Automatic Transmission Class Update #3

PRO TIP: When you disassemble the parts of the automatic transmission, lay them out in order. 

After finishing up an overhaul on a 94 Chevy Silverado automatic transmission, my group is now working on a Ford diesel truck's transmission. On that first one we got the full experience of removing the transmission (and drive shaft) from the truck, but on this one the customer brough the transmission in already off of the truck! That makes our job a bit easier to say the least!

We also got to align this truck. 

We also installed a tow hitch on this Honda CRV. 

Taking a picture of the Ford transmission before we started, my teacher jumped into the photo. 

Putting the transmission case in the Viper Jet cleaner.

In addition to strictly transmission work, we've also done a few odds and ends with other projects in the shop. Let's see, we mounted a new trailer hitch on a new Honda CRV, helped another team remove some stripped out lug nuts on two other cars, and got to see a Honda transmission all taken apart. That one was interesting, because the team that took it apart found a broken shift fork, which as you might imagine was preventing it from going into all the gears. 

On the left side of the photo you can see some of the teeth on this gear are chipped up, and there are the metal pieces in the fluid. Replace this gear. 

Back on topic with transmissions, our latest project is an automatic transmission from a big ol' diesel Ford F250, with only about 400,000 miles on it! We found some damaged planetary gear teeth (photo above,) so that would explain why it's not shifting so hot. 

Inside of a Ford automatic transmission oil pump.

Report From Carolina Motorsports Park

Sign in, get a free wrist band!
Thanks to NASA Southeast for a great event!

In the GOOD news department, we got to spend two days ON TRACK at Carolina Motorsports Park!

Mostly sunny weekend! 100% chance of speed!
I spared no expense with these painter's tape numbers!

In the LESS GOOD news side, driving is not our full time job, so on Monday we had to go back to work/school and reality! At least, I had to go back to school, since even though it was Presidents Day our school is taking the holiday next Friday. 

Brian is instructing in the passenger seat of this 2004 Nissan 350Z.

Going into the weekend, the weather reports looked like a lot of rain, so I was very happy that we only had say 3 of the 8 driving sessions impacted by rain. For what it's worth, driving in the rain is still a good thing, because it forces you to react to a lot of different conditions out there, and probably teaches you more driving skills than in the dry. 

New rotors and pads on the rear, please. The front pads lasted the weekend. 

Brian was instructing a beginner track driver, and his student made some good  progress like you'd expect a first timer to do. Plus, Brian went the extra mile and the student's rear brake pads and rotors, and that made everyone feel much safer on track. One of the things that always happens when you drive your car on track is that you WILL use up gas, tires, and brake pads. Safety wise, you MUST be monitoring these main essentials (and everything else) to have a good experience. For driving at this level of what is called High Performance Driver Education (HPDE,) each driver is responsible for signing off the safety of their car, before going on track. This includes the basics that anyone can just look at, such as thickness of brake pads (should be plenty,) wear on the tires (must have tread, no exposed cords,) the battery is securely tied down, and that all the seat belts work. 

Some car trailers have this convenient side panel that opens so the driver can exit. 

Brian also kept busy by taking his student out in another session, with Brian the instructor driving. This is a GREAT way to gain more experience by seeing what a better driver is doing on track. I'm not talking about how fast you can go, but how smoothly you handle the car, merge with traffic, and stay aware of all conditions on track like weather, other traffic, the flags from the corner workers, etc. Shoot, Brian even rode with me on one session to check me off to advance to the next skill level group. 

Porsches have the ignition key go on the left of the steering wheel. This made it easier to start racing at LeMans in the past. 

As for my driving, I really had fun, learned a lot, and have a huge list of driving skills to keep working on to improve my performance. Overall, I need to study my video and be consistent with my turn-ins for each corner, apex a few corners later, and keep working to carry more speed through the corners. I think it's a simple fact that ANYONE can get a car going on a straight and hold the gas pedal all the way down. That doesn't really take any talent, so I guess I'm working on everything else, so that I can get to that wide open throttle (WOT) sooner and longer. 

Spotted this race car for sale. Didn't buy it. 

Some drivers ride in style, with matching graphics on the RV and the car trailer. 

Besides driving on track, the HPDE experience includes classroom sessions where drivers learn the basics, and keep building their skills through levels 1, 2, 3, and 4, as well as give feedback to each other with the assistance from a lead instructor for each driving group. At most of our sessions the instructor would point out anyone that went off track, and just ask them why it happened. This was all in a learning mode for that person and the rest of us, and overall I think everyone knew what they had done wrong. Making a mistake is only bad if you keep making the same one over and over!

Just in case you're wondering if race gas is expensive at the track. 
$10.99 per gallon. 

Classroom session

The HPDE sessions were not for racing, no trophies, and our lap times aren't really important, so I'll leave out that part that I've been faster at CMP than Brian. He's really a much better driver than me, so I know I won't be ahead of him for long!

Full track at CMP, 14 corners, 2.279 miles. 
I drove approximately 52 laps over 8 sessions on track. 

Dramatic rain drops

Track Prep 2025

This weekend we are headed out to Carolina Motorsports Park for our first track driving in 2025,  so NMS is prepping the cars and getting ready to hit the ground running. The NMS-North Cayman is about to hit 60,000 miles, so it's probably a good idea to do the 60,000 mile service! Basically it's an oil and filter change, change the belt, and do an automatic transmission service. On top of that, we flushed brake fluid, swapped to the better brake pads for the track, and put on our best 18 inch OZ wheels with Michelin tires. 

The only new part of that for me is the transmission fluid, which consists of draining the fluid in the transmission pan, and then removing the pan. Why would you do that? Because unlike an oil change where you also change the separate filter, a lot of cars have a filter built into the transmission pan that is not serviceable. That means that you just buy a new pan that has a filter built in. One option I saw on line was to upgrade to a metal pan that does have a serviceable filter, but with the transmission you're probably only doing this every 60K miles. 

Down at NMS-South, Brian is planning on mostly instructing in a student's car, but he's also prepping the 350Z for a few sessions. This car is just about ready for racing, as far as having a full roll cage and other safety gear required, like racing seats with an up to date harness, cut off switch, and fun stuff like that. Brian is mostly doing some instructing this weekend, so he'll also mostly be in his student's cars, giving them lots of pointers and tips for driving on track. 

The weather man is saying it will be wet both days, so while it would be more fun (FASTER) if it was dry, you get a lot of good practice on a wet day dealing with less grip. Driving at this level is an all-weather thing, although we don't have a lot of ice racing in South Carolina. 

Looking for the Perfect Retirement Job

How do you get into a real motorsports job? And what if you're retired and only want to do it part time? Are there any interesting retirment jobs that DO NOT involve being a greeter at Walmart?

I've looked at a few job ads in my time, and the best fit I've seen so far around the Charlotte area was a few years ago when the Haas F1 team needed a janitor. Anyway, here's one that just recently caught my eye: 

ENGINE PARTS WASH TECHNICIAN (PART TIME)

Now, I don't know about you, but that pretty much hits my sweet spot and covers my expertise when it comes to cars. I can identify the engine and engine parts, it's part time, and you only have to clean stuff! Sure, I was hoping to start out as a racecar driver, but the only driving job right now is driving one of their transporters. Other than not having a Commercial Drivers License and some experience, I'd be good at that! 

A part of the Wash Technician job description talks about cleaning engine parts, but wait, there's more to it than that! You also get to clean the "break room!" You know what? Maybe they misspelled "BRAKE ROOM!" That must be where they prepare hundreds of sets of front and rear brakes for a NASCAR season. I can see that being a full time job! Shoot, even NASCAR racers use the brakes once in a while! Maybe just on the road courses anyway. 

I've just been handed a memo that states, "no, that's not a typo, with this position you clean the "BREAK ROOM."

Sorry, my mistake!

If you're in the market for a new job, here's a link: 

HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS

Formula 1 75th Anniversary Preview

Brian and Julie at the F1 race in Austin, 2019.

In 2025, the Formula 1 folks are celebrating their 75th season, since they've used that name since 1950. Sure, there were Grand Prix races long before that, but they weren't under the Formula 1 name until 1950. We're looking ahead to another great season of  racing, so here's 3 things to know before the season kicks off March 16th in Australia:

1: For the past 4 years, the World Champion driver has been Max Verstappen of the Red Bull Racing team. Max is still one of the top drivers, so the real question is if his team will provide him a competitive car, or if the other teams manage to find some improvements and tweaks to take the title away from Max. While a Red Bull driver claimed the driver title last year, they did not win the team competition. That honor went to the McLaren team, and even the Ferrari team scored more points than Red Bull. 

Overall the regulations for building F1 cars, or "formula," will be similar this year, so it's very likely that those three teams, possibly plus Mercedes, will still be fighting for the championship all the way to the end of 2025. That should give us some great competitive races all year long, so let's hope it plays out like that. There's nothing as dramatic as having a championship go down to the last race, and even the last lap of the last race like in 2021. 

Our money says Red Bull will maintain a lock on the driver's title, with Max Verstappen earning his 5th straight title. 

NMS enjoying the Texas sunshine in Austin, F1 2019. 

2: The biggest news this year is that several drivers have changed teams, and there's the new rookies coming in for their first full season, as well as other personnel and sponsor changes in F1. The highlight here is 7 time champion Lewis Hamilton wearing red and driving for Ferrari this year. Can he get back to  his title winning ways? I think the answer is "maybe," but first he has to score more than his teammate Charles LeClerc, and that won't be easy!

Rookie wise, we have to get used to having Oliver Bearman at Haas, Kimi Antonelli with Mercedes, Jack Doohan with Alpine, Isack Hadjar with the Racing Bulls team, and Gabriel Bortoleto driving for Sauber. These five rookies are a big change for the 20 seats in F1, since 2024 started with all the same drivers from 2023, which had never happened in the history of Formula 1! The history of F1 goes back to 1950, which is even before I was born! Honest!

In addition to the rookies, we have almost-rookie Liam Lawson now driving full time for the Red Bull team to replace Sergio Perez. Other changes include Carlos Sainz now at Williams (from Ferrari,) Nico Hulkenberg moved from Haas to Sauber, and Esteban Ocon left Alpine and is now at my favorite American team Haas. 

3: Oh, speaking of "American F1 teams" looking ahead to 2026 we will have another one! That's when Cadillac-Andretti will start competing, which will increase the grid to 11 teams and 22 drivers. This is a big deal for Formula 1, which traditionally has been based in England and Europe. Engine wise it will take Cadillac a few years to ramp up their production, so for their first few years they will be buying engines from Ferrari. My favorite part of this future Cadillac F1 engine deal is that their engines will be built by GM just up the road from NMS in Charlotte NC. 

The even bigger news this year, is that we're only one more year away from 2026, when Formula 1 will totally rewrite the rules/formula for how to build the cars. That means that all the teams are already planning ahead, and looking to design and build a totally new car for 2026 that just might put them way ahead of everyone else. This has been the pattern for a few decades in the sport, where the construction rules make a huge change (like all new engines, different body work, etc.) every few years to change things up. In the follow on years to these HUGE changes, there isn't as much change, so we've seen teams that get thing right can chalk up 4 or more years of championships in a row until the rules change again. Red Bull took 4 in a row from 2010-2013, followed by Mercedes with an incredible 8 in a row2014-2021. 

The other big change in 2026 is that the long time Sauber team will become the Audi team, bringing another galactically gigantic (meaning LOTS OF MONEY) car company into the sport, that just might be competitive. How big is Audi? Oh, they're just a part of a little company called Volkswagen, you know, the people that are the 2nd highest selling car brand on the planet. Of course that's counting all their brands, like VW, Audi, Porsche, Bentley, Lamborghini, Bugatti, Skoda, SEAT, etc. They're big!