DIFFERENTIAL SERVICE
WHY DO YOU NEED A DIFFERENTIAL?
Car wheels spin at different speeds, especially when turning. Each wheel travels a different distance through a turn, and the inside wheels travel a shorter distance than the outside wheels. Since speed is equal to the distance traveled divided by the time it takes to go that distance, the wheels that travel a shorter distance travel at a lower speed. In addition, the front wheels travel a different distance than the rear wheels.
If your car did not have a differential, the wheels would have to be locked together, forced to spin at the same speed. This would make turning difficult and hard on your car. For the car to be able to turn, one tire would have to slip. With modern tires and concrete roads, a great deal of force is required to make a tire slip. That force would have to be transmitted through the axle from one wheel to another, putting a heavy strain on the axle components.
The differential has three jobs:
- To aim the engine power at the wheels
- To act as the final gear reduction in the vehicle, slowing the rotational speed of the transmission one final time before it hits the wheels
- To transmit the power to the wheels while allowing them to rotate at different speeds (This is the one that earned the differential its name.)
Our service includes:
- evacuating the old differential fluid
- filling the differential with manufacturer recommended new fluid
1) it transfers power evenly from the engine to all drive wheels and
2) it varies the amount of torgue.
The areas of the drivetrain may include the differential, a transfer case and the transmission.
