What is a Drivetrain?

Cars are notoriously complex machines, though they are extremely easy to operate. When something goes wrong with a car, many owners can claim little knowledge about the inner workings of the car, stating that they "only need to know how to drive the thing." Although there are many things that aren't necessary to understand about a car in order to run it, there are many things that are helpful to know about a car, including understanding a vehicle's drivetrain, powertrain, and driveline in Norcross.

Drivetrain

The drivetrain, according to Mistertransmission.com, is usually used interchangeably with powertrain and driveline, but all three are different aspects of the same larger system. The drivetrain essentially connects the engine and the transmission and includes all of the parts that help in that process. The drivetrain includes the transmission, driveshaft, axles, and the wheels. The system can essentially make or break the car and is an extremely important system in the vehicle. Simply, it represents everything that is involved in propelling the vehicle forward. Here are the different parts of the drivetrain:

• Driveshaft: This essentially links the transmission to the wheels, transferring power from the transmission to the wheels.
• CV joints: These joints can be bent in any direction and still deliver power to turn the wheels at a constant.
• Differential: This is where the power comes before entering the wheels.
• Axle shafts: These shafts are on either side of the differential and deliver power from the drive assembly to the wheels.
• U-joints: This transmits power to different angles of the driveshaft.

Powertrain

The powertrain is everything in the vehicle that makes the car move. So, the drivetrain is a small part of the powertrain. The powertrain includes the engine, transmission, and everything included in the drive train. Basically, anything in the vehicle that produces energy or deals with energy is a part of the powertrain. These are very complicated systems, and are used in most, if not all, moving machinery, including those without wheels.

Driveline

The driveline is simply another word for drivetrain and, again, includes everything from the driveshaft to the wheels and differentials. It connects the transmission to the axels of the wheels and propels the car forward.

How can you take care of your drivetrain?

Because many people aren't familiar with a drivetrain or a driveline in Norcross, they won't know when it needs to be diagnosed. Here are just a few things that can signal a malfunctioning drivetrain.

Strange noises: Most people know that any strange noises coming from a vehicle should be checked by a professional. If there happens to be a strange "clunking" noise, however, this could be a part in the drivetrain malfunctioning.

Slipping transmission: Any red flag for the transmission is a red flag for the drivetrain. If your transmission slips, be sure to take your car to the nearest auto repair shop and have it looked at. A new transmission is expensive, so do everything you can to save the old one.  

Smells: This should be a no brainer for anything that relates to cars, but if there are any strange smells coming from your car, this could be related to a fluid leak, and possibly a transmission leak. If there is a leak and it happens to be red, this could indicate a drivetrain or transmission problem and should be dealt with immediately.

Indicator lights: Lastly, if there is a check engine light, this could indicate a problem with either the engine, or something that feeds into the engine. This should be dealt with sooner than later.

Source : articlesbase.com