There are many fluids that your car needs to operate. One of the most important ones is the transmission fluid which you can buy from Car Smart.
It is impossible to operate a vehicle without a transmission. Moreover, without regularly maintain your car’s transmission, it will easily break down which can be very expensive to fix.
The transmission fluid is what makes your transmission function. It functions like hydraulic fluid in its ability to handle and distribute pressure.
Many drivers do not know much about their transmission and even when you change it. The following article will show you just how important your transmission fluid is.
The following are vital functions that the transmission fluid performs and why you should maintain it:
Heat Distribution and Removal
There are a lot of moving parts inside your car’s transmission. There are gear sets, clutch packs and valves among other parts.
These moving parts generate a lot of friction when you are driving and they are in constant motion. The friction leads to the production of a lot of heat in the transmission and the engine.
The only way to remove all that heat is through the transmission fluid. It has to be constantly pumped and distributed through the transmission.
It absorbs the heat produced by the transmission and is then pumped to a cooling chamber at the bottom of the radiator. The hot air is then expelled to the outside of the car by the radiator.
In this way, the transmission fluid acts as a coolant for your car’s transmission and the engine at large. Without it, your engine would simply overheat and break down.
Therefore, changing your transmission fluid is helpful to your entire engine as it breaks down the hotter it gets.
Gear Changes
Your transmission fluid is also crucial for facilitating gear changes in your vehicle. Car gears are made using cogs that interlock that they feed into each other when you change gears.
With proper transmission fluid, the cogs easily and seamlessly interlock with the least amount of friction. Without it, the cogs get damaged very quickly as there is a lot of grinding between the cogs.
If you are unable to shift gears properly, you will have problems with acceleration. It may also cause your car to halt abruptly which can cause a deadly accident.
In this way, the transmission fluid is vital in lubricating your transmission. Lubrication does not affect the gear cogs alone but the entirety of the car’s transmission.
The better a car’s transmission is lubricated, the easier it is to transfer power from the engine to the wheels. Otherwise, more fuel will be used to compensate for the power deficiency. It will also prematurely wear down the transmission parts such as the seals and torque converter.
Therefore, regularly changing your transmission fluid helps with fuel economy which can save you plenty of money in the long run. You will also be spared the cost of replacing drastically worn-down transmission parts.
You should try and change your transmission fluid every 30,000 to 50,000 miles. You also have your mechanic constantly check transmission fluid levels and quality.
