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Home / Our Shop / Our Story / Tips / Course / Wholesale / Contact Us Dealing with Snow and Ice Can be a Slippery Situation
Your transmission brings power from your car's engine to its drive wheels. When you initially shift your car into drive, you engage the low gears which create torque to help your tires grip the road and get the vehicle moving. If you then rev the engine on a slick surface, the additional power which ordinarily is used to thrust you forward, may instead spin your wheels at up to 50 miles per hour as your transmission moves quickly through the gears. By the time your car finally grips the road and thrusts you free, you may may have moved up to fourth gear and the damage may be done. No transmission is designed to withstand suddenly meeting the resistance of the road in fourth gear. A better way to rock your car free of ice and snow is to switch between reverse and first gear, "L" (low) on the shifter. Low gear directs more torque to the wheels and prevents the transmission from shifting into higher gears. It is also important to make sure that the wheels have stopped spinning and the engine has slowed down to an idle BEFORE shifting to the opposite direction. Shifting abruptly from low to reverse while the engine is racing is sure to damage your transmission. Cold Weather Tips On cold mornings, warm up your car before driving away. When a car sits outside on a cold night, the transmission fluid thickens and does not flow as well. Allowing the fluid to warm up improves its lubricating ability which translates to longer transmission life. Front-wheel drive cars are better in ice and snow because more weight is concentrated over the drive wheels which increases traction. Another advantage with front-wheel drive cars is that if you get stuck in an ice patch, you can simply turn the steering wheel to allow the front tires to find a new bite. On rear-wheel drive cars, it helps to put a couple of bags of sand in the trunk as ballast. How to tell if your transmission is the cause of your problem You get up on a cold morning, already late for work, you get in your trusty sedan, start the engine, put the selector lever in drive, step on the gas and... nothing! You sit back with that sinking feeling in your stomach. But are you sure that it is the transmission and not some less serious problem? One way to tell is by watching the speedometer. If the engine speeds up and the car just sits there, but the speedometer climbs up to speed as though you were driving down the road, chances are that the transmission is ok and the problem is after the trans. It could be a broken drive shaft or drive axle. Not nearly as serious as a transmission. The speedometer is connected to the output shaft of the transmission, so if the needle moves up when you step on the gas, it means that the output shaft is turning and the wheels are not. If the speedometer is NOT moving after you shift into drive or reverse and step on the gas, the problem is related to the transmission. The first thing to check is the transmission fluid. If the fluid level is low, even by as little as a quart or two, the engine will just spin without moving the car. Add the correct transmission fluid for your car, one pint(1/2 Quart) at the time being careful not to over-fill it. If you are not sure how to check your transmission fluid, check your owner's manual. A fluid leak does not always require a complete overhaul. Sometimes it's as simple as a seal or gasket that can be replaced without removing the transmission. Some seals do require transmission removal, but if the unit is otherwise in good mechanical condition, A complete reseal job can be done for much less than a complete overhaul.
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If
your car got stuck in ice or snow, what would you do? Would you
rock it free by switching between drive and reverse and revving the
engine? If you do, be prepared for trouble because racing your
engine when your wheels are on a slippery surface can ruin your car's transmission.
Here's why...