In our previous blog posts, we’ve talked about why there is more value in repairing your used vehicle versus purchasing a new on, how to recognize the symptoms of a faulty transmission, what driving conditions can affect your transmissions, etc. What we have yet to discuss, is what exactly a transmission is and what it does.
Most of our customers have a very basic understanding of the transmission. The response we usually get to the question, what is a transmission, is “it’s a part in the car that makes it move”. Well, technically, it’s not a wrong answer. The transmissions does indeed help move the vehicle, but how does it do this?
Basically, the engine sends power to the transmission and the transmission transmits the power from the engine to the differential(s), which moves the wheels, via the driveshaft. Since the engine can only operate at a relatively high rotational speed, it is the job of the transmission to take that output and reduce the higher engine speed to the lower wheel speed.
The transmissions does this through the use of the many internal gears, which switch based on the speed applied, either manually, via the driver, or automatically.
As you can imagine, taking all the power from the engine and reducing it to the wheels, is quite a big job and it puts an irrevocable strain on the transmission.
Transmissions are typically built with the vehicles use in mind. For example if you have a big pick up truck with a V8 engine, your transmission is built to withstand more power output than a 4 cylinder vehicle. However, that does not necessarily mean that a transmission on a large vehicle will last longer because it is built stronger.
Now that you know a little bit about what transmissions are and how they work, you can appreciate everything they do for you and your vehicle, so if the time ever comes to repair them, you’ll think twice before changing your vehicle.
For all your transmission questions, diagnosis, and repair, Gold Coast Transmissions is here to help!