The clutch is a crucial component that connects the engine and transmission, engaging and disengaging the engine. In a manual transmission, the driver pushes the clutch pedal to engage a gear, disconnecting the engine from the transmission’s input shaft. This mechanism converts explosive energy into mechanical energy. To shift properly, the automatic transmission needs to know how hard the engine is working. There are two ways to do this: using a cable linkage connected to a throttle valve, or using hydraulic power to shift gears.
The torque converter and clutch are the points where the engine and transmission engage. In manual transmissions, the clutch systems engage and disengage the transmission unit from the engine. The torque converter comprises three key components: the pump, stator, and turbine. Incorrect alignment of the linkage between the control lever and the transmission can cause various problems, such as an inability to start the engine or engage drive.
Centrifugal clutches are mechanical devices designed to transfer rotational power from an engine to a transmission to facilitate gear changes. The engine’s rotation generates centrifugal force, which is used to engage and disengage the clutch. Small engines like go-karts, mini bikes, underbones, chainsaws, and other small engines can cause issues with the transmission.
To engage and disengage the engine from the transmission, match the rpms of your engine and transmission. Manual transmissions should be depressed the clutch pedal fully and shift the transmission into neutral. Shift into N position and apply the parking brake when at a standstill for longer than a short waiting period.
📹 Manual Transmission, How it works?
Working of a Manual transmission is explained in an illustrative and logical manner in this video with the help of animation.
When starting an automatic transmission, you begin with the vehicle in?
Make sure it’s in park or neutral. On a modern car, you need to be in park to get the keys out when you turn it off. Put the key in the ignition, turn it to the final position, and hold until the engine starts. If it takes more than a couple of seconds to start or stop, find out why.
Which part of the transmission enables the engine to deliver power to the drive wheels?
The drive train is the group of parts that give a vehicle power. The crankshaft powers the vehicle. It goes to the clutch via the flywheel (manual) or torque converter (automatic). The power goes to the transmission, which redirects it to the drive shaft. The drive shaft sends power to the drive axle, which has a final drive gear and a differential. The final drive gear connects the drive shaft to the differential, which sends power to each wheel. Below is a more detailed explanation of the individual mechanisms discussed above. Figure 1. A diagram of a four-cylinder engine. The pistons are gray, the crankshaft is green, and the block is transparent. The crankshaft is a device that changes the motion of the pistons into a spinning motion. It provides power to the drive train. The crankshaft connects the engine to the drive train. The end and the beginning.
How do engine and transmission work together?
How does a manual transmission work? In a manual transmission, the driver selects the right gear and uses the clutch. The transmission uses a flywheel, pressure plate, and clutch to engage and disengage the engine. The flywheel and pressure plate are connected to the engine. The clutch is between them and is connected to the transmission input shaft. “Push in the clutch” means to release the pressure plate, which disengages the clutch from the engine. Push in the clutch before shifting.
Here are different types of manual transmissions.
Dual-clutch. This transmission has two clutches. One clutch controls the even gears (2, 4, and 6). The other clutch operates the odd gears. Dual-clutch transmissions were common in older cars and are still used in modern race cars. Today’s dual-clutch automated manual transmissions, also called double-clutch or twin-clutch, use a computer to control the clutch engagement and shifting, bridging the gap between manual and automatic.
How does the engine move the wheels?
In an internal combustion engine, fuel and air are burned in a cylinder, pushing a piston up and down. In a car, the piston turns the crankshaft, which turns the driveshaft. The car’s wheels turn because of the driveshaft.
What energy is the energy of moving engine parts?
Combustion is when fuel and oxygen react to produce heat. Heat is produced by exothermic reactions. Most vehicles use engines to convert heat into mechanical energy. Mechanical energy is used to move the vehicle. Moving parts have kinetic energy. Most fuels are hydrocarbons. Hydrocarbons are made of just hydrogen and carbon. When hydrocarbons react with oxygen, they produce CO2 and water.
Wood and coal are examples of solid fuels. Gasoline, diesel, and ethanol are examples of liquid fuels. Propane, natural gas, and hydrogen are examples of gaseous fuels.
What connects the engine to the wheels?
What is the drivetrain? A car’s drivetrain connects the engine to the wheels, allowing the car to move. As the engine runs, the drivetrain sends power to the wheels. The drive wheels can be the front wheels, the rear wheels, or all wheels. This is also called front-wheel, rear-wheel, and all-wheel drive.
Drivetrain parts. The drivetrain has a few parts that make it work.
Transmission: Transfers power from the engine to the wheels and lets the driver change gears. Driveshaft: The driveshaft is a steel or aluminum cylinder that connects the U-joint at the back of many transmissions to the U-joint near the rear axle. The driveshaft lets the transmission send power to the wheels. CV Joint: A CV joint allows your axle to move with your vehicle while turning the drive wheels. CV joints are on front-wheel drive vehicles. They connect the front axle to the front wheels. U-joints: The universal joint (U-joint) is a flexible point on the driveshaft that allows the shaft to move when the vehicle goes over bumps or dips in the road. The differential is the housing with the axle gears and differential. It’s in the middle of the axle and gives power to each wheel. The differential is on the drive wheels axle. This is the front axle for front-wheel drive, the rear axle for rear-wheel drive, and both axles for all-wheel drive. Axle Shafts: The axle shafts are on either side of the rear differential. The axle shafts send power from the differential to the rear wheels.
What are the five steps for starting an automatic transmission?
Starting an automatic car: When starting, put your right foot on the left pedal (the brake) and push down. Start the car by turning the key or pressing the start button. With your foot on the brake, move the shifter to drive or reverse. Automatic cars aren’t as rare as they once were. Thanks to their fuel efficiency, ease of driving, and lower maintenance costs, automatic cars are more popular than ever. But automatic cars do a lot of the work for you, so it can be confusing to drive one if you’re used to manual transmission. This article will explain what to expect, describe the different types of automatic gearboxes, and give tips on how to drive an automatic car safely.
The different types of automatic gearboxes. Before we start, let’s look at the different types of automatic gearboxes.
How does an engine start?
3. The starter. The starter is an electric motor that spins a starter gear. When you turn the key, the starter sends power to the engine. The starter makes that sound when it cranks. It uses a lot of electricity to start the engine. Once the engine starts, it will start to run.
2. Flywheel. The pistons spin the crankshaft, which sends power to the transmission and wheels. The flywheel is attached to the other end of the crankshaft. The flywheel helps maintain rotational energy and ensure smooth engine response. This is also where the starter gear meshes with and spins to start the engine. 1. The fuel pump. The engine needs fuel to run. The fuel pump sends fuel to the fuel injectors. When you turn the key, the engine starts to spin and the fuel injectors spray gasoline into each cylinder. When the air/fuel mixture is ignited, it pushes down the piston, spins the crankshaft, and the engine starts running.
What takes the energy from the engine and moves it to the wheels?
Transmission: A transmission is a car part that makes sure the right amount of power goes to the wheels. The transmission takes power from the engine and adjusts it for driving conditions, then transfers it to the wheels.
Driveshaft: A driveshaft transfers torque from the transmission to the wheels. It has to work in different ways and change its length to adjust to the suspension.
Axles: Axles are important parts of a powertrain. It connects the wheels and supports the vehicle’s weight. It also rotates and transfers engine power to the wheels.
What steps should you follow to start the vehicle?
How to start a car: Put your key in the ignition. It’s to the right of your steering wheel. … Turn the key or press the button to start the engine. Push the clutch pedal all the way down with your left foot. Need help with the basics of driving? We’ve got you.
Bill Plant Driving School teaches thousands of people to drive every year. Everyone starts with the basics. In our new series, we’ll cover everything you’ll learn in those early driving lessons. What comes first? We’ll also cover car setup. Once you’ve done that, it’s time to start driving. This guide will teach you how to start, move off, and stop your car.
How does power transmission work in an engine?
The turbine is connected to the transmission’s input shaft. As the engine speeds up, the transmission transfers torque from the engine to the input shaft, which moves the vehicle.
📹 Clutch, How does it work?
Have you ever wondered what is happening inside a car when you press the clutch pedal? Or why do you need to press theĀ …
Brilliant explanation… Finally the question “How gears gets changed without any wear and tear in their teeth at such a high speeds?” got answered… Thanks a ton… The animation was flawless and really appreciated for your hard work to explain each bit of such a mechanism which I think even the books/lecturers can’t make me understand.
What a great article. I’ve watched other tutorials on manual transmissions and have never quite grasped it…until perusal this one. I own a 10 wheeler dump truck and that has a 10 spd trans, so after perusal this I can understand what is meant by the 10 spd not having the synchronizers…I have to match engine rpms and truck momentum in order to shift smoothly.
I have always understood basically the general mechanism of the transmission and gears shifting. This is by far the most simple explanation I have watched, so far. The automatic transmission that is a different story. I have watched some articles explaining it, but I can’t even start to explain it myself even if my life depended on it.
“Please note, the reverse gear has no syncronyser ring”… My first car, and possibly my second car, had no syncronyser on the first gear too! This because you were supposed to use the first gear only when moving the car from stop position; if you were in second gear, the car was fully loaded and you met a steep incline requiring the first gear to continue, then what? This is why the driving school of 50 years ago taught how to shift with a unsynchronized gearbox, and how to shift without using the clutch – the clutch wire broke every thousand miles! Thank you for the great article – you are the undisputed Master of Engineering Animations!
From @3:30 on to @4:45 is the bit about syncromesh, which is what I am here for. Really, really good, by far the clearest and best explanation of this system I’ve heard or seen. First, the ‘need’ is explained, then the ‘black box’ bit, where a hypothetical solution is shown (we know not what, at this time), then finally the actual implementation. First-rate. I can point my daughter to this, and she’s going to understand why her little car isn’t able to change gear when moving, but perfectly happy to engage any gear, when sat still. Take care all.
I love my stick transmission. There’s this huge hill in my city that is part of a gorge that is long and steep. I’ll have some snobby tailgater right on my ass with their fancy-shmancy SUV. I coast down the hill in neutral and halfway up the other side, shift into second, let out the clutch, and zip right up the other side while their automatic transmission bogs down in third or fourth gear when they mash on their accelerator. Haha, see ya later slowpoke!
Ah! Now I know why my truck’s manual transmission will, at times, emit a noticeable “clunk” noise when engaging into reverse gear . . . and at other times when it won’t engage the first time, I put the shift lever back to neutral, work the clutch pedal, then attempt to engage reverse gear for a second time.
Just to be perfectly clear, for the Reverse Gear at the end of the article: Note that the 3 cogs aren’t locked together. 3 gears cannot fit together and turn (think about it). What they are saying is that the Input cog drives the Idle cog, and the Idle cog therefore drives the Output cog. The Input and Output cogs do not link, that would be physically impossible. Nothing wrong in the article, just clarifying as I had to look closely myself.
The syncronizer for the first gear is only neccessary in case you switch back to first gear before coming to a stand? Because if the reverse gear doesn’t need a synchronizer the first gear also shouldn’t need one because the output shaft usually doesn’t spin when shifting to first gear. So if output and gear both have no spin it should not be a problem to connect them. Thus the syncronizer is only neccessary for shifting back to first (from second) gear, when the output shaft does actually spin, right? If so then I finally got it š Awesome article š
At first it didn’t make sense, then after getting what the synchronizer ring does, EVERYTHING was an ahaaaaa! moment! I was blown away when I saw how the actual gear lever shifts the gears, and why 1-2; 3-4; are separated like how they are. Understanding why the transmission must come to a dead stop before engaging reverse is so cool! People who thought of how to make the gearbox, and actually pulled it off were crazy😆😆
I have no idea what to say. but, Uh heres a recipe for Pancakes insteadIngredients: 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 3 tablespoons sugar 1 tablespoon baking powder 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg 2 large eggs, at room temperature 1 1/4 cups milk, at room temperature 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more as neededNow to make it 1. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg. 2. In another bowl, beat the eggs and then whisk in the milk and vanilla. 3. Melt the butter in a large cast iron skillet or griddle over medium heat. 4. Whisk the butter into the milk mixture. Add the wet ingredients to the flour mixture, and whisk until a thick batter is just formed 5. Keeping the skillet at medium heat, ladle about 1/4 cup of the batter onto the skillet, to make a pancake. Make 1 or 2 more pancakes, taking care to keep them evenly spaced apart. Cook, until bubbles break the surface of the pancakes, and the undersides are golden brown, about 2 minutes. Flip with a spatula and cook about 1 minute more on the second side. Serve immediately or transfer to a platter and cover loosely with foil to keep warm. Repeat with the remaining batter, adding more butter to the skillet as needed. 6. Procedure for adding fruit to pancakes: Once the bubbles break the surface of the pancakes, scatter the surface with sliced or diced fruit, or chocolate chips, nuts, etc. Flip with a spatula and cook for 1 minute more, being careful not to burn toppings.
Gearboxes on much older vehicles where there was no “synchronisation” were known as “crash” gearboxes & it was necessary to “double de-clutch” each time one needed to change gear, that is: One had to depress the clutch pedal > move the gear stick to neutral> raise the clutch pedal, then depress it again then engage the higher gear & then lift the clutch pedal again. Sounds complicated, but one soon gets the hang of it & it then becomes a slick movement!
I understood all of this 🤣 I also Understand an Automatic and there’s a Automatic manual and CVT. Which I need to do more research on CVT. But nonetheless- I should’ve gone to school for Auto instead of HVAC. HVAC had me falling asleep. But I can watch this article 1 times and understand over 90% and remember the parts. Just love this
Well done. Perhaps next we can have a article explaining the latest harness tech’ for your horse drawn cart. With some excellent animation like this I may understand how the whole horse technology works, just as internal combustion engines are displacing horses. EVs are coming fast. Manual gear boxes will be antiques in motor museums.
I would like some more consistency regarding overdrive. Gears like RPM, but have trouble with torque. Thus, if you go over two or three shafts, you first try to increase RPM and postpone torque to the last gear placed as close as possible to the output ( better even final gear around the diff ) with synchro on the other shaft.
Thank you for the great article. My transmisiĆ³n is gone and I looking to replace it with a higher torque. Does it works even though the motor maximum torque is lower than the maximum torque of the transmisiĆ³n. Lets say 520 max torque in the motor vs 920 max torque in the tranasmisio. Or the maximum amount of torque should about the same in both.. Thank you
One mistake: You can’t just let out the clutch until it bites on an uphill start. You do have to quickly switch between the brake and the gas while you slowly let out the clutch. It also depends on the slope of the hill, but usually, you will instantly stall if you do that unless you give it a bit of gas.
In the U.S. the best anti-theft device you can have is a manual transmission.🙂 As for the up hill start, if you know your car well enough it’s just a matter of fast feet and knowing how fast to let off the clutch pedal as you move your foot from the brake to the gas pedal. Yes, a beginner will either stall the engine or roll backwards but given enough practice you learn the sweet spot. All of this assumes you are not driving an old VW bug where even in normal starts you just floor the gas and pop the clutch.
See, this shit is why I’m okay with learning something else and having a car guy tell me what’s up. There’s a lot of required knowledge to get a car moving, but it’s something that I, and other people take for granted a lot and would not understand without a lot more study. If you’re on this article and you don’t “need” to know this stuff, good on you mate. Otherwise, be aware of your perspective and know that for every one thing you learn about engineering, somebody else (who cares) is likely learning something new of a different discipline. Be humble everyone, and share the info with the ding dongs like me who just want to gain a better understanding of how they live their life. Drunk rant over, carry on!
On my car, when I use the handbreak on a hill, since it only locks the rear wheels, it kind of pushes the rear of the car up. There is a very notable angle difference, so when I release the clutch, the car slowly tilts back to normal, and when it becomes parallel to the ground again, I know I am at that point they call “clutch break” in the article. Then I know I can completely let go of the handbreak and the clutch never works against the break. It’s important because it’s an old car and if I’m not alone, or the trunk is full, it’s gonna stall without some gas, and it’s pretty hard to give gas and release the foot break at the same time, and since everybody drives automatic nowadays they don’t leave space in hills, so you have to be sharp.
I’m doing my first driver’s licence and the cluch is like a mystery animal to me. I’ve pretty much learned how to use it in different situations but I I don’t always know why it does what it does, and that causes certain feeling of uncertainty. This article helps a little bit, though it’s still a bit too technical to me.
Only thing I am going to comment on is the last part. NEVER ride your clutch. What they are describing is clutch slippage. Eventually you will need to replace it. Why partially engage the clutch making it wear out faster then it needs to? Just give the engine some gas as you release the pedal. Hill start successful every time. Clutch replacement can vary in price in different locations. Some shops will charge over 2k for the service and others a little over 1k. It’s a pretty in-depth service since you have to drop the transmission just to get to the parts needing replacement.
Wonderful article I might add that the reason you double clutch a non-synchron transmission is because of the excessive torque on one of the shafts in the transmission eating Fuller transmission clearly has articles showing how damage is done to the shaft in the transmission by not double clutching I don’t care how good you are at floating a gear that just means you’re lazy and don’t know what you’re doing. Secondly the reason that you do not double clutch any vehicle that has synchronized gears, that is why they call it a sink road transmission because there is a synchro sitting right before the gear. Now if you double clutch a vehicle that has synchronized transmission and yes you can try and do it but you will destroy the synchros inside the transmission. This is all fact and you have a wonderful article here by the way thank you very much.