A car's differential has a very difficult job to perform. Tremendous mechanical forces are at work, due to the resistance posed by the road surface against the energy produced by the engine. When you think about how much stress these components have to put up with, it's hardly surprising that they fail from time to time. How do they work and how can you help ensure the differential's longevity?
Parts Under Pressure
The main job of the differential is to allow the engine to perform at full capacity while the wheels themselves encounter different conditions and the car travels at varying speeds. The engine in virtually every car is completely separate from the driving wheels, and its power often has to be converted through right angles to provide drive. The differential also has to "step down" the power produced by the engine so that it is appropriate for the speed and conditions of the road.
All of this requires some heavy-duty mechanical components, working in tandem with each other and able to resist enormous lateral forces. These parts are made from strong metal compounds and require highly engineered lubricants in order to function.
Without lubrication, these components would grind against each other, overheat and quickly fail. This is why it's important to get only the very best differential oil and make sure that it is always present in recommended quantities.
Damage Through Normal Usage
If you can imagine life inside the differential casing, then it wouldn't be surprising to see miniature pieces of metal break away from components under pressure. These pieces of metal can contaminate the fluid over time, breaking down its consistency. This means the fluid will provide less protection and therefore subject the transmission components to accelerated wear and tear.
What Do You Risk?
The average motorist tends to overlook the condition of various mechanical components on their car until they exhibit signs of trouble. It's easy to let manufacturer-recommended intervals go by, especially when you have so much else on your mind. Yet unless you take the vehicle in for service when you're supposed to, you can quickly encounter problems. The oil level in the differential casing may creep below its recommended level, and, as it's getting "dirtier" by the day, the whole unit could fail.
Taking Action
Don't make these mistakes and end up with a costly replacement bill, when you could have been proactive instead of reactive. If your car in in need of differential repair, contact a company like Precision Automatic Transmissions for more information.
Share3 January 2017
I love to take my car down to the track on the weekend. Running a race car is an expensive exercise so I need to be smart about how I spend my limited car budget. I do some of my auto servicing myself, but I don't have the equipment to some of the more complex jobs. I have put a lot of time and energy into my car so it's quite a commitment to trust someone else with my car, even for a few days, so I've found a trustworthy car service centre with a lot of experience in high performance vehicles. This blog has some tips on finding car servicing for racing cars.