Is it hard on an auto tranny to downshift to 2nd or 1st gear when towing and you need to stop faster? I don't have an Ebrake yet, waiting until I get a GB tranny built, so I sometimes drop it down a gear or two when under 40-45 mph. Like when a light turns yellow at exactly the wrong time, and you can either lock everything down and maybe stop, or gun it and still be in the intersection when it turns red. Bad or not too bad, for the truck?

 

I use my OD lockout a lot when I'm needing the extra resistance. As long as you are in a sensible rpm curve in the lower gears the unit should be able to handle it just fine as well. Brakes are much cheaper than a trans of course and the stopping resistance that an auto offers is not really that great within this comfort zone.

Big Jimmy

 

When driving an auto, I downshift a lot, just as if I'm driving a standard. These trucks can be pretty hard on brakes otherwise. It's not hard on the auto trans, it's just one more shift.

 

Your trans is electronically controlled and will not do anything to harm the engine. You can dump it into 1st at 75 mph and the computer will not downshift until the speed has dropped enough that the shift can be made safely. If you have to stop fast, just yank the lever all the way down and let the computer shift it for you.

 

Shifting an automatic eh? I do it all the time too. We like to call that a "standardmatic" transmission!