Automotive Transmission & Auto Repair

Transmissions have a number of different parts, which may include the clutch(es), intermediate shaft, differential, and/or torque converter depending on the type. Any one of these parts could fail, which would have an impact on the transmission and the cars overall performance. These failures could be caused by a number of different factors. A person’s driving style could cause wear or damage on the parts, a collision with an object or something thrown up from the road surface could also cause damage. However, all of a transmission’s parts wear naturally over time, and failure could simply be attributed to natural usage.

There are a number of symptoms that indicate you have a problem with your transmission. When a gear slips or fails to engage, the engine will lose power or will idle very high due to surging RPMs. This problem could be user error, but if the gears slip on a regular basis, it could indicate a more serious problem. If the engine continually stalls or continues to surge when the gear is shifted, the transmission could be blown.

In manual transmissions, a dragging clutch happens when the system fails to disengage the clutch disk from the flywheel when you press the clutch pedal. This will prevent the gears from shifting due to the clutch still spinning with the engine. You’ll know when this happens because of the “grinding” noise. This can happen occasionally, but if this is a regular problem it’s an indication of a more serious issue.

Other signs that the transmission is failing include noises. In the event that the transmission fails, you can often detect a “knocking” or “bumping” noise, particularly when you are in neutral. The cars smoke may also smell bad, this could possibly be the smell of burnt transmission fluid. This fluid is intended to keep the moving parts lubricated and also cool the system. A leak can lead to low fluid levels, which could cause overheating and burning of the fluid. Resulting in transmission failure.