Many car owners have never heard of transmission hard parts and may wonder what they are. We are here to help customers understand all there is to know about transmission auto parts, including transmission hard parts.

Transmissions Have Soft and Hard Parts

When it comes to internal transmission parts, there are actually two main categories; soft parts and hard parts. The transmission hard parts aren’t designed to wear out, but they can fail, and these include things like pumps, valve bodies, external cases, planetary gear sets, drums, and differentials for vehicles with front-wheel drive.

How to Tell if Your Transmission Hard Parts are Bad

If your transmission has failed hard parts, you will know immediately. That’s due to the fact that a car with broken transmission hard parts will likely stop moving at all, and at the least, you won’t be able to go forward or backward.

You might even hear them break, and it would manifest as loud clunking or perhaps a loud screech. If you have heard these noises, you likely have a very serious problem with your transmission. Powertrain experts can help you to determine if you need to replace any parts of your transmission and help you to buy the correct parts for your vehicle.

What Causes Damage to Hard Parts of a Transmission?

Hard parts can be damaged in several ways, and the following are the usual ways that your transmission can have bad hard parts:

  • Lack of proper lubrication can cause the hard parts of a transmission to fail, which could happen after other parts like a pump or bearing have failed.
  • Abuse can also cause hard parts to fail if you stress your transmission through bad driving habits.
  • There are defective parts; your transmission may have unnoticed flaws in manufacturing.
  • Auto accidents can cause damage to hard parts and cause them to fail, as well as massive overheating.
  • Incorrect towing can cause damage to a transmission, as in a rear-wheel drive vehicle being towed from the front.
  • Not getting proper maintenance done can damage a transmission and its hard parts.

Unfortunately, the lack of proper lubrication through transmission fluid is often the culprit, as it allows parts to rub against each other and parts will overheat without proper lubrication.