NB: Saturn transmissions are probably the strongest automatic
transmissions for their size on the market. They are an absolutely
unique transmission that combines the ususal torque converter and valve
body from an automatic transmission with gear and layshaft gears as
found on manual transmission- rather than planetary gear sets as found
on normal ATs. Getting rid of the planetary sets, which are small and
fragile, and using larger gears a la manual transmissions, makes the
unit surprisingly durable for its small size. The trade-off is a
noisier AT. The Saturn also trades off noise for a much more durable
steel timing chain instead of the now standard rubber/kevlar timing belt
found on most cars.
Bill Longyard
Winston-Salem, NC
SolarFry@aol.com wrote:
>
> BTW: GM recommends automatic transmission for towing. Torque converter is
> infinitely variable (variable gear speeds) and provides more torque to wheels
> than a standard tranny.
>