One to think about?, the best auto ever put in a 4by or sedan??

Sorry about this.....LOL.


Cheers Axle

The best Auto I have ever driven was the first old Hydromatic in the EK holden, We had one on the farm as Lads, could go down the side road at 50 mph and just click it up to reverse and pedal to the metal, the old EK would come to a nice smooth stop and then gradually accelerate backwards, probably lucky the old grey motor had no horsepower to speak of otherwise we might have broken it.

Ross, they were the ones they used to call sludgeomatic.

It only took three city blocks to change from one gear to the next.

The 2 speed power glide had a good reputation and the cabbies loved them I believe back in the day. They were popular in drag cars too I think.

I always liked the autos in the Ford Customline autos, after 56 that is. They were precise and crisp and went in with a thump as I recall.
You knew you had changed gear in those autos.

Axle you are right, these 5 speed boxes in the Cruisers are brilliant. Clean smooth and precise and you do not hear of many if any problems with them. Their predecessors, the three speed with overdrive, had a very good reputation as well. I have had both.

We pull bigger loads with the cars today than we did back in the 60s 70s and 80s so more problems should be the norm today given what is asked of them.

Chrysler always made good vehicles even if a little thirsty. Built tough for the long haul. Nearly as good as a modern Cruiser, but then I am biased.

Cheers, Bruce.

Mate I'm not up to speed with your Inventions!...Lol.



Looking at a 4.8 pedo GU the other day.....Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!


Cheers Axle.

Pop ,There is a prob in the valve body, at times , you will proceed off a flat area and proceed up a incline, and the thing stays in say third gear and won't change either way, ...stop turn engine off and all is well again and will be for the next two months!, ..There is a modification for them but at this stage its not to worrying, and besides I'm a tight a@@@res

Cheers Axle.

Hi Rocco, ...All in the past now, but its takes some digesting when they talk about eight speed autos!!,

Ummm as I recall the trimatic name was slightley changed to TRAUMATIC!...LOL.

Cheers.

Hey Rocco I think the Trimatic came out in the HT HG HK or 68 69 and 70 series didn't they.

The one before in the HD and HR was a powerglide and only 2 speed. I was told by some mechanic that the cabbies at that time loved them. Not sure why. Might have been fuel consumption or something.

Bruce

My dad had a HK with the two speed Powerglide then a HQ with the Trimatic, i didn't know the Trimatic was available before that.

I did a google and it seems the Trimatic came with the HG but was an option on the Belmont and Kingswood and only standard on the Premier and Brougham. The earlier HT also was a Great Leap Forward because it had synchro on first in the three speed manual box. Wow!

Remember the Brougham? An extra few inches length in the boot meant "luxury".

Old Holdens were virtually indestructible, so I don't doubt cabbies loved them. I can remember riding in 15 year old HQ cabs in Adelaide in the 80s, god knows how many km they had done, they were very loose.


Ah, memories ...

Cheers

Rocco we had several ex cabs in the family back then, some autos and a manual.
My father had an ex cab and I think it was a HK but definitely had a trimatic. You were right to say loose, it sure was.

The mate had a trimatic in his HK/HT as well. I thought it was fitted to all the vehicles in that series as I do not recall seeing a powerglide badge on any of them. We live and we learn.

It was certainly fitted fitted right throughout the series from HQ through to WB as I had one of each as a company vehicle back then.
They went to all autos from HQ onwards in the company as they were guaranteed for 40,000 miles back then so no clutch replacements needed during the life of ownership with the company vehicles.

Speaking of BroughamsI think the first really distinctive and good looking executive vehicle Holden made was the WB statesman.

They still look good even today and I wonder why they do not bring a better price second hand in the veteran and restoration market.

If I was heading that way that is what I would get.

That whole series from HQ on were the best and toughest cars Holden ever made with complete or virtually complete chassis under every one, sedans had a composite chassis as I recall. Their only problem was that they were underpowered given their weight with the 202 motor.
Yep, you're right... ah, the memories.

Cheers, Bruce.

They had two probs Bruce..lol, .....underpowered,and that steering!! My Gawd they where heavy


Axle.

Geeez Axle I had forgotten that, too right they were heavy.
Probably explains why we were all skinny back then. You didn't need a gym. A quick trip down to the shops in one of them was all the workout you needed. Now they put power steering into cars the size of minis. I always thought that was a waste of effort but then some of the girls probably appreciated the benefit.

I have a DVD, a doco on the Flying 18 footers on Sydney harbour back in the late 70s. It is amazing to see how thin the general population was back then also the flair bottom trousers and long hairdoos are good for a giggle.
Bruce.

Mate we where all skinny in those days,.......Because everything was done manually, Technology has stopped the natural exercise we all had to do.


Cheers

The Ford C4 always was and always will be a highly regarded transmission. Still sought after today by drag racers and the car scene.

Only had one FMX-equipped car and was much the same.

Borg Warner 35 and BW40 was ok I guess, but the ratios seemed to be a bit oddly spaced. I.e. the engine always seemed to be out of step with the trans. This is 6cyl Falcons I'm talking about.

The Traumatic in Dad's early Commodore was a bit loose, not as smooth as the BW35/40 but seemed to do a better job of making the car hustle.

The BTR LE45 4 speed auto in the 1993 V8 Fairmont I had was a brilliant transmission, never carried on or did anything strange, but a previous life of doing 100,000klm around Australia towing a caravan started to show.

4L60E 4 speed auto in the VT Commodore V8 I had was average. Probably tougher than the Ford trans but by no means did the job better. Got really hot and struggled with the torque of the 5.7 V8 that was in the car. Was never as smooth as the Ford one.

4 speed in my BA Ford (95LE??) has probably been the best I've had, like the older Fairmont before it it just works very well and doesn't do any funny things. Likes a trans cooler though, and doesn't like to tow heavy loads. Put more than a tonne behind it and it keeps popping the oil seal around the governor. Will go into 'limp home' mode if driving in say 48 degree heat and you don't do a 'cool down' lap of town first.

We now have a diesel Ford SZ Territory, it uses the Ford 6R80 6 speed auto. It is a licence-built copy of the ZF 6 speed. It can be a bit cantankerous but it does a good job of making the two tonne tank get up and boogie, keeps the engine on the boil if you want and helps make the car more...err, car like to drive, but I have doubts as to its long-term reliability. The benefit of this trans is that it is used in the Mustang and F-Series so if something does break, there is a whole universe of aftermarket strengthening parts available for it ex-US.

I don't think there is any such thing as a "perfect" transmission (maybe a manual lol), it's just that some are better than others.

I like the dual automated clutch manual gearbox in my wife's vee dub. Cause it's not an auto. Drive it like you are a gentle clutch slipping manual driver and it all makes sense.

Best auto in a fourby or sedan - hmm it's a tough one as in a stock scenario there are many that have a great track record, but I think the early Ford AOD was a nice unit, 4 speed plus lockup convertor for economy but no external electronic control unit needed.

Yep we didn't like the DSG's when we tested it (but haven't owned a DSG). My wife's Tiguan has a 6 speed Aisan tiptronic torque converter auto - it was the box before the 7-speed DSG. It works like magic - nice changes and provides fairly aggressive engine braking when you want it.

There's nothing gentle about the way the DSG works in my wife's car. Driving it manually is like putting a psycho in charge of the clutch operations. We had it back to VW saying this can't be right...kangaroo hopping an auto driven manually when in traffic seemed odd but they said it was normal. Bugger that....we prefer to be DSG free after this one.

That's funny because I would have said that the DSG in my wife's Golf (2.0 TD) is a beautiful combination. Mind you, ours is a 2007 model so just before the ones they had problems with and not sure if I still want to own the car when it needs repair, but very nice.

Matt.

I like Mikehzz have the 2012 Discovery and positively love the ZF 6 spd auto. I too have a 2.0 TDI Golf with DSG and like it as well as the shifts are smooth. It is a 2008 and have not yet had it serviced as it has only done 45k where the D4 has now done 60k. I will get the box serviced soon on the D4 and the VW when it reaches 50k.

Lol, Don't wake the neighbours!


Cheers.

They were simple and reliable but the 2 speeds left a lot to be desired behind a little six. They nearly drove us mad with warranty problems though but I don't think it was a design fault. The large diameter oil seal around the high gear clutch drum would come out of its grove on assembly and jam between the drum and the transmission housing. I must have fixed at least a dozen on near new cars.