1.3 Drivetrain

The drivetrain is a series of mechanisms which takes the power developed by the engine and delivers it to the wheels in order to actually move the car. It consists of the clutch or torque converter, the transmission, the final drive, the drive axles, and the wheels and tires. The Volkswagens covered by this manual, like most front-wheel-drive cars, combine the transmission and the final drive in one unit called a transaxle. A manual transaxle is shown in Fig. 1-8.

Fig. 1-8.

Cutaway view of manual transaxle. Transmission and final drive are combined in one major assembly.