A car transmission, also known as the transmission system, is the mechanism by which power created by the engine is transferred to the driving wheels. This part of the vehicle is the most important in determining the power and functionality of your engine systems. The two types of transmissions include automatic transmission and manual transmission. Use hpi to check the transmission type of any car, van or light-commercial vehicle.
A manual transmission requires the driver to complete extra steps of selecting and engaging the gear ratios. In contrast, mechanical efforts are minimized in an automatic transmission, and different speeds are obtained automatically.
If you are wondering how a car transmission works, it all depends on the type of transmission. However, regardless of the type, the answer to what a transmission does is to enable the gear ratio between the vehicle’s engine and drive wheels to adjust as the vehicle speeds up and slows down. When not in motion, the transmission disconnects the drive wheels from the engine. So let’s dive deeper into details on how manual and automatic transmission work.
All you need to know about manual transmission
A manual transmission is a manual gearbox or stick-shift or standard transmission class of transmission where the driver literally uses a stick shift to change gears. Changing the gears involves releasing the clutch disc through a third pedal located on the left side of the break. Then select the chosen gear and engage the clutch again. If the driver frequently engages the clutch slowly, the disc will wear out early. If the driver engages the clutch too quickly, the engine will stall.
Components of a manual gearbox
Narrowing down the various parts and components of the gearbox will help you understand the complex way a manual transmission works. Some significant features of a manual gearbox include
- The clutch and clutch pedal: Consisting of various small parts, the clutch transfers the engine torque to the transmission. The clutch pedal is a piece of gear that is hydraulically controlled. When you depress, it disengages the clutch.
- Flywheel: Normally circular in shape and used to send the engine torque to the clutch disc, which interacts with the smooth surface of the flywheel.
- Collar and selector fork: An arm-like-looking piece of gear that aids in moving the collars through the output shaft. By locking the collar to a specific gear, you can always select different other gears. This results in the transmission of torque from the layshaft to the output shaft.
- Synchronizers: Helps the collar and the gear engage with each other and importantly matches their speed if there is a difference.
- Output shaft and Layshaft: The output shaft’s gears mesh with the lay shaft’s gears when one receives the engine power first.
- Gears: Gear often comes in different sizes in a manual gearbox. Large gearwheels contain more teeth and offer more torque to reduce the car’s speed, whereas small gears provide less torque to your car so that it can run at a higher speed.
How a manual transmission works
- Before switching the vehicle’s key on, you need to press the clutch pedal down to disengage the clutch. This cuts the power between the engine’s input shaft and the transmission and ensures that the engine is alive before powering the vehicle.
- Shift the gearshift to the first gear so that the gear shift can move towards the latter one. The first gear has a connection to the layshaft, which is connected to the engine input file via another gear.
- The synchronizer collar connected to the shifting fork helps the driving gear in the transportation of power to the output shaft and matches their speed if there is any difference.
- You now need to apply slight pressure on the gas pedal and then take your foot off the clutch. This reconnects the gearbox and the engine making your vehicle start moving.
- You now need to repeat the same process of changing the gear so that you can speed up or slow down the car.
Generally, bade-model vehicles are fitted with a 5-speed manual transmission, while pricey vehicles are equipped with a 6-speed transmission such as the rebuilt nv5600 transmission.
All you need to know about automatic transmission
With an automatic transmission, things are simplified as compared to a manual transmission. There is neither a clutch pedal nor a gear shift in an automatic transmission vehicle. Once the transmission is put into drive, all other things are automatic.
Components of an automatic transmission
To help understand what happens in an automatic transmission, let us look at the specific parts of an automatic transmission.
- Transmission casing: Houses all parts of the transmission.
- Torque Converter: Transmits to the transmission input shaft from the engine. It also helps in the multiplication of engine torque output
- Planetary gears: This allows automatic increase and decrease of the gear ratios.
How automatic transmission works
- The engine dispatches power to the torque converter’s pump
- The pump receives the power and, through the transmission fluid, sends it to the torque converter’s turbine
- Through the stator, the transmission fluid is sent back to the pump
- The stator multiplies power and sends it back to the turbine
- The turbine is normally connected to the central shaft, which is also connected to the transmission.
- The turbine then spins the shaft spins dispatching power to the first planetary gear
- The planetary gear arrangements determine of power transmitted to the rest of the drive
- Power from the torque converter will either make the ring gear, the sun gear, or the planetary carrier of the planetary gear system stay stationary or move.
Stages of automatic transmission
- Park(P): Locks the transmission, restricting the vehicle from moving
- Reverse(R): Puts the car in reverse gear, making the car move backward
- Neutral(N): disconnects the transmission from the wheel
- Drive(D): allows the vehicle to move and can accelerate through a range of gears
- Low(L): allows you to lower your speed and move on middy or hilly areas
Now, as you cruise down the freeways and feel the car shifting gears, you will have an idea of what is exactly taking place under the hood. It’s all about the transmission, but if you need to get a new one it’s all about cheap online transmissions! However, if you need money to pay for one, you could always use your vehicle to get extra cash! Find out how much money you could get with a car title loan.
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