javier romagosa
What is a gearbox? We all know what it is for, to be able to choose between force or speed as it suits us since neither power nor torque are constant in the internal combustion engine. However, we often don't know what is it or what does it consist of ...
The English have it easier because they call this ingenious mechanical device by its real name: gearbox. Indeed, it is a gearbox, another of so many that, like the differential, they govern the operation of the car. Once it is clear that "shift gears" all we do is engage and disengage gears using a clutch, knob and linkage mechanism, it is much easier to get an idea of how they work.
And so… What exactly does it consist of? Add to the different combinations of gears that can be found in a gearbox the old lever principle of Archimedes and you will move the world. And it is that thanks to the different measures of the gears it is possible to select the palanca o "March" adequate to move at all times.
Engine crankshaft and transmission communicate through the gearbox. Thanks to her the force of the engine multiplies in the low gears and is divided in the high ones, although in the case that we will see next, only what was known before as "Direct" or, what is the same, when the highest gear makes the rotational speed of the engine and the driving wheels coincide.
To clarify, I'm going to stop writing now invite you to watch this VIDEO in which Chevrolet explains it to us divinely. It is in English but, as you will see, it begins by explaining the aforementioned principle of the lever to later immerse ourselves in the operation of a three-speed manual gearbox, very common in the 20s and 30s. It will even teach us why the gears scratch and what use are simple synchronizers.
Do not miss it! 😉
