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Clutch kit: How does the automatic transmission change?

As drivers, we know how the transmission works: we press the clutch, change gears, and then continue driving normally. The manual transmission also teaches us how to perform clutch control without getting stuck or rolling on a hill. So how does an automatic car shift gears?

There are more parts to this system that make it a more complicated system. An automatic car has something called a torque converter. For the car to move forward, whether manual or automatic, torque is needed for the initial push.

The torque converter is a fluid link where its job is to connect the engine to the transmission and the transmission to the drive wheels (front wheel drive or rear wheel drive).

The engine is connected to the transmission in a bell. This is where the torque converter is. The transmission also contains something called planetary gear sets that provide different gear ratios.

The flex plate of the motor is also connected to this torque converter. So the torque converter basically takes the place of a clutch in an automatic car. When the crankshaft turns, so does the converter. This is how the torque converter will trip and connect motor power to the load being driven.

The torque converter has major components that make the automatic transmission successful. These include:

  • The impeller: connected to the engine that is responsible for driving the turbine using viscous forces on the transmission fluid.
  • The turbine: connected to the input shaft of the transmission that sends the torque force to the transmission.
  • The stator, which is located between the impeller and the turbine. Reduces losses per shake.
  • The lock clutch.

During the compression of the fluid it returns from the turbine that works against the impeller and its rotational movement that also acts on the engine.

The stator redirects the fluid so that most of the speed is driven toward the impeller, which then adds to the torque produced by the motor. It can only rotate in one direction if the impeller and turbine are moving at the same speed. Stators do not apply torque when on a highway, only when stopped or accelerated.

A planetary gear set consists of a sun gear and planetary gears that rotate around the central sun gear, just like our solar system. A planet gear connects the planet gears with a ring gear that meshes them. The planetary gear set prevents certain components from moving when clutches and brakes are used. This alters the input and output of the system which changes the overall gear ratio.

Depending on which component is fixed will determine the final gear ratio. If a ring gear is fixed or fixed, the ratio will be shorter than if the sun gear is fixed or fixed.

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