Keith’s Guide to Keeping Your Car On the Road

Posted on: 3 October 2022

An automatic transmission is a masterpiece of engineering and makes it easy to drive your car or truck without much effort. As you may know, a particular type of lubricant is required to deal with friction and ensure that the mechanical parts can turn effectively, but the lubricant itself must be pumped under pressure. Due to this activity, problems can arise when it comes to regular service, and you may need to take extra steps to protect your vehicle. What do you need to know about this challenge?

Going inside the Transmission

Inside the transmission casing are many different parts, most notably the torque converter and the primary pump. The pump needs to pressurise the transmission fluid so that the torque converter can develop the right amount of force to operate the gear sets at the appropriate speed. As the torque converter turns, some pressurised fluid is flung to the inner wall of the casing. With time, microscopic pieces of contamination may also accumulate along the sides of that wall as the fluid starts to dry.

Challenges of a Standard Service

It's almost impossible to remove all of the older transmission fluid during a standard service visit. Some of this fluid will be trapped along the inner wall of the casing near the torque converter and unable to fall down into the collecting pan through gravity alone. If you can't remove all of the old fluid, some of the contamination will also stay in place, and this could cause a threat to the transmission in the future, should it break away.

Going the Extra Distance

To deal with this issue, mechanics use a special machine that is designed to evacuate all the old transmission fluid from the inner reaches. Cleaning fluid will be pumped through the transmission system to get rid of that unwanted contamination which will then be pulled through with the old fluid into the pan below.

Looking after the System

Transmission systems will tend to last a long time if they are well cared for, and this is why it's important to perform a comprehensive service when needed. It will help to remove all the old fluid and contamination, so the mechanic can introduce new lubricants and maintain high levels of protection.

Scheduling Your Service

If it's been some time since you took your vehicle in for a full service, make sure you ask your mechanic about these extra steps. This will help you maintain your peace of mind during everyday motoring. 

For more information about automatic transmission services, contact a local company.