna help you at all.... changing burnt fluid actually causes more problems... but in this case your tranny is already done.. there is a pump inside the transmission that pumps the fluid though a valve body within the transmission and directs it to different clutch packs for differnent gears... when your pump begins to fail your clutches dont fully engage and causes slipping and that is what burnt your clutches and fluid... torque convertor failure is prone also... when you replace or overhaul the tranny and new torque convertor is required....
At what rpms should my automatic car shift?
I have a 2001 oldsmobile alero and I've noticed that if I don't get my rpms to 4000 before I shift into 2nd gear the shift is a lot more noticible. Is this normal? Is it unhealthy for my car to shift at 4k rpms? It redlines at 7k
How high is it safe to rev your car engine when at idle? RPM?
As long as your not red lining it you will be OK, I don't know what year your trans am is but the newer ones have a built in rev limiter built into the computer so it will only rev so high in park or neutral before it cuts the engine out so it doesn't do damage.
Should I rev match when shifting up/down if my car 's gears has synchronizers?
Yes, you should rev match!Rev matching will save the wear on your synchronizers, and make gear changes smoother. It will also reduce wear on your clutch and reduce stress on the gearbox, and drive train as a whole. Most upshifts do not require rev matching, but downshifts should be rev matched.You may have noticed: when you drag the gear lever into a lower gear from higher speed (with the clutch pedal pressed and the engine rpm at idle) there is a tiny “whine” sound from the gear box. That is the synchronizers working hard to facilitate the shift. The harder you make them work the faster they wear out and then eventually they will no longer help you. You can nearly eliminate synchronizer wear by using a technique called double clutching, or double de-clutching if you're from UK. This technique involves the following process:1)clutch depression2)pull gear lever into neutral3)release clutch pedal in neutral, and SIMULTANEOUSLY rev the engine to slightly exceed wheel speed for the next gear you will choose.4)depress the clutch pedal and immediately slip the gear lever into the chosen gear5) If you’re coordinated… you’ll release the clutch pedal again while the engine speed and gear chosen are perfectly matched.If you had no synchronizers in the gearbox you would need to do the above for every downshift, or you will hear and feel a “crunch” as you smack the gears together because they are traveling at such disparate speeds.Rev matching alone…without double clutching, will have an effect of reducing clutch and gear wear, but it becomes more important to make sure that you've reduced the vehicle speed to what is appropriate for the gear you are selecting before moving the lever into the lower gear. Shifting into a gear too low for the speed the vehicle is traveling, even with the clutch depressed, will cause premature wear of the synchronizers. I’ve driven several student cars at various performance driving schools with synchronizers abused and rendered useless. Some students have brought cars in saying “It won't go into second gear.” I’ve taken the car out to check what is going on, and find that it shifts perfectly fine into second gear…but not when you neglect to rev match and double clutch.Aron Dellinger, Certified Porsche Club Driving Instructor
What causes an engine to catch fire when over-revving?
Usually revving too hard and throwing a rod out through the side of the engine block. That spills hot engine oil over the exhaust, that then catches fire. So not only is car on fire, the engine as already written off. You could also cause a fire due to an oil or fuel leak, but that can happen any time (without over revving the engine)
Why is my car overheating on high rev. ie, on high acceleration or climbing steep hills?
No loss of water in sealed system? Cannot be blown head gasket, leaks, etc. Recheck thermostat as I agree that a dealer would not just remove it. And they have been known to install the wrong one(all the thermostat does is allow coolant/water in engine to reach operating temperatures quickly). Simply a valve that opens when hot. Coolant at proper ratio- somewhere at 50/50??? NOT using coolant can cause this problem(but it's for freezing right?- WRONG primarily used to lower boiling point!) Last look at your hoses(intake/outtake) for radiator. Keep hands off(moving parts and I'm sure you're attached to your body parts) and at higher rpms... see if the intake hose to radiator is flexing together(squashing). If the hose squashes on the outtake from radiator then your radiator is plugged up. If it is squashing(or if the hoses are more than three years old) REPLACE them(don't forget the heater core/radiator(and some hoses need a metal spring insert to help them remain round- yours may be missing). Lastly when overheating run your heater at full blast(YES I know BUT that acts as an auxiliary radiator using the heater core system- windows open AC off. And when flushing system run heater to flush that part too. After hose replacement(four hoses) and new DISTILLED water/ coolant replacement run engine till warm with heater ON to ensure you've filled to operating line at reserve reservoir(at that point radiator cap back on or as it heats it will flow out radiator and not back to reservoir), OF COURSE never remove radiator cap while under pressure(HOT). As a habit I always place a large cloth over cap area SO if it sprays it hits cloth and NOT face! And last but not least your water pump may be shot or not being driven by belt... but I doubt it. Shot ones usually leak BUT I have seen where belts were replaced missing the pulley on the water pump- once.
How to drive an automatic car in sports mode ( manual mode )? easy 10 points!?
shift up whenever you want, shift down whenever you want. the cars computer will stop you from doing anything dumb like over-revving with a poorly timed downshift. basically, the intent of manual mode is that you can keep the car at higher engine RPMs giving you more available power. as engines increase in RPM, their power output goes up. if you need to pick up speed quickly its best to downshift to raise engine RPMs and accelerate in the lower gear as you get not just more engine power but also more gearbox reduction resulting in much faster acceleration. when you are done accelerating, just shift up and drive like normal. in many cases, sport mode will have harsher but faster shift settings so a jerky feeling might be normal. to see if it is, try this. drive in automatic and pay attention to what RPMs and speed the gearbox normally shifts at. then try to do the same in manual mode. it should be just as smooth. you just have to time it right. if your sport mode does not modify engine settings, a well practiced driver can use sport mode to shift at lower RPMs to improve fuel economy, higher RPMs to increase engine power whenever they need it and even induce some engine braking to help the life of the brakes. which brings me to my next point. manual mode is awesome for engine braking as it lets you keep engine RPMs high even if you arent accelerating. when you drive down a mountain or a steep hill, it's better to use the engines motion to keep your speed under control rather than the brakes. if you downshift in manual mode while coasting down a hill, the engines natural motion and compression will help slow you down a bit. this is not bad for the engine at all, this behavior is part of its design. if you do this, you can spare your brakes a lot of unnecessary use. on long downhill sections it can also keep your brakes from overheating and experiencing fade which is where they dont work as well. if you use your engine to keep your speed in check should you need to come to an abrupt stop, you will still have your brakes. meanwhile, if you coast down just riding on the brakes to keep your speed down, you may find that if you need to stop suddenly you might not have the braking performance you need.