Rocklin and Sacramento Auto Repair

What's the dif? To an automotive technician, it's the differential, a part of your vehicle that helps direct power from the engine to the wheels.  The differential is a gearbox that enables the drive wheels to turn at different speeds (they do that when you turn).   Inside the differential is a fluid that makes sure those gears and other parts are lubricated since there are a lot of metal moving parts in there.  (Your vehicle may have more than one differential in it depending on the drivetrain.)  As you can imagine, it's important that the lubricant in those differentials do its job.  Otherwise, the gears may be damaged by heat and friction. The more you drive your vehicle, the more likely it is for that lubricating fluid to break down. So, it's important to have the differential fluid exchanged every so often.  Your vehicle's manufacturer recommends how often your model should have that done, but a common interval is every 30,000-60,000 miles/50,000 km ... read more

When you're driving and turn a corner, you probably aren't aware of all that's going on with your wheels.  The outside wheels have a longer distance to travel than the inside wheels, so there are gears that allow the wheels to go at different speeds when you turn.  That set of gears is called a differential.  In front-wheel drive vehicles, it's by the transmission and called a transaxle.  Rear-wheel drive vehicles have the differential, naturally, on the rear axle. Many all-wheel and four-wheel drives add a center differential since power has to go to the front and rear wheels. (Some newer vehicles power wheels with electric motors, but that's a whole different story.) Time and distance traveled eventually can take their toll on the differential, and you may notice some noises you hadn't heard when your vehicle was newer.  Sometimes you'll hear a whir that might change in pitch when you turn.  You may hear clicking sounds when you're moving.  Others d ... read more

When you take a corner in your car, the outside wheels have a slightly longer distance to go than the inside wheels.  That means that the outside wheels must turn a bit faster than the inside.  The piece of mechanical wizardry that makes this possible is called the differential. The differential allows the drive wheels to rotate at different speeds in turns without the wheels binding or hopping.  If you have a rear-wheel drive vehicle, the differential is on the rear axle.  You’ve seen that bulge in the middle of the axle when you’re behind a truck – that’s the differential. If you have a front-wheel drive vehicle, the differential function is handled by your transaxle.  Of course, all-wheel drive vehicles have differentials on both axles.  They also have a center differential or a transfer case between the front and rear axles to compensate for speed differences between the front and rear. Because all the power of the engine is tra ... read more