Rear wheel drive

What is rear-wheel drive?

• A transmission system that provides power to the rear wheels of a motor vehicle. 

In rear wheel, drive power is transferred to the rear wheels to move the car.

For the better part of the twentieth century, nearly every vehicle on the road had the engine sending power to the rear wheels. 

The most common setup in a rear-wheel drive vehicle involves the engine at the front of the car connected to a driveshaft to the differential that sends power to the rear wheel of the car. 

Assembly of rear-wheel drive train :

In rear-wheel drive cars the transmission is attached to the rear of the engine by way of a flywheel. Transmission what really happens when you press down on the accelerator? To understand this the drive- train may control the amount of power that goes from your engine to your wheels. 

The driveshaft is connected to the transmission and transmits the spinning power that began in the engine to the back of the vehicle at the differential.

While driveshaft designs are two types :

1. Torque tube 
2. Hotchkiss 

Torque tube driveshafts were used on older vehicles and trucks and SUVs used nowadays. Torque tubes connect the transmission and differential via a single universal joint is called U-joints.

Hotchkiss drive shafts are the common drive shaft design. Instead of just using one U-joint to connect the transmission and the differential, Hotchkiss drive shafts use two U-joints.

Then differential that sits between the two rear wheels. It is the last stop along the drive train before torque is transferred to the rear wheels.

If you want to know how the differential works check out the awesome video below :