| By :
Terry S Vostor
Its an amazing fact about most motorists. They will expect their transmission and drivetrain to soldier on year after year with zero upkeep forever. Drive-trains are the solid, hard working soldiers of an automobile soldiering and laboring on , without complaint what so ever , in spite of all the abuse and non-existent service schedules they endure. Yet when that some motorist is handed a large repair bill from their specialized transmission repair shop they cry murder. It works both ways so to speak. Take care of your transmission and drive-train and it will take care of you The components of the transmission can be simply considered in three parts 1) the clutch 2) the gearbox 3) the final drive Regardless of the layout of your vehicle, whether it is a front wheel drive unit with its engine , gearbox and final drive as one complete unit or a less common rear wheel drive model with the engine at the front driving the rear wheels the function of the transmission system remains the same in essence. If a steering column change or remote control system is fitted do not forget to regularly lubricate the linkage. Similarly , low gears give the torque required for motion of the vehicle from a standstill at rest - but the engine speed and rpms rev very rapidly. Once the car is moving and has gained solid momentum, overall less torque is required and necessary at the drive train wheels , so a higher gear and lower engine speed can be selected. Overall most motorists want to be in as high a gear as possible in order to obtain the best mpg fuel economy. Many cars now are equipped with an "overdrive" settings which is in essence one more extra gear past high or 3rd gear in order to slow down the engine one step further and obtain increased gas mileage at highway and freeway speeds. Its all about fuel economy and efficiency in our current millennium. The drive plate is a metal disk which is covered on both sides with a high friction material, and its center is splined so that it is positively located on the gear box input shaft. The clutch drive plate is positioned between the engine flywheel and pressure plate , which is so called because it is fitted with heavy springs which force the drive plate onto the flywheel. The friction material ensures that both the drive plate and the flywheel move in unison at the same speed, so that as long as the drive plate is "sandwiched" between the pressure plate and flywheel by the force of the springs in the pressure plate, power is transmitted to the gearbox. Torque is the turning force produced by the engine when combustion of the gas / air mixture occurs. This is passed from the engine where it is produced. The final drive - this comprises the final drive gear and differential unit. The final drive gear ratio of the gearbox can be a straight or direct connection between the engine and the final drive. This is done to minimize power loss. More uncommon in American made domestic cars but evident in some imports and "foreign" cars are semi-automatic transmission setups. A semi-automatic system includes a clutch and gear box. The driver is still able to select the required gear but without having to depress a clutch pedal. Its a halfway compromise between auto and manual transmission setups favored by those who want a quirk a bit different from the standard norms. One might say that semi-automatics are basically an automatic clutch setup. Automatic transmissions are the most popular and prevalent type of transmission unit installed in most cars and most vehicle owners and motorists may well think "What else is there". Manual transmissions of course. On many fully automatic transmission systems, it is possible to fully override the automatic gear changing systems, so as to provide a "hole' or a lock in a given or particular gear or gearing. This is particularly useful to motorists and truckers when towing trailers or traveling in hilly districts and terrain - that is all you do is place the gear shift in "D" for drive and drive forward. Since automatic transmissions seem to run all by themselves - automatically few motorists and automobile owners give due consideration to lubrication and maintenance of their drivetrain units. Don't neglect your drive train. When an automatic transmission unit is fitted , rigidly follow the manufacturer's instructions for checking hydraulic oil levels and topping up. Shinder says don't overfill transmission , engine oil or power assist steering fluids. He reports experienced commercial taxi drivers caution that engine and component seals may "blow".
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