The custom universal joints are key component on the automobile drive shaft. On the front-engine rear-wheel drive vehicle, the universal joint drive shaft is installed between the universal joint output shaft and the input shaft of the drive axle final reducer; while the front-engine front-wheel drive vehicle omits the drive shaft, and the universal joint is installed Between the front axle half shaft and the wheels that are responsible for both driving and steering.

In the front-rear drive layout, how is power transmitted from the engine to the drive wheels?

Take an inline four-cylinder engine as an example. The engine generates power and then transmits it through a clutch or a torque converter. This depends entirely on the type of gearbox. AT, CVT here are hydraulic torque converters, and MT and DCT are basically Clutch. At present, the front-rear drive gearboxes on the Chinese market are basically AT-based, and the power is transmitted to the input shaft of the gearbox by the torque converter, and then after the speed ratio changes, the power is transmitted to the gearbox Output shaft. The output shaft is connected to a cross universal joint, and the power is transmitted to the central drive shaft. The central drive shaft continues to pass through another cross universal joint to transmit the power to the differential located in the center of the rear axle, and the end on the differential housing The universal joint gear amplifies the torque, distributes it to both sides through the differential, and then transmits the power to the wheels by the ball cage on the half shaft.

This kind of universal joint system can better distribute the mass of the whole vehicle, which is conducive to the effective use of the four-wheel braking efficiency limit; it is more helpful to the power when accelerating, heavy load, and climbing; the suspension steering design space is more Large, generally speaking, the front wheel corner can be designed to be larger, and the turning radius is generally smaller.

But with the same size, the available space is smaller, and the powertrain will occupy more space in the passenger compartment, because the gearbox is basically placed behind the firewall, and the drive shaft will occupy the foot space of the rear seat, and the space cannot just look at the wheelbase. The reason is the number of reasons; rainy and snowy weather, the control is more difficult, when turning on a slippery road, the rear axle will push the vehicle forward, the rear axle may rotate faster than the front axle; the cost is higher, the vehicle quality will be heavier, and precision universal joint will be more Disperse, the number is also more, can not share the cabinet.