So, first I've got an '01 Impreza RS 2.5L w/ 4 speed automatic transmission. 75k miles and assuming good maintenance it's whole life (I'm third owner). I went for a drive today and ended up beating on her a bit on some gravel - nothing crazy, but kept some high rpms in lower gears for a few minutes. Loving the AWD and all. Anyway, I got home and had to replace a wire behind my deck. While I'm down there working my arm grazes what must be the top of the transmission or the body that's right above it (down the center line of the car right under the dash & in front of the firewall - also touched right by the shifter right on the metal underneath all the plastic pieces) and I saz to myself, "Geez, that thing is quite warm." The car had been parked for about 15 minutes and driven normally also for about 15 minutes after the "spirited" driving session (which also lasted only about 15 minutes). The metal was about as hot as black leather in a parked car on a hot sunny day - quite warm, but not so hot that it could burn. I assume it was much hotter immediately after driving. Also, I've noticed in the winter that when I have lots of fun in the snow I start to notice a sort of burnt smell and in my head (despite knowing next to nothing about cars) I've always just thought, "Oh, that tranny must be hot." So, I'm wondering if this is totally normal or if I need to be checking other things to assess possible problems? Does an auto tranny normally get quite warm when driven hard and is that okay, or do I need to be looking at the fluid or seeing just how hot it really gets after driving (either normally or "spiritedly")? Definitely need some direction here (other than just saying, "drive slower"), cause this is my DD but I also like to have a little fun off the beaten path (i.e. off public roads) from time to time - heck, that's why I thought I'd love a subie. Need to know what I should be checking/doing to make sure nothing's getting damaged while I have some fun. Would HATE to find all of a sudden one day that my tranny has crapped out cause I wasn't keeping enough of an eye on it (and yes I understand that hard driving will likely shorten the life-span of many components - just trying to avoid neglect here).
The tranny will be at or over engine coolant temp. So over 200 degrees, especially after some hard driving, is very reasonable.
Okay, thx. Good to know. I checked after a leisurely drive to work today, too, and it wasn't nearly as warm.
ya, my tranny stays hot longer than my motor. Sometimes I'll put a fan on the motor if I want to work on it right away for about an hour, and the motor will be pretty much cooled off but the tranny will still be rather hot.
You can always throw in a transmission cooler. If you do, you're gonna want to put it AFTER the radiator -ie: On the RETURN line to the transmission for maximum benefits.
