Car Gear Box Maintenance For Dummies
The Ways & Means To Look After Your Vehicle’s Gear Well
Do you know that next to the engine, the following most important part of the vehicle is the gear box itself.
A 2nd hand engine for a popular model like Proton Waja can cost RM1500 – RM1800. Whereas, a gear box needs some RM800 – RM1200 for it.
But while we service our engine oil at 5000 km intervals, changing oil filters and expensive lubricating oil, we do not accord such services for our gear boxes. It’s a little bit unfair.
As mentioned earlier, the gear box is second only to the engine itself. Looking after it well should be a must.
Basically, there are 3 schools of thought most mechanics and drivers seem to provide to gear box attention.
One, seems to feel that we should change our gear box lubrication oil the same time as our engine oil.
The second seems to be of the opinion that nothing needs to be done at all for gear boxes. They feel gear box does not require much attention. And that gear box oil seldom run low. All you need is to top it up occasionally. That’s all there is to it.
The third school of thought with regards to the gear box oil, advocates this important oil be changed periodically for maximum performance.
As a driver of quite some years of experience, I feel that this third school, appears to be the best alternative to adopt.
Next, we arrive at the topic of how an ordinary gear box can get spoilt. In other words, how does a driver take good care of it.
Number one is obviously changing the gear oil periodically. Next is to ensure the gear box oil is checked from time to time, making sure there is no shortage occurring. And number three is to add in additives for better performance.
Besides this, there are a few steps and measures advocated by mechanics which are to be followed. Amongst them are:
i) Do not pull or drag the vehicle in any gear too long a distance. This is believed to be able to spoil or damage gear system.
ii) Avoid reversing or going backwards with the reverse gear too for a distance also. Doing this will lead to the gear box resulting in its gear oil dripping from the transmission box. Coupled with it, the gear box may even result in becoming coarse or to whine.
iii) The third manner in which gear boxes usually get spoilt is when during gear exchanges conducted by drivers in which the clutch is not depressed fully. This results in the gears getting chipped, thus sustaining damage.
Eventually, the gears will result in whining. Besides this problem, the gears may even wind up jumping out from its intended position the moment you begin to accelerate. If this should happen, there’s nothing you can do except to be advised to replace it with a 2nd hand unit.
Can anything be done if a gear box has sustained whining symptoms?
There is no guarantee. But drivers whose gear boxes suffer from this problem, could try adding in a good additive to the system. This additive mentioned is easily available at most spare parts shops and super markets.
When a gear system begins to whine, it is not that the system cannot be used any further. The whining sound is very irritating to hear. Most drivers elect to replace it with a new unit as soon as possible.
A 2nd hand unit will also suffice. You can obtain such a unit at many of the scrap yards all across the nation for a reasonable price. It even comes with a guarantee. Ask your neighborhood foreman about it. I’m sure he will be able to provide you the assistance that you require.
Today’s article has gone a long way to explain to you the ways and means to look after your car gear box well. Follow the methods and ways to look after your vehicle’s gear box unit well. I’m confident you will have no necessity to replace your gear box unit at all.
In the attempt to explain the procedures, the gear oil has inevidently been forgotten. Gear oil should ideally be between 90W and 140W.
In Malaysia, Castrol appears to be the best oil recommended. As a last word, W denotes viscosity. Viscosity means how slippery the oil is. The higher the viscosity, the better protection it provides to your car. New oil, it is believed possess higher or better viscosity.
The depreciation of used cars is much less than new cars and, therefore, they are a more cost effective purchase. Get your finance in place before choosing your car, this saves time as you know exactly which vehicles you can or cannot afford.
Your comment are most appreciated. I enjoyed glancing through your company’s bins of restructured vehicles. They are as good as new vehicles.