Battle of the Transmissions: M/T vs. A/T

**JohnM** · March 11th, 2014 03:33 PM

2nd hand 1995 Lancer AT with signs of previous overheating (stains on the radiator tank, oil leaks everywhere). Also had a sticker from an AT shop on Visayas Ave. Worked ok for a few years aside from a few ATF leaks here and there that were solved with a refill every now and then. Things went south when I overheated due to a busted fan. AT was slipping and sliding when cold and wouldn't shift out of 3rd until restarted.

Tranny replacement was 15k parts 4k labor. Everything was fine until a drive shaft oil seal blew on me the next day. Went for a back job and though that leak was solved another was found in the main pump area. Because it would entail another day of downtime I just let it be and lived with it for another year until I finally sold the car. All in all that car with a dubious maintenance history survived 7 years of daily rush hour driving. Not bad.

I still drive an AT. When the road gets curvy and traffic-free that's when I wish I had an MT.

**Aoshinomori** · March 11th, 2014 05:14 PM

I have nothing against any kind of transmission. Pero since luma ang kotse ko, lagi ko iniisip na pag tumirik ba, puwede itulak at itabi para hindi hassle sa iba. So ayun manual tranny.

**JohnM** · March 11th, 2014 05:20 PM

Originally Posted by Aoshinomori

Pero since luma ang kotse ko, lagi ko iniisip na pag tumirik ba, puwede itulak at itabi para hindi hassle sa iba.

You can do that with an AT. Just put it in Neutral and push.

**lowslowbenz** · March 11th, 2014 05:53 PM

Originally Posted by JohnM

I still drive an AT. When the road gets curvy and traffic-free that's when I wish I had an MT.

Torque converters have a mechnical lock-up. At a certain point (or speed), the torque converter will mechanically lock up. This means that the engine and the tranny are mechanically locked (no slipping, sliding clutches there). It releases when speeds or RPM's go down however, reverting back to "automatic" mode.

**JohnM** · March 11th, 2014 05:59 PM

^ Yep and the lockup happens lower in the RPM range with the latest iterations.

I still like playing with a stick though. An AT will most likely be faster and smoother on the same route but nothing beats grabbing the right gear at the right place at the right time