I have a pretty fair understanding of how transmissions work but one thing has always puzzled me. Suppose you are driving along the road and the light turns red. You stop. Obviously the wheels aren’t moving but your engine still is. What is going on with the transmission at this point when you have stepped on the brakes and your car is still on? The output shaft of the transmission is not moving because your wheels aren’t moving but the input shaft from the flywheel is still moving since your engine is still running. Correct me if I am mistaken. Can someone explain to me where the rotation of the input shaft goes to if your car is stationary (aka the output shaft isn’t being moved)? How does this differ in a manual versus an automatic transmission?
Yes very different in manual vs automatic transmission.
In an automatic it automatically takes care of it and “in effect” puts the car in neutral. In a manual you need to do it manually.
Look up “torque converter”.
Yep, its all in the torque converter. This should help you: http://rds.yahoo.com/_ylt=A0geuo2_tClMWSoBcx9XNyoA;_ylu=X3oDMTEycjVjYjJpBHNlYwNzcgRwb3MDMQRjb2xvA2FjMgR2dGlkA0RGRDVfODI-/SIG=13jq5kh1c/EXP=1277888063/**http%3A//www.howstuffworks.com/auto-parts/towing/towing-capacity/information/torque-converter.htm
transman
The torque converter does do it for automatics, and is a matter of having a fluid coupling.
In a manual, the coupling remains mechanical. The clutch basically disconnects the transmission from the engine.
Just google ‘how do transmissions work?’, you get lots of info.