Manual

Transmissions

Purpose
To change the torque going
to the drive wheels
Needed to start vehicle from
a stand still

Basic Theory
Manually shifted
Clutch disc rotates the input
shaft
Output shaft powers wheels

Transaxle
A differential and transmission
in the same housing
Common in four wheel drive
vehicles
Manual or automatic
transmissions

Parts
Input shaft
Gears
Synchronizers
Shift fork

Parts
Gear shift lever
Output shaft
Transmission case

Input Shaft
Driven by clutch
Turns gears inside
transmission

Transmission gears
Provides a means of
changing output torque and
speed

Synchronizers
Devices that help gears
mesh into desired
arrangement

Shift fork
Unit for moving gears in and
out of arrangement

Gear shift lever

A lever that provides the
driver with the ability to
change the gear
arrangement

Output Shaft
Shaft that transfers power from
the transmission to the wheels
Transfers power to drive shaft
in a rear wheel drive vehicle

Transmission Case
Housing that encases transmission shafts,
gears, and lubricant

Gear Ratio
Definition: the number of
rotations a drive gear has to
turn before the driven gear
turns once

Determining
Gear Ratio
Found by dividing the number
of teeth on the driven gear by
the number of teeth on the
drive wheel

Gear Reduction
A smaller gear drives a
larger gear
Increases torque and
decreases the speed

Over Drive Gear

A large gear drives a smaller
gear
Torque is decreased and
speed is increased

Gear types
There are two types of gears
found in manual transmissions
Spur gears
Helical gears

Spur Gears
Teeth cut parallel to center shaft
Not used for drive gears
Used for gears that have to slide
in and mesh with other gears
Noisy

Helical Gears
Teeth cut out of parallel to drive
shaft
Used for constant drive
components
More efficient
Quiet

Gear back lash

Small clearance between
meshing gears
Allows lubricant to flow
between high friction gears
Allows gears to expand during
operation

Lubricant
Splash lubricant
Gears fling lubricant around
transmission
Gear oil: 80W to 90W (always
check owners manual)

Transmission shafts
Input shaft
Counter shaft
Reverse idler shaft
Output shaft

Input shaft
(AKA clutch shaft)
Transfers power from clutch to
the counter shaft
Splined on clutch side and a fixed
gear on the transmission side
Whenever clutch is turning the
input shaft is turning

Counter shaft (AKA

cluster gear shaft)
Holds counter shaft gears
into mesh with the input
shaft gear
Counter shaft does not turn

Reverse idler shaft

Small shaft that supports idler
gear
Reverse idler gear meshes
with gears on both the input
shaft and the counter shaft

Output shaft
(AKA Main shaft)
Holds output gears and
synchronizers
Extends out of the
transmission to power the
drive wheels

Shift forks
Sits around synchronizer
sleeves
Transfers movement from the
gear shifter linkage to the
synchronizers

Problems
Grinding sounds when shifting
Worn gear change linkage
Clutch grabbing
Synchronizer gears grinding going into mesh

Problems
Transmission noise
Roaring, rumbling, whirling
sounds
Low lubricant, metal
contaminants

Problems
Difficulty shifting
Problem with the linkage for
the shifter mechanism
Clutch problems

Problems
Jump out of gear
Worn clutch pilot bearing
causes vibration and wobbling
of the transmission input shaft.
The vibration and wobbling
shakes the synchronizers out of
gear

Problems
Locked in gear
Shifter assembly problems
Broken drive gear teeth, bits
stuck in gears