Feelin' The Vibration & Hearin' The Grind: 2 Warning Signs That Your Transmission Needs Repaired

A lot of times, vehicle transmissions give warning signals before they give up entirely and leave their drivers stranded. It's a good idea that you know what normal sounds and feels like for the manual transmission in your vehicle. That way, you can easily identify when your vehicle is trying to tell you that something isn't quite right.

The engine is what powers the vehicle, but it's the transmission that makes it move by transmitting the engine's power to the wheels via the drive train based on what gear the vehicle is in. To change gears, the transmission needs to be disengaged from the engine power, which is done with the clutch. When things don't work together smoothly, the various parts of the engine, transmission, or drive train can give warning signs. Here are a few to watch out for.

Feel the Vibration

Vibrations in the gas pedal while you are driving and not shifting gears can mean that your clutch didn't disengage all the way from the engine the last time you let the clutch out. It's important to fully disengage the clutch so you don't wear the clutch pads out completely before you arrive at your destination, or you may no longer have a working clutch. To do this, quickly press and release the clutch while driving but without shifting gears. If the vibration does not stop, you'll need to take the vehicle in for repairs as soon as possible.

Hear the Grind

In a manual vehicle, hearing a grinding noise may mean that you didn't step down on the clutch soon enough or with enough force when shifting gears, which is a beginner's mistake. This can also be caused by a worn out clutch because the clutch wouldn't have enough gripping power to hold the engine power so the gears can change in the transmission. When you hear grinding, it's actually the sound of the gears inside the transmission being chewed up.

Too much grinding like this can eventually cause the transmission to be unable to shift into that particular gear. The reason for this is because the teeth of the gears will eventually wear down, which can cause the gears to slip. Imagine what could happen if your transmission slips and you cannot get power to your wheels when you need to go faster. This is why a slipping gear is a serious problem that needs to be repaired immediately before it causes a motor vehicle accident.

To learn more, contact an auto repair shop like H & S Tire & Auto Center

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