Front-Wheel Drive for Automotive Dummies

CV joints in FWD system

Our staffers tell us – heck, they'll tell anyone – that you always know when freelancers are writing outside their comfort zone because they stop mentioning specifics and concentrate on vague generalities. Well, at least the ones who don't just forge ahead and make a complete mess of the specifics. Anyway, we see a lot of that when people without the necessary background start trying to write about anything the technologically non-savvy consider a "black box." You know, topics like, "Front-Wheel-Drive Transmission Problems"? As approached on ItStillRuns.com by Jacquelyn Jeanty?

Since it takes someone truly incompetent to not find a synopsis of possible FWD problems on the internet, Jeanty managed to find this one. Jacquelyn's problem, however, is that while she could reword the text she found there, it's pretty obvious that she didn't understand a lot of it. You can tell what she just didn't get by knowing what she botched or just plain left out.

For instance, Jeanty blithely informed her readers that,

"When it comes to driving in snow or slick conditions, a front-wheel drive can keep a good grip on the road surface."

No Jacquelyn, it's the tires that have a "good grip." The traction advantage of the FWD system comes from its weight distribution, which places more weight on the driven wheels than does a rear-wheel drive. Now, consider this information:

"The transaxles that connect the wheels to the transmission are both located in the front end..."

Ummm, yeah, Jacquelyn, that's why it's called a front-wheel drive. Now, mull over Jeanty's attempt to explain CV joints:

"CV joints... are specialized components that sit on both ends of a front-wheel-drive transmission, according to the website of AA1Car."

Well, yeah, that's kinda true (actually, CV joints are on both ends of the half-axle, not both ends of the transmission). But it raises some questions: first, why are there CV joints? and second, do rear-wheel drive cars have them? The answer to the first is that the two wheels do not always turn at the same rate - i.e., one turns faster than the other when you're going around a corner – so CV joints allow for the speed variation. Second, most rear-wheel drive cars don't have CV joints because their wheels tend to turn at the same speed. Universal joints in the driveshaft perform this function.

Still on the topic of CV joints, Jeanty misinformed us that,

"Front-wheel-drive transmissions include a set of CV joints on each front wheel... Each wheel has an inner CV joint and an outer one."

Well, no, Jacquelyn, they don't: the half-axles have two, an inner CV joint at the transmission and an outer one at the wheel. Apparently, our nominee thought there was one on each side of the wheel...

JJ finished off by rewording some diagnostic hints from her main source (cited above). We didn't bother checking them for accuracy (we somehow doubt she got everything right), but we'll let you check it out with a professional who actually knows what he's writing about.

As for Jeanty? Well, Jacquelyn is now the proud owner of her second Dumbass of the Day award, her first in the automotive division.

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