Hot answers tagged drivetrain
16
To expand a little on what Eric said...
I consider the 4WD versus AWD to largely be marketing terms differentiating between vehicles with additional ground clearance and plating underneath to protect sensitive components while going over rough terrain off-road travel (4WD) from systems that are targeted more towards on-road travel (AWD). Though this is ...
5
The short answer is that yes, you can change your differential to optimize fuel efficiency. CAVEAT: it is almost certainly not worth it.
Here's a very high level discussion of why there are better ways to achieve the same goal (better fuel efficiency):
Think about how the air-fuel mixture in the engine is managed: for each revolution of the engine, a unit ...
4
I think the listed stats make it pretty clear: you are driving a heavy van with a fairly low power engine. More importantly, it's likely that you have a low torque engine which is critical to keep the vehicle rolling.
What you're used to in the passenger car is the same as what happens in the van, just to a lesser degree. In your passenger car, you were ...
3
So you need to find out where on your drive train. Get your Jeep up off the ground so you can drive the wheels, and have a listen.
Likely places:
Differential
Universal joints on axles
Tire rubbing on bodywork
Brake pad rubbing against disc
3
I also have a AWD Trailblazer, and low diff oil can cause uneven gear wear (mine is perennially low because I have a leaking diff seal which the dealer can't get out). As the oil heats up, the vibration can become more prominent because the thick oil is no longer damping the vibration.
You may also want to check that your wheels are balanced. You might ...
3
OP, Here's an example of a plastic engine cover on my 2001 VW Jetta VR6:
I can't speak for your car in particular (unless you specify what it is), but in my case it has a number of non-critical functions:
Aesthetics. This looks far nicer than seeing a bunch of exhaust headers (stock ones are never pretty), oil seepage on my valve cover, fuel injection ...
3
4WD is distinguished from "part time" 4WD in that you can't turn it off - the vehicle is always in 4WD. Vehicles that have this usually have a differential built into the transfer case to allow for full time 4WD even on dry pavement.
AWD is almost the same as full time 4WD, except that AWD vehicles generally don't have the high-torque low gear option (4L) ...
2
Some of what your friends have told you is nonsense.
You will possibly have less chance of getting stuck in the winter in a RWD car, as RWD gives you more grip when trying to accelerate forwards (as weight moves rearward). Whenever I have had to rescue friends in FWD cars, I usually need to use reverse to get grip.
Additional set of winter tyres? Nope - ...
2
Someone on another forum I frequent had a Propshaft made by Dave Mac Props in Coventry. It cost him around £300, so I'd expect Driveshafts to be less than that.
Otherwise, have you tried more conventional Engineering firms? i.e. non car-specific ones.
2
I grew up in Finland, where winters are long and icy. Mostly drove RWD cars, but also, at times, owned FWD and AWD ones. If you look at all the nordic/scandinavian rally champions, they preferred front wheel drive, until the Audi Quattro changed rallying forever. But that is assuming you are a professional rally driver... :)
There is no clear answer - ...
2
I believe the most common use is noise reduction. As engines got smaller they rev'd higher. The mufflers got moved to the back of the car. No more engine exhaust roar. The result is engine buzz,noise,clacks etc. The cover muffles the injector clicks,belt noise etc. It also just looks cooler to see Vortec, Turbo,SFI .
2
Both methods of drive have their advantages.
FWD is generally cheaper to build, and gives more space inside the vehicle (as there is no need for a transmission tunnel). It is also generally easier for a less skilled driver to control - Most ordinary people don't want to need to learn how to drift or control a slide. On the other hand, smaller FWD cars can ...
2
I did this work on my own. I would like to share what I learned on this site. I wanted to write this because I was not satisfied with the instructions I've seen elsewhere on the internet about how to do it. However, I realize that I don't have all the answers, so I decided to instead write a narrative describing how I did the work. It would be great if ...
1
I have a VW Jetta 1.8T. The factory service manual produced by Bentley (for Volkswagen) specifically calls this component the upper sound absorber panel. To an extent, these are eye candy, but their primary function is for sound dampening.
That being said, I know many people remove them when they are displaying aftermarket components, or keep their valve ...
1
The "spacer" would also be referred to as a mount, bracket, bushing.
OEM ones are usually rubber and wear out over time.
The mount he is referring to could be on the transmission or the differential.
For example, mine has a "thud" sometimes when shifting gears coming from my differential (comes from the rear as mine is RWD, yours comes from the front as ...
1
1) How troublesome is it to have RWD with above mentioned conditions?
2) What will be safer: RWD vs FWD on dry pavement, gravel, snow, ice?
3) What generally has better handling and traction during bad weather:
heavy rain, snow, ice?
With all do respect i have to disagree with Rory Alsop's asnwer. Please do the following:
a.) Look up ...
1
I guess it depends on where you live. I've driven mostly RWD, with some FWD and AWD. The only car I've ever gotten stuck in snow was FWD (when strong gusty winds blew me sideways off an icy road and into a snowbank). We can get sizeable amounts of snow some years here in Ohio, and even when driving around on Summer tires in the Winter I didn't ever get my ...
1
The price will be dependent on the use. If this is a high horsepower project you may need high cost axles. If you can get away with a stock strength shaft you may be able to shorten a stock axle. I know in my area (northeast U.S.) both axle/driveshaft shops deal with large truck driveline repairs as their primary bussiness. Check with a shop that specializes ...
1
First, as a fellow NA MX5 owner I would simply replace the diff with a Torsen LSD out of an NA 1.8 MX5 and be done with it. It's the most cost effective swap I'm aware of if you actually do need an LSD. Plus it's a fairly strong LSD anyway so unless you're planning to put silly power through it, it should last.
That said, the difference between the LSD ...
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