Oil Pump: Operation: Notes

WARNING: This page is about a different car, the 2005 Jeep Liberty. However, it is still accessible from the selected car via links, so may be relevant.

As the torque converter rotates, the converter hub rotates the oil pump drive gear. As the drive gear rotates both driven gears, a vacuum is created when the gear teeth come out of mesh. This suction draws fluid through the pump inlet from the oil pan. As the gear teeth come back into mesh, pressurized fluid is forced into the pump outlet and to the oil pump valves.

At low speeds, both sides of the pump supply fluid to the transmission. As the speed of the torque converter increases, the flow from both sides increases until the flow from the primary side alone is sufficient to meet system demands. At this point, the check valve located between the two pumps closes. The secondary side is shut down and the primary side supplies all the fluid to the transmission.