A hydraulic accumulator system for providing pressurized oil to a transmission in a vehicle. The system includes a transmission oil storage chamber to store oil at a predetermined level; and a hydraulic accumulator mounted in the oil storage chamber and including an accumulator piston mounted below the level of oil, separating an accumulator oil area from a remainder of the oil storage area and movable to increase and decrease the oil in the accumulator oil area, and a spring biasing the piston toward the accumulator oil area. The system also has a hydraulic assembly including a first oil passage for removing the oil from the remainder of the oil storage area, a second oil passage for directing oil into and out of the accumulator oil area below the predetermined oil level and a hydraulic circuit directing the oil from the first oil passage into the second oil passage.