after sitting the car over night then start the car to warm up and let the oil circulate for about 5 minutes then before you shift to drive push the brake the shift from P to R then to N-D-4-3-2 then from 2-3-4-D-N-R-N staying in every shift for about 5 seconds then you can drive I tried it and I noticed smoother shifts.

is that good Idea or doesn't make any sense? I tried once and felt smoother shifts!

2002 xj8

 

Might be a sign the gearbox is in need of service!

 

Always good to let any vintage car's fluid come up to temp. before driving.

 

Assuming the windows are not fogged up, most owners manuals will say drive the car gently after a cold start until the temp gauge raises. Waste of gas and time to warm a car up for 1 minute let alone 5. Maybe its because I live in northern California, but I rarely warm any car up.

 

Coincedentally that's the process for checking fluid level on the XJR transmissions, esp after adding fluid - drive for 15 mins or so to get the trans up to temp, then shift thru p-r-n-d-r-n-p waiting at 5-10 secs (?) each then check the level. Ensures fluid has reached every bit of the trans before checking the level I guess.

Maybe your fluid is low/needs replaced?

 

I don't think it's waste of gas with these cars I have primary plastic tensioner so I think it's good idea to let it warm up for 5 minutes imo at least the plastic become softer also it's v engine the oil need to goes up to lubricate the camshaft I think 5 minutes is not that long boxer engine doesn't need that long to warm up because it's easier for the oil to circulate because the engine is flat. just my opinion

 

I will change the fluid soon I'm sure it need to be changed its old fluid .

ensure the oil reached every where in the transmission before driving it's better than get fluid suddenly when driving and shifting?

 

I think the idea with the procedure for the XJR is mostly for filling a transmission - basically a kind of bleed, so that after it's been drained and filled, fluid has been circulated to everywhere that could have drained while the trans was being drained. I don't think fluid "backflows" from those areas as the car sits in typical use, but I could be wrong, I'm not too experienced with in depth transmission service.

 

Hi mobile1,

I don't think you're imagining things. A warm transmission is very likely to shift more smoothly than a cold one.

I think nilanium's suggestion may have a lot to do with it also. Many manufacturers recommend that before checking the automatic transmission fluid level the gear selector be moved through all the positions, pausing in each position for at least a few seconds. My assumption is that this allows fluid to fill the valve body and other passages associated with each gear ratio, which may drain out of some of those passages when the engine is shut off.

Another thing it may do is "exercise" solenoids and pressure control valves that may be sticky when cold so that they operate more smoothly once the vehicle is moving.

Idling for five minutes everyday to improve your transmission's first gear shifts is definitely going to waste fuel and unnecessarily increase emissions with minimal benefit to your primary tensioners, so maybe a better idea is is the one grantorino62 suggested, just avoid aggressive driving while the engine and transmission are warming up.

Cheers,

Don

 

hi Don. thanks for the explanation. I don't let the car warm up for the transmission I feel the engine need good oil circulation that's all .