Know What You’re In For

There are a few words in the language of auto repair that make car owners want to crawl back into bed, and “transmission” is at the top of the list. There’s something about that mysterious box underneath your car that incites fear. Unfortunately, most repair shops know this, and will take advantage of the situation by reaching deep into your pocket.

Before you hand over your keys and a blank check, brush up on the simple end of automatic transmissions. If something is seriously wrong, at least you’ll be armed with enough knowledge to avoid being overcharged, over-repaired or straight ripped off.

Brushing Up

Your transmission is a remarkable contraption. Somehow it can shift your car from gear to gear, knowing how fast you need to go and how quickly you need to get there. What goes on inside is a mystery to most. Unless your thirst for automotive knowledge borders on compulsive, you can leave it a mystery. The basics will be enough to have an intelligent (which translates to “not about to be ripped off”) conversation with your mechanic.

Basic Parts of a Transmission
While there are many, many little parts inside, your transmission is essentially made up of a few key parts of systems.

• Bell Housing: This is the cone shaped metal case that you can see when you peek underneath your car. If you have a front-wheel-drive car it’s stuck on the side of the engine under the hood. If your car is rear-wheel-drive, the tranmission will be mounted underneath the car behind the engine.
• Gears: Even though you’re not shifting them, an automatic transmission has gears. They are broken into main gears and planetary gears. You need all of these to be able to drive.
• Fluid: Transmission fluid is very important to an automatic transmission. All of the magic happens in the fluid. Most cars come with red transmission fluid, good to know if you are looking for a leak.
• Filter: All of that fluid has to be clean for your car to shift gears at the right time. To keep things fresh, your transmission has a filter to catch any gunk.

Now that you know a little about what’s happening in there, you can try to figure out why your transmission is acting up, or at least understand what your mechanic is talking about while he tries to make your bill into his new fishing boat.

Figuring Out What’s Wrong

Transmission problems fall into two very similar categories:

• Won’t go.
• Won’t go smoothly

These two groups of problems are caused by the same faults in your transmission, so whichever your car is doing, the following applies.

Is your fluid level correct?
It’s important to check your transmission fluid at least twice a year. Not only can a low fluid level cause your car to shift poorly, it can eventually lead to transmission damage, and a costly repair. If your car seems to be losing fluid on a regular basis, you may have a leak.

Is your transmission leaking?
Checking for leaks isn’t as trying as it may seem. The transmission is a closed system, so there are only a few places that can spring a leak. Unless it’s been changed to a non-dyed fluid, your car will have red transmission fluid.

Here are a few places to check for leaks:

• At the filler tube base.
• At the drain hole underneath the transmission.
• Between the transmission and the engine.
• At the selector shaft - the rod that connects your gear shift to the transmission.
• Speed sensor mounting point. This will either be your cable screwing into the transmission housing or an electronic sensor bolted to the housing.
• The radiator. If your car has a transmission cooler, it’s possible that a leak will cause transmission fluid to leak into the radiator fluid. They don’t mix well, so you’ll see it floating around in there.

Is your filter clogged?
Your transmission’s filer is vital to its performance. If you haven’t replaced your filter in a while (or ever for a lot of us), be sure to do this before you start talking about rebuilds or replacements.

At The Shop 

Most transmission problems can’t be fixed by the average do-it-yourselfer. There are just too many specialized tools and pieces of equipment you’ll need, and buying this expensive gear just to screw up your first three tries at fixing the thing just doesn’t make too much sense.

Now that you’re in front of the firing squad, it’s time to drop some knowledge on your fix-it guy. Tell him what the car’s doing. Then tell him what you found out when you inspected the transmission. If there’s a leak, let him know where and how much is leaking.

Time for a rebuild?
When your transmission gets tired enough, you’ll have to have it rebuilt. It’s true. For some makes and models of car, it’s true a little too often, but that’s neither here nor there. The important thing is checking any other possible causes to your problem before you take the transmission apart, which is very expensive.

If you haven’t replaced your filter yet, do it! This fixes a nice percentage of transmission problems. If your filter is good, and nothing simple is out of adjustment, be prepared to drop some serious dough on the rebuild. The good news is that most shops warrantee a transmission rebuild for a nice amount of time. A small consolation as your handing over the credit card, but at least you know that it will get fixed and stay fixed.

Are diesel engines as good as gasoline engines in terms of reliability? Diesel engine cars are noisier than gas engines, is this true?

Diesel engines get better fuel economy simply because they do not need to burn as much fuel as a gas engine to get the same power. Diesel engines are also built heavier than a gas engine to sustain the added stress of the higher compression ratio. Diesel engines do not have an ignition system so you will never have to tune them up. Exhaust systems last longer because diesel fuel exhaust is not as corrosive a gasoline engine exhaust.

It is not unusual to see a diesel engine with 400,000, 500,000 and I have even seen them go as much as 600,000 miles.

The down side is they are fairly noisy. You will get the typical diesel clatter at idle, but that goes away off idle. At normal driving speeds they are as quiet as a gasoline engine. You won’t get the same acceleration that you get from a gasoline engine. But a turbo diesel will get up and go fairly quickly. You will need to adjust your driving habits somewhat also.

As for maintenance, 3,000 mile oil changes are a must! Diesel fuel is not as refined as gasoline and the oil will get dirtier than a gasoline engine. I recommend replacing air and fuel filters once a year. If you live in a cold climate, you will need to switch to a winter blend fuel to prevent fuel gelling. There are additives you can put in the fuel to help prevent this as well.

Recommend replacing glow plugs every two years as well. If temperatures drop below 10° F, I would also recommend a block heater. This will insure cold weather starts, especially with the heavier grade oil that diesel engines require.

To Buy Sell Trucks & Trailers visit :- Trucks for sale

V-8 Diesel Engines to be Available on GM Half Ton Pickup Trucks

General Motors announced that it will produce a new 4.5-liter Duramax tubodiesel engine for its light duty trucks built after 2009. That list includes the Chevy Silverado, the GMC Sierra, and the HUMMER H2.

The new diesel engine is compact, and will fit in the same space used for today’s small-block V-8 gas engine. We won’t have exact specs for awhile, but GM projects a rating of at least 310 horsepower and 520 lb-ft of torque for the engine.

GM says owners will see a 25-percent increase in gas mileage, and that the new turbo diesel will produce about 13-percent less carbon dioxide and 90-percent fewer NOx emissions than comparable gasoline engines.

The opportunity to own a truck equipped with a turbodiesel engine is good news for those of us looking for the increased towing capability those engines offer — but don’t want or need a heavy duty truck.

Charlie Freese, Executive Director of GM Powertrain Diesel Engineering, made this statement to the press:

“This new V-8 is not only a clean diesel meeting the toughest emissions requirements in North America, it also delivers an effortless performance feel because of its high torque across the speed range. It is also significantly quieter than other diesels on the road today, with noise and vibration performance approaching gasoline V-8 levels.”

GM’s Duramax turbodiesel line was introduced in 2001, and has boosted sales of the company’s medium and heavy duty pickup trucks. It’s also used to power GM’s large vans and commercial vehicles.

General Motors isn’t the only automaker developing a clean diesel for its light duty trucks. Nissan will put a diesel in its Titan truck and Ford plans to add diesel as an option to its half-ton pickup trucks.

IT was a chilling re-creation of a disaster still fresh in the minds of all Australians. A prime mover and a train again met at the scene of the Kerang rail tragedy yesterday in a reconstruction to gain some answers about how and why the crash occurred.

Members of the Victoria Police Major Collision Investigation Unit (MCIU) and V-Line officials used a three-carriage passenger train and a Kenworth truck to test driver visibility at the time of the accident. The reconstruction will hopefully gather evidence for the coroner, who is investigating the deaths of 11 passengers.

To simulate the accident, the same model truck involved in the crash last Tuesday was driven toward the rail crossing at different speeds, as an empty Kerang-bound train approached the intersection. Investigators used cameras and a helicopter to record what the train and truck driver would have seen moments before the crash.

MCIU Inspector Mick Talbot said the exercise would help determine whether the truck driver’s visibility was impaired, but said it would be months before investigators could draw any conclusions.

“We looked at everything. We looked at visibility from the truck, visibility from the train and camera angles from the ground and the helicopter to find out what may have happened,” Acting Inspector Talbot said.

Four tests were conducted at the same time of day as the crash occurred to make sure the sun and weather conditions were as similar as possible. The Murray Valley Highway was closed to traffic from 12.30pm and testing started at 1pm - the crash occurred at 1.35pm, a minute before the train was scheduled to arrive at Kerang.

Signal bells and lights were operating for each of the four tests, which simulated various combinations of speed and direction. Oncoming cars were placed on the opposite side of the road to re-create the vehicles waiting at the lights when the truck ploughed into the train. In each test, the truck stopped in the middle of the second carriage - the exact point where Christiaan Scholl’s truck hit the passenger train, ripping the carriage in half and sending the third carriage off the tracks.

At the time of the accident, the semi-trailer was loaded with automotive parts, machinery and plaster board.

Scholl, 48, has been charged with one count of culpable driving and is due to appear in the Bendigo Magistrates’ Court on December 19.

State police at Rockview, in a 24-hour period, responded to two separate crashes on Interstate 80 that both occurred after the driver of a truck fell asleep at the wheel, according to police reports.

The first occurred at 7:30 a.m. Tuesday, as a Freightliner truck driven by Bill Chagman, 53, of Erlanger, Ky., was traveling west near mile marker 169 in Marion Township. Police said Chagman fell asleep, and his truck struck a guiderail on the right side of the road, then traveled off the side of the highway and entered a wooded area, striking several trees.

The truck sustained major damage and was towed from the scene, police said. Chagman was not injured.

The second incident occurred at 2:47 this morning, as a Kenworth truck, tractor and trailer driven by Marcus D. Kurtz, 27, of Millerstown, was traveling east near mile marker 139 in Rush Township. Kurtz fell asleep, police said, and the truck tractor struck a median guide rail before rolling over an embankment.

Kurtz suffered a minor injury, police said. No further details are available.

Dump Truck Driver Seriously Injured In Collision With Flatbed Truck

A driver was seriously injured Thursday after a dump truck’s tire blew out, causing the vehicle to collide with a flatbed truck, overturn and lose its load on Interstate 95.

According to the Florida Highway Patrol, dump truck driver Jorge Enriquez, 48, of Hialeah, is in serious condition at a local hospital.FHP troopers said both vehicles were traveling north on I-95 shortly after 7 a.m. when the dump truck’s tire blew out. The driver lost control, veered to the right and struck the smaller flatbed truck pulling a trailer.

A man is recovering after he became trapped under the bed of a dump truck on Thursday.Investigators said the incident happened at Borco Trailers on Johns Street. Johnstown Assistant Fire Chief Chris Selfridge said the man was doing repairs to the vehicle and didn’t have the safety stops in place.Selfridge said the hydraulics were somehow activated to manually lower the bed and the worker became pinned between the frame and bed of the truck.The man was transported to the hospital for non-life threatening injuries, Selfridge said.

Most outraged: Dr. Barbara Haskins joins the City Council race as an independent, citing her outrage at councilors’ willingness to shell out $1 million to buy and staff ambulances rather than work with Charlottesville Albemarle Rescue Squad, according to a Bob Gibson story in the Daily Progress. Haskins, 55, is a psychiatrist who teaches at UVA and is employed at Western State Hospital.Â

Least competent: Shooting suspect Indio Martinez, 17, is found incompetent– again– to stand trial June 6 and will be transferred to a treatment facility, Liesel Nowak reports in the Progress. Martinez is charged in the March 2 shooting of a teen on Prospect Avenue. Last year, he was found unrestorably incompetent in the beating of two teens who refused to join the Bloods, a gang of which police say Martinez is a member, and released. He was also deemed incompetent on B&E charges in 2005– and released.Â

Greatest escape: Handcuff-clad Salvadore Sanchez flees the back of a State Police cruiser June 5 near Afton Mountain and remains at large at press time. Sanchez was pulled for allegedly driving 91 mph on I-64 without a license.

Worst security breach: Hackers gain access to the names and Social Security numbers of more than 5,700 past and present UVA faculty. The university discovered the breach May 29, and is working with the FBI. UVA is offering a year of free credit monitoring to the identity theft victims.

Worst fire: A trailer is destroyed June 11, and fire officials believe an electric water heater sparked the blaze on Slate Mill Branch Road that leaves a family of four homeless.

Worst luck: A tractor trailer hauling a load of mirrors flipped over on eastbound I-64 at the U.S. 29 interchange June 11 and tied up traffic for seven years. Okay, for most of the day.

Worst Chick-Fil-A fracas: Tennessean Eric Kebble is arrested June 7 and charged with malicious wounding at the fried-fowl restaurant after a male with multiple serious injuries is taken to the emergency room at UVA Medical Center.

Easternmost tour: Locally based country rock band Sons of Bill has been selected by Armed Forces Entertainment to travel to Guam, Korea, Japan and Okinowas and entertain the troops from July 1 - 31.

Latest School Board candidates: Lynette Meynig becomes the fifth candidate vying for one of four open seats on the Charlottesville School Board, a race in which it once looked like no one would run. And in the county, Patrick Wood challenges Brian Wheeler for the at-large seat on the Albemarle School Board.Â

Closest call: UVA hangs on to and extends the contract of baseball coach Brian O’Connor, who was being wooed by Florida.

Longest commute: Marc Turner’s two-hour-and-42-minute drive from his paralegal job at Tysons Corner to his home in Charlottesville for the sake of better pay and cheaper housing is detailed in the June 3 Washington Post Magazine story, “Driven to Extremes.”

Biggest oops: Fourth graders in Bedford glimpse a few seconds of hardcore porn following the credits at the end of an instructional video, the News-Advance reports. School officials blame the video reproduction company, and say the elementary school has had the tape for about four years, but no one had ever run it past the credits.

Best making lemonade out of lemons: TerraCycle donates five cents for every 20 ounce plastic bottle collected and uses the otherwise costly-to-recycle bottles to package liquefied worm poop as plant food. Henley Middle Schooler Will Gibson recycled 280 bottles since May and earned a $14 donation to the Nature Conservancy.