#1 Reason For A Slipping Transmission

If you have a vehicle with a slipping transmission, but you don't know why, I just might have the answer, but you may not want to hear what I have to say. The cause of a slipping transmission depends on the type of transmission you have in your vehicle. There are three types of transmissions, an automatic transmission, standard transmission, and a CVT (continuously variable transmission). I will discuss the two most common transmissions, the automatic and standard transmissions.

We all know what an automatic transmission is basically, so I'm not going to bore you with the details about how it converts power from you engine into power at the wheels. Your transmission is slipping and that's why you here, so why is it slipping? The main cause of a slipping automatic transmission is low fluid, it's not the only cause, but it is the number one reason why automatic transmissions slip.(I'm not talking about the transmission slipping between gears, I'm talking about it slipping as tho it popped out of gear, as the transmission gets hotter, the condition gets worst) So the next question is why is your transmission low on fluid? I know this is a no brainer but, it's because you probably have a leak.

Maybe you have noticed red transmission fluid in your drive way or in your parking spot at work but it never dawned on you that it could be your car leaking. A transmission has several different seals that hold the fluid in the transmission, failure of one of these seals is probably the cause of your leak. How many seals are in the transmission will depend on if you have a front wheel drive, four wheel drive, or a rear wheel drive car. There are other reasons why transmissions leak, but this is the most common of all fluid leaks on automatic transmissions.

If you do have a seal that is leaking, and you catch it in time without damaging your transmission, costs could be quite low to repair it, seals are relatively cheap, but you will pay in labor charges. Changing a seal of any kind on an automatic transmission involves removing some type of shaft and sometimes the labor can get intense. At the minimum, you are probably looking at about two hour's labor, and depending on where the leak is located it could cost a lot more.

If you have the leak checked out by your mechanic and he tells you, it's your input shaft seal, plan on leaving your car for a day or two, and expect the labor cost to be in upwards of eight to ten hours. Hopefully it's just your axle seal, parts and labor are cheap, and you will be back on the road in a few hours if the parts are readily available. Axle seals are a common failure and the dealer will usually have them in stock, and if they don't, there are plenty of aftermarket companies that will.

Check your automatic transmission fluid level, refer to your owners manual for the proper procedure on how to check transmission fluid level, some manufactures will have you check the transmission fluid level when the engine is hot and running with the transmission in park, other manufacturers like Honda will have you check it with the engine hot but not running, so be sure to read your owner's manual, DON'T GUESS!!!

If your transmission fluid level is low and not showing on the dip stick, add transmission fluid, the proper transmission fluid. Each car manufacturer uses specific fluid, if you use the wrong fluid, you could damage your transmission internally, so again, check your owner's manual. Fill it to the top line on the dip stick and then drive it to your mechanic.

Note: Sometimes when you run an automatic transmission low on fluid, it takes some time to add the proper amount of fluid to top it off. I suggest adding some fluid, run the shifter through the gears on the shifter selector with the car running, and then recheck it. Sometimes there are air pockets in the transmission after running it low, so running the shifter through the gears redirects the fluid to different parts of the transmission and removes the air pockets. You may have to do this procedure several times, or even drive the car around the block, and then recheck the fluid level.

The standard transmission could lose all its fluid and never slip at all, but eventually it would lock up while driving down the road, which would raise the hair on your back or just give you a heart attack and kill you. If you have a slipping standard transmission, the problem is usually in the clutch. There a many reasons why a clutch would slip but the most common reason is the clutch, it's worn out. A clutch disc can last anywhere from 20k miles to 200k miles, it all depends on how well you drive a standard transmission.

Riding your clutch on hills can really eat up a clutch disc fast, or just being a newbie and using a clutch for the first time can cause a lot of wear and tear, learning on a standard transmission can end up costing you a small fortune if you don't get the hang of it quickly. If you think your clutch is starting to slip you can try a stall test, put your car in third gear and try staring off like you would normally, once you let the clutch all the way, the engine should stall, if the clutch is slipping you will know right away because the engine RPM's will rise, the car will slowly start rolling, and you will have a smell like burning paper coming from the engine compartment. When a clutch starts slipping you will smell it, I compare it to the smell of overheated brakes.

If your clutch is slipping but you don't think it's from abuse or wear and tear, there are a few other common reasons why clutches slip. If your input shaft seal is leaking gear oil onto the clutch disc, this could very well cause a slipping clutch. Another common reason a clutch would slip is because of a faulty or damaged pressure plate. The pressure plate works on high tension spring pressure, if for some reason the pressure is not even on the clutch disc, the clutch will start to slip. There are many different reasons for a slipping transmission and I didn't cover all of them here.

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