I have a question that has been bugging me for some time now. In a car there is a solid mechanical connection from the crank shaft to the wheels. You could draw an imaginary line of the engine's power starting from the crank shaft, to the transmission, to the drive shaft, and then to the differential and wheels. So, if there is a solid mechanical connection from the crank shaft to the wheels, how can the engine be in gear and rev without the car moving or the engine breaking itself. So for example, if I chained my car to a wall, threw it in first, and then slowly started to accelerate (without spinning my tires), how would my wheels be able to stay still while the engine is cranking?

Asked by italyfromd Oct 06, 2016 at 12:34 AM

Question type: General

2 Answers

101,565

Torque Converter. For an automatic serves same function (more or less) as a clutch in a manual. https://www.mistertransmission.com/how-does-a-torque-converter-work

35

In your example in first gear the wheels would spin or the engine would stall.

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