You should always maintain an adequate level of transmission fluid to prevent irreversible damage to your transmission. You should listen for a noise coming from under the hood.
That is, any type of noise that could indicate transmission issues. One of such noise that signifies problems in the transmission is a screeching noise
If your transmission fluid is low, it will start making noise. On the other hand, overfilled transmission fluid has advert effects. You should never add too little or too much transmission fluid.
This article explains various types of transmission systems and how they work and highlights overfilled transmission fluid effects. Let’s delve in.
How does a transmission work?
The car transmission is one of the key components of a vehicle. It transmits power from the engine to the wheels so the car can drive.
There are different kinds of transmissions. And there are automatic and manual variants, the latter requiring the driver to carry out additional tasks to drive properly.
Have you ever sat and thought ‘what does a transmission do, and how does it work?’. Its functions and applications again depend on the type of transmission you have.
But whatever the case, the transmission duly ensures that the wheels move as they should do as the car speeds up or slows down.
Whenever the car comes to a halt, the transmission disengages the drive shafts at the engine so that the vehicle engine can rest when it’s not on the go. It also works nicely with the engine such that the vehicle can be put into fast movement as you step on the gas.
Let’s see the types of transmissions below;
Manual transmission
Manual transmission makes it necessary for the driver to do one extra task, at least, with a clutch pedal and gear lever or shifter, in order for the vehicle to run correctly.
A manual transmission consists of a pair of input and output shafts (for turning an internal driveshaft) and a set of gears. The actual correct operation of this transmission rests on the driver as he has to select the proper gears of engagement or disengagement for the clutch system.
The manual transmission is made of a clutch moon, pressure plate and flex plate to produce engagement and disengagement of the driveshaft to the engine.
The pressure plate and the flywheel (flex plate) are at the back of the engine. The clutch moon is mounted on the center axis of the flex plate, being splined to the transmission input shaft.
Automatic transmission
What is an automatic transmission? The basic difference between the automatic and manual transmissions is that the former requires one less task for the driver for it to work.
With an automatic transmission the car itself decides when to up-shift and downshift the gears. There are no pressure plates and clutches; instead, a torque converter is used in shifting the gears.
The most common form of automatic uses hydraulic pressure in shifting gears in combination with a fluid coupling or torque converter and gear sets to up-shift and down-shift into different ranges as you press down on the accelerator pedal.
The fluid coupling connects the transmission to the engine and, using pressurized fluid, shifts the gears. The fluid coupling is a substitute in automatic units for the friction clutch on the manual and can bring the whole car to a complete stop, without stalling.
CVT Transmission
The acronym CVT stands for continuously variable transmission and is also a pulley-controlled transmission usually found in small passenger cars with small engines.
CVTs have been utilized in most ATVs, snow machines, and side-by-sides, to name a few. They are primarily found in small hybrid cars.
A CVT system consists of a second large and primary small driven clutch, with a chain or belt connecting both clutches. The chain or belt will sit high in the secondary drive and low in the primary drive when stationary.
As you step on the gas pedal the secondary drive expands causing the chain or belt to walk down, and at the same time the primary drive contracts which causes the chain or belt to walk up.
What happens if you add too much transmission fluid?
Excess transmission fluid has detrimental impacts that may cost you a fortune. We have provided the effects of overfilling your fluid all underneath.
Erratic shifting: If you pour excess fluid into your transmission the gear sets and bearings will be submerged in the fluid. And the gears will find it difficult to shift properly: Too much transmission fluid causes the slipping of gear teeth.
Foaming Fluid: An overfilled transmission fluid will cause foaming. Once the foaming takes place, it’ll lead to a myriad of transmission issues such as insufficient lubrication, overheating, hard shifting, etc. Over time it could destroy the entire system.
Oil starvation: Depending on the size of your transmission, a 4-5 liters transmission overfilled by 1 quart will lead to foaming. An additional 1 quart might not be bad on a 8lrs transmission.
Suppose foaming takes place: The gears will begin to stick. They won’t operate as they are supposed to function because the oil has lost its density and viscosity. Catastrophic damages may be incurred by the damages inflicted within the assembly.
Lack of lubrication: Since overfilled transmission fluid will cause foaming, it won’t lubricate the transmission parts properly and this will cause wear and tear on the entire system that could breakdown totally sooner or later.
Transmission overheating: Overfilled fluid transmission will lead to the transmission overheating. Too much transmission fluid will not allow sufficient air to cool down the system. A half a quart of too much transmission won’t make any difference any way.
Transmission fluid leakage: Excess transmission fluid will cause high pressure in the system. When this takes place, the fluid will begin seeking for ways to escape and may begin leaking fluid from every known means.
This will damage other components of the system. Why, as above-made mention, especially automatic transmission relay on pressurized fluid from the torque converter to Percolate huge damage to the system. Slip and hard shifting will be created if you over fill the system.
Another effect of an overfilled transmission is that it will cause the fluid to lose it lubricating proprieties and probably blow up the system and not function. You’ll get hit with an expensive repair bill if this occurs.
In any case your transmission fluid overfills it a little, on the order of half a quart, these shouldn’t cause any problem with the transmission anyway.
FAQs.
Q: How do you remove excess transmission fluid?
The easiest way to get rid of excess transmission fluid is to take your car to a service garage or drain the fluid yourself. To drain the fluid, either take out your crankcase plug or use a filler tuber.
If you decide to use a filler tuber, you will be required to spend a little time at it. You will have to hold it there until the fluid rises to the cap, then withdraw it and drain into a catch pan.
Q: Does too much transmission fluid cause transmission to slip?
Excess transmission fluid can create a number of problems with the transmission. If that fluid level stays above a safe point, it will start mixing with air then attempt to bubble over the side of the cap.
You may suffer gear slippage, hard shifting and other transmission shifting problems.
Q: Does an overfilled transmission leak?
An overfilled transmission fluid isn’t going to hurt your transmission seals but it certainly will leak them.
The seals are designed so that pressure is not allowed to leak into unpressurized areas. If a high pressure has been established due to excess fluid, it simply leaks through the seals.
Q: What causes my car to jerk when shifting gears automatic?
Thus far there are many reasons why your automatic car transmission jerks when you switch gears.
One thing is definitely certain, however; be on the alert, if your car feels jerky, shakes, or has hard shifting, it could mean a definite need for the changing of your transmission fluids, or the level could be down.
Q: What should I do if I get too much transmission fluid in my car?
Now that you have discovered you have too much transmission fluid in your car, act quickly to prevent damage to system components.
Either take your vehicle to service garage or reduce your fluid yourself. Then keep the fluid at the required level.
Q: Can too much transmission fluid cause limp mode?
When the sensors in the internal transmission or in the engine detect a problem, it places the car in limp mode.
Now you can drive safely to the dealership or mechanic garage for a repair. If you keep driving your state in this condition, it will cause catastrophic damages, and you don’t want that.
Final words
The success of any transmission relies on the fluid. It is basically the blood of your transmission. Not pouring enough fluid into your transmission will cause it a lot of problems and premature wear and tear.
Pouring too much transmission fluid will literally damage the whole system. If this happens, you would incur a costly repair. Once you see any of these effects, fix it as soon as possible before it blows up in face.