Hey guys,
After Idling in traffic for an hour today, I wondered what harm does this do to all of my components (Engine, Transmission, Brakes)? All the excessive heat and strain must be doing something. Just curious. If it does hurt stuff I will try to stay out of all those idiots trying to commute.

 

It would be a good idea to get a lower stat like 180* and changing the temp at which the fans come on. Also, if you don't have one, it's a good time to get a tranny cooler as it will increase the life of the tranny.
If stuck in stop and go traffic, it would be best to leave the car in D and not OD.

 

I'd hate to be a pain and ask, but why is it better to leave in D? I love these interesting kinds of theories. And didn't our cars come with tranny coolers?

 

I wasn't sure but I thought they did come with tranny coolers, I had one when I got the car.

Oh, and about the D thing, I forget his exact words, but transfixleo over on the tranny board, said it has something to do with the clutches/accumulators or some part that will get worn out if the tranny is consistently shifting in and out of OD.

 

Why drive in D?
...Because you'll get better shifts and "push" around town. Around town just leave it in D. Don't worry bout why. On highway, put in OD.

What does traffic do?
...Keeps your engine hot, not much air passing through to keep cool. Keeps your tranny hot, and torque converter hot, from sitting there spooling. Nothing I could see with the brakes. The engine doesn't like it, straining to push the car's inertia again and again. Not only that, but at idle, the oil pressure is low, so you're not getting that great of oil circulation. Probably the best thing you could do is buy a fan switch, like a hypertech fan switch, and just cool the engine that way. In traffic the thing affected mostly is the engine.

...Experience with my car, I'll be driving around, and the temp is like 190 or less. I'll drive home put in park, then I'm at 220 or higher. Its especially hotter because I have ram air, so the air isn't as available, if ya know what I mean, unless I start to move.

BTW, not actually sure but, don't think our cars came with tranny coolers. I believe our cars came with oil coolers, but thats only if you had the two catalytic converter version of our cars. I only have one catalytic converter, so no oil cooler.

 

no our car's did come with tranny coolers, albeit they're not that effective.

 

My car 82 Z28 sure does have a tranny cooler, the transmission lines run through the radiator.

 

And there seems to be some question about the volume of trans oil that is pumped through the cooler lines. Some have stated that the volume is diminished when the selector is in anything but OD, which wouldn't be good for trans cooling at all. Since typical "stop-and-go" traffic probably wouldn't involve hitting OD that frequently, I can't see a real benefit either way. I've done both.

The difference in trans oil flow may also depend on the year of the auto trans, since there were some significant pump and valve body changes in mid-'86 and again in '89. I wish GMTech were here to lend his expertise...