Five free practice questions on manual transmission: content area B of the ASE A3 Manual Drive Train & Axles test, 7 of its 40 scored questions (17.5%). They are in the ASE format: four options, one best answer. Answer each one before opening the explanation. No account, no email.
01The questions
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The manufacturer calls for an anaerobic gasket maker, not RTV silicone, on the joint between a transmission case and its extension housing, two rigid machined surfaces. What makes an anaerobic sealant cure?
- A hardener mixed in before use
- Moisture in the surrounding air
- Heat from the running transmission
- Air shut out between metal parts
Show the answer
D. Correct. Anaerobic sealant stays liquid in air and cures when it is trapped between close-fitting metal parts, where air is excluded and contact with the metal starts the cure. That suits rigid machined flanges, and any squeeze-out outside the joint stays soft and wipes off.
Why not the others
A. Mixing in a hardener describes a two-part epoxy. An anaerobic sealant is a single part that cures when air is shut out between metal surfaces.
B. Moisture from the air is what cures RTV silicone, which is why RTV skins over once it is exposed. An anaerobic sealant cures when air is shut out between metal surfaces.
C. Anaerobic sealant cures at room temperature once the joint is closed; operating heat is not what sets it. It cures when air is excluded between the metal surfaces.
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During transmission reassembly, loose needle rollers must stay in a gear's bore until its shaft is slid in, and the service information calls for a holding material that melts into the gear oil once the transmission runs. Which of these meets that?
- Anti-seize compound
- Wheel bearing grease
- Petroleum jelly
- White lithium grease
Show the answer
C. Correct. Petroleum jelly is tacky enough to hold the rollers in place and melts into the gear oil once the transmission warms up, so nothing is left to block oil holes or change the oil.
Why not the others
A. Anti-seize is made to keep threads and press fits from seizing and carries solid particles that do not belong in a bearing. Petroleum jelly holds the rollers and melts into the oil.
B. Wheel bearing grease holds the rollers but does not dissolve in gear oil; it can stay packed in the bore and block the oil holes that feed the bearing. Petroleum jelly holds them and then melts into the oil.
D. Lithium grease, like other greases, does not melt into the gear oil and can stay packed in the bore and its oil holes. Petroleum jelly holds the rollers and then melts into the oil.
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On a rear-wheel-drive manual transmission, the service information says the front bearing retainer's oil return slot must line up with the oil return hole in the case when the retainer is installed. What does this passage do?
- Drains oil that passes the bearing back into the case
- Vents air pressure from the case into the bell housing
- Feeds oil to the clutch pilot bearing in the crankshaft
- Supplies oil to the release bearing's guide sleeve
Show the answer
A. Correct. Oil thrown past the input shaft bearing collects behind the input shaft seal; the slot and the case hole let it drain back into the case instead of building up against the seal. A retainer installed with the slot misaligned can make a new seal leak.
Why not the others
B. The case is vented through its own vent, not into the bell housing, where oil mist would reach the clutch. The return slot carries oil from behind the seal back into the case.
C. Oil reaching the pilot bearing would end up on the clutch disc and make it slip and chatter; the pilot bearing is lubricated on its own. The return slot carries oil from behind the seal back into the case.
D. The release bearing and its guide sleeve get, if anything, the grease the manufacturer specifies, not gear oil, which would reach the clutch facings. The return slot carries oil from behind the seal back into the case.
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During reassembly of a manual transmission, why is a dummy shaft (loading tool) slid through the countershaft gear before the gear is set in the case?
- To hold the gear still while shaft nuts are torqued
- To set the countershaft end play before shimming
- To line up the reverse idler with the countershaft
- To keep the rollers in place for the countershaft
Show the answer
D. Correct. The countershaft gear runs on loose needle rollers, and the shorter dummy shaft keeps them and their spacers in position while the gear is lowered into the case. The countershaft is then pushed in from one end and drives the dummy shaft out the other, so nothing falls out of place.
Why not the others
A. Gears are held for torquing by engaging two gears at once or with a holding tool, not by a dummy shaft. The dummy shaft only keeps the rollers in place until the countershaft goes in.
B. Countershaft end play is set by the thrust washers or shims and is measured with the real shaft installed. The dummy shaft only holds the rollers in place until the countershaft pushes it out.
C. The reverse idler is located by its own shaft in the case. The dummy shaft holds the countershaft gear's rollers in place until the countershaft pushes it out.
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On a five-speed manual transmission whose reverse gears are not synchronized, moving the lever toward reverse first presses the fifth-gear blocking ring against its cone for a moment before reverse engages. What does this do?
- It locks fifth gear so two gears cannot engage
- It brings the spinning gears to a stop
- It moves the reverse idler gear into mesh
- It closes the backup lamp switch
Show the answer
B. Correct. With the clutch pedal down, the input shaft and countershaft can keep spinning; pressing the fifth-gear ring onto its cone ties them by friction to the stopped output shaft and brings them to rest. Reverse, which has no synchronizer of its own, can then engage without grinding.
Why not the others
A. Keeping two gears from engaging is the interlock's job, and the ring here only touches its cone briefly without engaging fifth. Its purpose is to slow the spinning gears before reverse meshes.
C. The reverse idler is moved by its own shift fork or lever. The brief contact of the fifth-gear ring slows the spinning gears so the unsynchronized reverse gears can mesh quietly.
D. The backup lamp switch is closed by the shift rail or a ramp when reverse is selected, not by a blocking ring. The ring's brief contact slows the spinning gears before reverse meshes.
02Answer key
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Q1 | D |
| Q2 | C |
| Q3 | A |
| Q4 | D |
| Q5 | B |
03What area B covers
This content area covers the manual transmission used in rear-wheel-drive vehicles, in and out of the vehicle. Questions deal with noise, gear clash, hard shifting and jumping out of gear, shifters and seals, removal and overhaul, shift forks, rails and detents, input, output and countershafts, synchronizers and blocking rings, reverse idlers, end play and preload, switches and solenoids, and gear oil.
The ASE test specification calls this content area “Transmission Diagnosis and Repair”. It carries 7 of the 40 scored questions, 17.5% of the test.
- Diagnose noise, clash, hard shifts and jumping out
- Service external shifters, linkage and seals
- Remove, overhaul and reinstall the transmission
- Inspect shift forks, rails, detents and interlocks
- Check shafts, gears, bearings and thrust washers
- Measure synchronizer blocking ring clearance
- Set end play and bearing preload with shims
- Test switches and solenoids; fill with the right oil
04What the questions turn on
Grind in one gear only
A grind going into one gear only, at any shift speed, points to that gear's synchronizer. A worn blocking ring slides farther onto the gear's cone, closing its gap to the clutching teeth; a gap below the minimum means the ring is replaced.
What holds a gear engaged
Once a gear is engaged, the clutch plays no part in holding it there. Jumping out on coast points to parts that let the gear or sleeve move, such as a worn thrust washer that leaves gear end play well over the maximum.
Noise that stops in direct drive
In direct drive the input and output shafts are locked together, so the countershaft spins with almost no load. A growl under load in the lower gears that goes quiet in direct drive points to the countershaft gear bearings.
GL-5 is not a better GL-4
API describes GL-5 gear oil for hypoid gears in axles under shock loads and high torque, and GL-4 as suited to selected manual transmissions. The higher number is a different service, so the transmission gets the oil its manufacturer specifies.
05The other content areas
The A3 test has six content areas. Each has its own page of free questions:
The ASE A3 Manual Drive Train & Axles practice test page describes the full question bank. How these questions are written and checked: how our questions are made. Found a mistake? Tell us and we will fix it.
ToolboxPrep is an independent study site. It is not affiliated with or endorsed by ASE (the National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence). Our questions are original practice questions written to the published ASE test specifications; they are not actual test questions.