Diagnosing car problems yourself
may seem like an impossible task, but try to think of it in terms of your own
body. For instance, if your stomach begins to hurt without warning, you'll
probably start thinking of the last thing you ate in order to figure out why
you're having the pain. A similar type of thinking goes into diagnosing car
trouble. The moment you start noticing something out of the ordinary, it's time
to start considering the problem and finding a way to fix it.
Mechanical auto problems, as
opposed to electrical auto problems, are usually coupled with distinct sounds
and sensations that are key indicators that something isn't functioning the way
it was designed to. Transmissions take a lot of use over the years, and after a
while, they're bound to start having some problems. Transmission repairs can be
expensive, so it's worthwhile to pay attention to anything that seems unusual.
If you think you may be having
some car trouble or if you're just looking to learn more about potential
transmission problems, check out these 10 signs of transmission trouble and
stay one step ahead of your car.
1 Refuses to go into gear
Believe it or not, there are
still quite a few people out there who practice the fading art of shifting
manually, with a foot pedal and a "stick" gearshift, and who do so
willingly.
Despite their somewhat simpler
operation, manual transmissions nonetheless have their share of things that can
go wrong. One potential problem is that the transmission refuses to budge when
you depress the clutch pedal and attempt to move the stick shifter.
It may happen when trying to get
into first gear from a stop, or at any point up and down the assorted gears.
Common causes include low transmission fluid, wrong viscosity (thickness) of
fluid, or required adjusting of the shift cables or clutch linkage.
The nose knows when it comes to
things being not quite right with your vehicle. Continue to the next page to
find out how your olfactory sense factors into transmission diagnosis.
2. Burning smell
If you get a whiff of burning transmission
fluid, be advised it is definitely not
the sweet smell of success. That's because it may indicate your transmission is
overheating. Transmission fluid not only keeps the transmission's many moving
parts properly lubricated, but it prevents the unit from burning itself up, by
providing much-needed cooling.
In some vehicles, the
transmission even has its own mini-radiator (an oil cooler) that circulates
fluid to transport heat away from the transmission unit itself.
Common causes include low or
inadequate transmission fluid, which can in turn indicate a leak or dirty fluid
that needs changing.
If you thought your transmission
was safe from wear at least while it was in neutral, the truth might surprise
you. Look to the next page for the scoop on noises in neutral.
3. tranmission noisy in neutral
not the sweet smell of success.
That's because it may indicate your transmission is overheating. Transmission
fluid not only keeps the transmission's many moving parts properly lubricated,
but it prevents the unit from burning itself up, by providing much-needed
cooling.
In some vehicles, the
transmission even has its own mini-radiator (an oil cooler) that circulates
fluid to transport heat away from the transmission unit itself.
Common causes include low or
inadequate transmission fluid, which can in turn indicate a leak or dirty fluid
that needs changing.
If you thought your transmission
was safe from wear at least while it was in neutral, the truth might surprise
you. Look to the next page for the scoop on noises in neutral.
It seems intuitive that if you
hear weird noises when the car should be shifting, that the transmission is
acting up. But would you suspect it if things were going "bump" in
neutral? Yes, it could be the transmission.
Such sounds could have a simple
and inexpensive solution -- as with many of the problems on our list, adding or
replacing the transmission fluid sometimes does the trick. Bear in mind that as
is the case with engine oil, different
vehicles do best with the specific formulation called for in the owner's
manual.
Alternatively, lots of noises
from the transmission while it's in neutral could signal something more
serious, like mechanical wear that will need the replacement of parts. In this
case, common culprits are a worn reverse idler gear or worn bearings, possibly
coupled with worn gear teeth [source: Procarcare.com].
Losing control while driving is
never a fun experience. Find out on the next page how a bum transmission could
have a car "slipping" toward disaster if not repaired in time.
4. Gears Slipping
In a normally functioning transmission,
the car stays in the gear you designate, or that the computer designates for a
given RPM range, until you or the computer initiate a gear shift.
But on a transmission in which
the gears slip, the car can spontaneously pop out of the gear it's in while
driving and (in a manual) force the stick back into neutral [source: Procarcare.com].
This is unnerving at best and
potentially dangerous at worst: when you mash the gas pedal to avoid an
out-of-control vehicle, the last thing you want is a transmission that doesn't
get power to the wheels. No need to scratch your head over whether this is
trouble or not: if it happens, you know it's time to have your transmission
examined.
Our next trouble sign might seem
like a real "drag" if it happens to your vehicle, but its fix is
often not so complicated.
5. Dragging Clutch
Here's another transmission
trouble sign that haunts manual transmission vehicle owners: the dreaded dragging
clutch. A dragging clutch is one that fails to disengage the clutch
disk from the flywheel when the driver pushes in the clutch pedal.
When the driver attempts to
shift gears, he or she can't because the still-engaged clutch is still spinning
along with the engine. The driver is abruptly made aware of this by the
grinding noise that then ensues with each attempt to shift.
Fortunately, the most common
cause for this problem is not that severe or costly to fix -- at least not
compared to some other transmission issues. More often than not, the problem is
too much slack in the clutch pedal. With too much free play, the cable or
linkage between the pedal and the clutch disk doesn't have enough leverage to
disengage the clutch disk from the flywheel (or pressure plate).
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