XJR (X300) L6-4.0L SC (AJ16) (1995)
Planetary Gears: Description and Operation
TRANSMISSION COMPONENTS
Planetary Gear Sets
Planetary Gear Sets
Three planetary gear sets are used in this transmission: 'overdrive', 'reaction' and 'output'.
Each gear set comprises a center or sun gear, an annulus or internal gear, and a planetary carrier assembly which contains the smaller planet gears.
Direct drive in a planetary gear set is obtained when any two parts of a gear set rotate in the same direction at the same speed, thus driving the third
component at the same speed. The planetary gears in this case act as wedges to drive the entire gear set as one unit and therefore the output speed of the
transmission is the same as the input speed from the torque converter.
Conversely, a planetary gear set reverses the direction of power flow when a carrier assembly is held stationary and power is applied to the sun gear thus
causing the planetary gears to act as idler gears to drive the internal gear in the opposite direction.