The hydraulic system in your transmission is responsible for telling the mechanical components what to do, and when to do it. In order to better understand how your transmission works, it’s important to understand the mechanical components of it.

The differentials on your Ford, Chevrolet, or Dodge diesel pickup are some of the hardest working components on your truck. At Wayne & Sons Automotive Repair in Santa Rosa, CA, our technicians are experts in maintaining, repairing, and replacing differentials, keeping your truck working reliable just as much as you do.

Automatic transmissions aren’t easily understood outside of specialists like those at Wayne & Sons Automotive Repair in Santa Rosa, CA. While it would be impossible to teach you enough to make you a transmission expert in a series of articles, what we can do is give you the fundamental knowledge you need to have a good idea of what your transmission is doing, and how it works.

Manual transmissions aren’t necessarily simple, but they’re much easier to understand in concept than their automatic counterparts. You’re probably aware there are gears in manual transmissions - but there’s a little more to it than that. Here are some of the major components you’ll find in a manual transmission.

Shafts - There are three main shafts inside a manual transmission. There’s an input shaft where engine power is transferred via the clutch, and that drives the layshaft, also known as the countershaft. The countershaft has different sized gears to achieve various gear ratios. Corresponding gears on the countershaft connect to the output shaft. The output shaft is connected to the driveshaft, which powers the differential. 

Though transmissions are generally reliable, there are a great number of issues that can develop with one. From Wayne & Sons Automotive Repair in Santa Rosa, CA, here’s a general overview of the types of problems your transmission may develop, all of which we service and repair.

Once you have an idea of how the major components of your transmission operate, it’s time to bring them all together. In its most complex terms, a truck’s automatic transmission takes a lot to understand. However, at Wayne & Sons Automotive Repair in Santa Rosa, CA, we like to keep things simple when we can. We want you to understand exactly what's going on with your car, truck, or SUV. Here’s a rundown of how everything works together.

Transmission slippage can be caused by a variety of factors that are sometimes difficult to pin down. From Wayne & Sons Automotive Repair in Santa Rosa, CA, here’s a rundown of the more common issues that may cause a transmission to slip.

Worn/Burnt Clutches - Your truck’s transmission is packed with clutches that allow it to engage or disengage. If they’ve become worn or damaged, they won’t work properly, and your transmission will slip. Typically, there are other issues at hand that result in damaged clutches, and the clutches themselves require the entire transmission to be broken down in order for them to be replaced. Most of the time, a rebuild or replacement will be in order.

Transmission slippage can be caused by a variety of factors that are sometimes difficult to pin down. From Wayne & Sons Automotive Repair in Santa Rosa, CA, here’s a rundown of the more common issues that may cause a transmission to slip. Our highly trained technicians are ready to get you going with a top transmission.

You’ve likely encountered someone talking about their car or truck transmission "slipping”. What does that mean, why does it do it, and where do you go from here? At Wayne & Sons Automotive Repair in Santa Rosa, CA, our trained staff has the answers to get you safely back on the road. Transmission slippage is certainly one of the most dreaded issues you face as the owner of a car or truck’s and there are some indicators that let you know that something is wrong.

You’ve likely encountered someone talking about their car or truck transmission "slipping”. What does that mean, why does it do it, and where do you go from here? At Wayne & Sons Automotive Repair in Santa Rosa, CA, our trained staff has the answers to get you safely back on the road. Transmission slippage is certainly one of the most dreaded issues you face as the owner of a car or truck’s and there are some indicators that let you know that something is wrong.

Manual transmissions require far less maintenance than automatics. However, that doesn’t mean it doesn’t need a fluid check from time to time. Here’s what you should know about checking and adding fluid to your manual transmission, from Wayne & Sons Automotive Repair in Santa Rosa, CA.

Are you considering upgrading to a better transmission on your classic? Wayne & Sons Automotive Repair in Santa Rosa, CA can help.  If you drive something old, there’s a good chance it has fewer gears than you’d like. With all the 6 and 8 speed transmissions on the road today, it’s hard to imagine that just a few decades ago we were getting by with just 2 or 3 gears. These days, there are some simple swap options - here are some things for you to consider.

At Wayne & Sons Automotive Repair in Santa Rosa, CA, we know that transmissions are witchcraft to most people. More often than not, if major damage has occurred, it’s a lot more time and cost effective to just replace the entire unit and get a fresh start. Here’s what to look out for, from Wayne & Sons Automotive Repair in Santa Rosa, CA.

At Wayne & Sons Automotive Repair in Santa Rosa, CA, our goal is to keep your car, truck, or SUV on the road. The best way to prevent a huge problem is to pay attention to the small ones and get issues taken care of before they leave you stranded. As you know, small problems can lead to big problems and if you're not careful you could miss the signs and your transmission could fail you. 

U-joints are a small, simple component - in fact, they have changed much since the very first automobiles. However, on any vehicle with a driveshaft, its ability to move depends entirely on the u-joint being there. You’ll often hear “maybe it’s the u-joints” as a solution offered for problems with a vehicle - but what are they, what do they do, and how do you know if yours is bad? Wayne & Sons Automotive Repair in Santa Rosa, CA has the answers.

At Wayne & Sons Automotive Repair in Santa Rosa, our priority is keeping your transmission shifting smooth and running strong for years to come. While proper maintenance, driving habits, and a myriad of other conditions affect the life and reliability of a transmission, there are also ways to increase the overall efficiency of your unit, even above stock performance.

At Wayne & Sons Automotive Repair in Santa Rosa, our mechanics have diagnosed and repaired every transmission problem in the book. We’d like to pass some of our knowledge along to you, in order to help you understand your transmission a little better. Here, we discuss the synchronizers in your manual transmission, and how to know if one of yours is faulty.

At Wayne & Sons Automotive Repair in Santa Rosa, we know an important part of your ability to care for your transmission lies in your knowledge about how it works. Here is some information on the tow button, if your car, truck, or SUV is equipped with one.

Over the past decade, vehicles with CVTs, or Continuously Variable Transmissions, seem to have taken over the market. While many people have different opinions on CVT transmissions, what are they, and how do they work? Wayne & Sons Automotive Repair in Santa Rosa has a simple explanation for you.

You’ve probably heard the term “transmission flush” before at some point in your automotive experience. But what exactly does it mean to have your transmission flushed, and why does it matter? Wayne & Sons Automotive Repair in Santa Rosa, CA has the answers.