Differential Service at Mr. Lube
March 31, 2024
Here at AutoNetTV, we have national viewers, like your neighbors in Bentonville, who write to us with questions or feedback. One common question we're asked is: "What is a differential and what does it do?" You may have been told by your Mr. Lube service advisor that your differential needs serviced, or it's seen it as an option up on the service menu. Differential service at Mr. Lube covers a lot of things, so let's first talk about what a differential does.
As you drive through a turn, your outside wheels and inside wheels turn at different speeds. Kind of like the cars going around a race track - the ones driving in the outside lanes have a greater distance to travel than the cars in the inside lanes. The differential is what allows the outside and inside drive wheels to rotate at slightly different speeds so that the tires don't hop or skip while taking corners, or lose traction in dirt or snow on Bentonville area roads. Differentials have gears in them that transfer the power from the drive train to your wheels - which is why they're often referred to as gear boxes. The gears need to be very strong to do this work, and they need to be properly protected so that they'll last.
All vehicles in Bentonville have some form of differential. If you have a front-wheel drive car, your differential is sometimes called a transaxle and is located in the front. If you have rear-wheel drive, the differential is in the back of the car. Bentonville auto owners with a four-wheel drive vehicle have a differential in the front and the back - and in the middle as well. The center differential adjusts for differences in speed between the front and rear wheels.
Differential fluid lubricates and cools the gears. Over time, the fluid can get dirty from bits of the gears grinding off. The additives that keep the fluid clean and protect the differential break down over time. So your vehicle manufacturer has scheduled intervals for you to have your differential fluid changed. Talk to your friendly and knowledgeable Mr. Lube service advisor if you are not sure about your recommended schedule.
Mr. Lube
903 NW Second St
Bentonville, Arkansas 72712
479-271-2323
https://www.mrlubebentonville.msprotemp.com/
More articles from Mr. Lube & Wash

Emergency! (Vehicle Emergency items)
April 20, 2025
"I never expected it could happen to me." Countless drivers have said that after they've had an emergency turn their lives upside down. So before that happens to you, let's thinking about planning ahead for an emergency with a few things you should keep in your vehicle. Road flares. If you've ev... More

To Fix or Not To Fix (Tire Repair)
April 13, 2025
You know that sinking feeling when you realize one of your tires has a problem. It may be making an odd noise or behaving oddly when you're driving. You may hit a pothole or curb and one suddenly goes flat. Or you may head back to your vehicle and discover it has one tire deflated without a cl... More

Power Steering Service in Bentonville
April 6, 2025
Most Bentonville drivers are too young to remember life before power steering - cranking those great big steering wheels! It was a pretty good workout. Now power steering is standard. Let's look at how it works. The heart of any power steering system is its pump. The pump pressurizes the power st... More