Signs You Need To Flush Your Transmission Fluid
Your transmission fluid helps to lubricate your transmission, ensuring proper and efficient gear shifting while driving. However, over time, your transmission fluid can begin to deteriorate, building up dirt and debris within it and functioning less effectively. Thankfully, there are a number of warning signs that you can keep your eye out for to determine when it's time to flush your transmission fluid.
Grinding and Grating Sounds
If your transmission fluid has become dirty, it will no longer lubricate your transmission fluid as it should, which can lead to increased friction while switching gears. This will manifest itself through grinding and grating sounds, though squealing and scraping are also common. You should head to a mechanic straight away to check your transmission fluid levels and condition, and have it replaced if necessary.
Delayed Shifts
If you notice that it takes more time (and effort, for manual transmission cars) to shift gears, your transmission fluid is probably not in good condition and needs to be replaced. Again, dirty or inadequate levels of transmission fluid can increase the friction on your transmission system, increasing the amount of effort and time it takes for the system to switch gears. This poses a major danger while driving, as it significantly reduces your vehicle's responsiveness, which can increase the risk of a collision. Furthermore, it also increases the amount of stress on your transmission, which can cause increased wear and damage – repairs which are more costly than a simple transmission fluid flush.
Transmission Slipping
If you notice that your transmission will sometimes slip out of gear and into neutral, your transmission fluid is dirty and thus clogging up your transmission system, making it harder for your transmission to maintain the necessary amount of pressure to maintain the current gear. This can also manifest itself in a failure to switch gears, which can increase the amount of wear on your engine, as it is forced to work at a higher rate than is optimal for the current gear.
Jumping
In the same vein as the above point, an uneven amount of pressure and flow of transmission fluid due to contaminants within the fluid itself can cause your vehicle to suddenly jump forwards or jerk backwards. Besides reducing your comfort levels while driving, this also poses a serious danger, as it reduces the amount of control you have over your vehicle.
For more information, visit http://www.atomictransmission.com or a similar website.
Share