Transmission maintenance is one of the lesser-known services because it isn’t clear exactly where the problems can occur with your car. Essentially the transmission is your gearing and putting your engine’s energy into a movement of the wheels through torque. There are multiple ways to service your transmission based on what kind of issues you may be having, how long it has been since the last maintenance, and what type of car or environment you drive in. You may need a transmission repair, transmission oil change, or even a transmission flush. What exactly a flush is will be detailed below, along with some reasons why you may need it.
Transmission oil helps to lubricate the transmission and all the gears moving around to optimize your engine’s work. Without this lubrication, the gears can get damaged through friction and lower the engine’s efficiency short and long term. Over time that oil can also get dirty and won’t do its job as well. New transmission fluid looks red, but old or dirty oil looks black and dark.
If you decide that transmission maintenance is required, there are a few options you have. A simple oil change will remove the oil from your transmission and put in new oil. Flushing is cleaning out every last bit of the old oil before putting in the new oil. Because the way you normally remove the transmission fluid is by gravity since it is under the car, it can be hard to get every last bit of old oil out. This means the new oil mixes with old oil and can be diluted to become much less fresh. Flushing or putting new oil down the transmission without it being capped can help to get as much old oil out as possible. Each subsequent time the oil runs through the transmission, it gets more of the dirt out, and a flush is complete when the oil that comes out is clean.
Usually, transmission maintenance is needed around 40,000 miles. If your car has gone way beyond that, so much debris has likely built up inside it that changing the oil may damage the transmission. The debris built up in it may be keeping it working, and moving anything around can get it clogged elsewhere. Normally, a transmission does not last much longer than a few transmission oil changes, so think about waiting until you get a new transmission. Simply draining and adding some transmission fluid will be good, but only flush it if the oil hasn’t been sitting for too long.
If you need transmission maintenance in Jacksonville, FL, call Action Transmission Specialists at (904) 744-0755.
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