Transmission Tips: Simple Maintenance & Proper Handling

Blog

Making sure your transmission is in good condition is as much your responsibility as it is your transmission specialist. The following is a simple guide to care for your transmission that may help extend its life.

Maintenance For Your Transmission

The transmission is a complicated compartment in your car that requires a specialized technician to diagnose problems, making it an expensive part to repair should you need to. This compartment--in simple terms--helps translate your power and direction needs to your wheels, so it is important to take care of this part of your vehicle.

It would be wise to take some preventative measures, and you can do that with the following care tips:

• Be sure to check the transmission fluid regularly, or have your transmission specialist top it off.
• Check your fluid after your car goes through strenuous activities, like traveling uphill, driving under extreme temperatures, heavy stop and go traffic, or hauling a big load. These could overwork your transmission, which could deplete your transmission fluid.
• Change your transmission fluid and filter as needed. You can ask your transmission specialist when you should do that.
• Keep the compartments in your car that may affect your transmission in good condition. These compartments include the drive shaft, drive axle, sensors, radiator, cooling lines, and engine motor mounts to name a few.
• Ask your transmission specialist to check the transmission's linkage condition every now and then

You can talk to your transmission specialist about other maintenance tips that he or she will be able to offer.

Transmission Handling

The following are a few handling tips that may help extend the life of your transmission:

• Let your car warm up at least a minute or two before driving off, especially if the car has been off for a few hours. This allows the transmission fluid to warm up, lessening the thickness the fluid attains after a few hours of inactivity.
• Always put your emergency brake on whenever leaving your car in park. This is important because a small push can break your transmission's parking pawl.
• Try not to rock your vehicle out of snow, should you find yourself stuck in it; use a shovel instead because rocking your vehicle may put too much stress on your transmission.
• Consider adding an external transmission cooler and filter to help extend your transmission's life while keeping it from overheating.

For more information, contact Integrity Transmission & Auto Service Center or a similar company.

12 November 2015