When you stand in front of most cars and open up the hood, the drive belt is usually on the left or right side of the engine block, from your point of view. This means that the crankshaft is at a right angle to the transmission. So I assume there's a set of sprockets and chains to connect the crankshaft to the transmission. But why is this? Why complicate things? Why not just make the crankshaft parallel to the transmission so the crankshaft can go straight into the clutch?
In a front drive car there is no transmission shaft, the clutch is at one side of the engine and the gearbox is a block with the differential.
You probably have the image of a rear drive car, where everything is still where you are guessing
Probably becase car motors have to perform differently than the motors of, say, a push lawnmower. With a push lawnmower engine, if the drive shaft is stopped, the engine dies...you restart it, all is good. But imagine such a thing with a car engine...I don't think it'd be a good thing to have your car's engine stop every time the drive shaft encountered too much resistance...
Quote:cuz...
Thanks.
Quote:In a front drive car there is no transmission shaft, the clutch is at one side of the engine and the gearbox is a block with the differential.
You probably have the image of a rear drive car, where everything is still where you are guessing
Oooh, the differential is in the same box as the transmission in front-wheel drive? Cool.
I didn't know that.
I think I'm getting it, then. From looking under the hood at a front-wheel drive car, it seems that there must be a belt or chain connecting the crankshaft to the transmission. I had this idea that there WAS a drive shaft and a seperate differential box...but I think I get it. There MUST be a chain or belt though that hooks the engine to the transmission, as stated. Otherwise, I can't see how it could work otherwise.
Nek: Next time your lawnmower is at full throttle and the blade encounters a rock or something else that's solid, and it stops the blade, see if the only damage that's done is the dying and required restart of the engine.
Your blade will have a crack in it, it might even be split in half. And your flywheel key (which is very similar to a cotter/shear pin setup on an outboard) will be sheared. But be thankful this is the case! If it weren't for the flywheel key, your connecting rod, crankshaft, journal or even piston head could be cracked!
I was out boating with a 3 horsepower outboard and the prop hit a rock. At first we didn't think the shear/cotter pin setup was broken, because face it, 3 HP isn't that much. But alas, the cotter and shear pin were both split, and we had to make do with a fish-hook and a clip from a whistle. But we're happy. The engine is a 1952 Johnson, and having it break a crankshaft would economically require us to chuck it out and buy a new one, which would be quite a loss since the engine is almost an antique and is quite lovable.
Quote:Nek: Next time your lawnmower is at full throttle and the blade encounters a rock or something else that's solid, and it stops the blade, see if the only damage that's done is the dying and required restart of the engine. Your blade will have a crack in it, it might even be split in half. And your flywheel key (which is very similar to a cotter/shear pin setup on an outboard) will be sheared. But be thankful this is the case! If it weren't for the flywheel key, your connecting rod, crankshaft, journal or even piston head could be cracked!
You obviously missed the point ENTIRELY.
I didn't mean my reply to be hostile...The way I blabbered on about that was just a method of saying "I don't understand." I actually didn't understand the point.
No hard feelings?
Anyway, talking to the
pretty much ONLY car enthusiast that seems to exist around where I live answered all my questions and misunderstandings. My biggest problem was understanding that rear-wheel drive cars actually do, in fact, have the crankshaft parallel to the transmission, and front-wheel drive cars don't have the transmission in between the two front seats of the car (like rear-drive cars do). Thanks for all the replies.