driveshafts

drive shafts connect the gearbox to the wheels to drive the car. the drive shaft connecting to the wheels needs to be able to move up and down while still supplying the constant driving force to the wheels, the constant velocity and universal joints make it possible for the drive shaft to move with the motion of the wheels while still rotating them.

constant velocity joints:


constant velocity joint

because of the configuration of the constant velocity joint it allows it to rotate at large angles up to 55degrees. they are covered in grease to lower the friction. they are also covered by a rubber boot to stop anything from getting inside the joint. these boots can become brittle over time and split which causes the cv joints to wear out a lot faster. 



universal joints are usually used in rear wheel drive vehicles to connect the gearbox at the front of the car to the wheels at the back of the car. they can withstand larger rotational force than the cv joints.

final drive/differentials

the differential is used to change the direction of the engine's rotational motion. the differential is run from the gear at the end of the drive shaft spinning the crown wheel. the differential uses a pinion and ring gear to drive the wheels and spider gears to control the speed of each wheel around a corner.when taking a corner the inside wheel travels less distance therefore it travels at a slower rate of speed. the spider gears spin accordingly to make sure that the outside wheel is moving fast enough to stop the wheels from skidding.

clutch

clutches are devices which are used to engage or disengage moving components from each other. in a motor vehicle, the clutch is used to connect the drive from the engine to the transmission and the driving wheels. motor vehicles normally use a dry single plate clutch mounted on the engine flywheel, and the location and operation is basically the same whether the vehicle is of an inline configuration, or a transverse engine configuration.



clutch component diagram

the diagram above shows the clutch engaged (left) and clutch disengaged (right)
as you can see when you push down on the clutch pedal the pressure plate releases pressure pushing the clutch down and lifts it off of the flywheel.

transaxle and rear wheel drive

the gearbox is used to convert the torque from an engine to the wheels by using different sized gears. the reason for this is because we need more torque when taking off rather than when we are driving at 50 kmph. the manual gearbox enables the driver to pick the optimum gear ratio to increase torque for driving.


shifting:






a 5 speed manual gearbox will have 3 selector sleeves (1 for every 2 gears) the selector sleeve will slide the over the baulk ring and engage the gear.


 

trans axle gearbox gear setup




rear wheel drive gearbox

transaxle/rear wheel drive gearboxes

the gearbox is used to convert the torque from an engine to the wheels by using different sized gears. the reason for this is because we need more torque when taking off rather than when we are driving at 50 kmph. the manual gearbox enables the driver to pick the optimum gear ratio to increase torque for driving.
shifting:





a 5 speed manual gearbox will have 3 selector sleeves (1 for every 2 gears) the selector sleeve will slide the over the baulk ring and engage the gear.



trans axle gearbox gear setup


rear wheel drive gearbox