Am I hurting my VX transmission?

[Lease-V-cross]

Sometimes when I am cruising along and I am coming down a steep hill, I downshift to 3, then 2 and possibly 1st gear.
Therefore saving my brakes.
This is a good thing, correct?
I never sit at a red light in 1st gear and race anyone, taking my VX up thru all the gears. I don't think that's a wise thing to do anyway.
Also, does anyone else's VX make a "clunk" when changing gears? I think it happens mostly when I go from Drive to Park... or Park to Reverse.
What is that noise? Is my transmission going?

thanks!

[WyrreJ]

No. compression braking was a good thing like 20 years ago. Modern brakes are a lot longer-lived than they used to be, so now compression braking does more harm than it does good.

As for sitting in 1st at a red light, that's where you ought to be anytime you are stopped unless you've got unusual conditions like a really icy road. If you leave it on automatic that's where the AT will go on its own.

The VX is my first and only automatic, but I really see no reason to manually shift during normal operation.

[thebear54]

I have always used 3rd and 2nd downshifts when I cruise down a steep hill in every imaginable vehicle and have never had any tranny problems. Like you said it saves on the brakes.
The clunking you are hearing when you shift from park could be weak U-joints. When was the last time you greased them? Grease them up and you might hear a big difference. There are three fittings on the VX drive line so it doesn't take very long.
John

[Lease-V-cross]

I'm not much of a mechanic....where are these "U joints" you speak of ? (sounding like a cave-man )

[Moncha]

Looking under your VX, the long tubular thing that runs the length of the vehicle is the drive shaft. The U-Joints are at the points like where the driveshaft meets the transmission, the rear axle and in the middle.

[MZ-N10]

well...if u look in the vx manual they acutally tell u to down shift down hill, i think it was called engine braking.

[transio]

I know for a fact that engine braking is not suggested in a high performance manual car (clutches are way more expensive than brake pads). Not sure about an automatic, though...

[SGT.BATGUANO]

Engine braking does just that, it reduces your speed by tranferring energy in reverse order through the driveline . It also causes extra wear on those components, especially the timing belt/chain. Use the brakes unless you're in exceptionally steep, hilly terrain.

[MachineVX]

Brakes are a lot cheaper than transmission . . .

[VehiGAZ]

Amen to that, MachineVX! Yes, everyone is correct that engine-compression braking saves wear on the brakes, but you all have to go the rest of the way with that thought... "engine-compression braking saves wear on the brakes ...at the expense of your clutch and drive-train. Brake pads are cheap compared to a new clutch, friends.

That said, it is perfectly ok and highly recommended to use gears 2 and 3 for keeping your car from accelerating while descending a steep hill, especially on wet or snowy roads. But that assumes you are at the speed you want to be at before you downshift. Downshifting to slow the car down is a lousy idea.

[V-Twin hiCROSS]

Does anyone have a list of all of the grease fittings on the VX, and with maybe a brief description of where they are located? I could not find many.
Thanks

[thebear54]

There are only three you have to worry about.
All three are on the driveshaft, one at each end(U-Joints) and one in the center. All you have to do is crawl under there with a grease gun (loaded of course ) .
Grease the U-Joints until just a little grease filters out. The center one reqires a little more that a few cranks. Just look for the tiny nipples (sorry),those are called fittings or zirx, thats where the grease goes.
That "should" take care of the clunking sound when you shift.
Good luck!!
John

[VehiX]

What type of grease should be used for this process for those not in the know

[Moncha]

Hi temp grease made for universal joints or an equiv.

[V-Twin hiCROSS]

Moncha,
Is that different form the regular grease that I have always used to grease our vehicles?