How to Determine if Your Car Is Front or Rear Wheel Drive

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posted on 13 years ago — updated on 1 second ago

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Automobile drive trains come in 3 types: front-wheel drive, rear-wheel drive and 4-wheel or all-wheel drive. Front-wheel drive cars tend to be smaller, easier to steer and offer better traction in snow or mud, while rear-wheel drive cars tend to be larger, accelerate more quickly, stop more easily and offer a smoother ride. To determine if your car is front- or rear-wheel drive, follow the steps below.

Steps

Locate the engine. Most cars have the engine at the front; these cars may be either front- or rear-wheel drive. Cars with the engine at the rear, such as the Volkswagen Beetle, are always rear-wheel drive cars.

See how the engine is mounted. If the engine is transverse-mounted (that is, mounted sideways), with the belts facing one side of the car, your car is most likely a front-wheel drive car. If the engine is mounted longitudinally (front to back), with the belts facing the front grille, your car is most likely a rear-wheel drive car.

Look for a differential. The differential is a large, pumpkin-shaped housing that transfers power from the driveshaft to the wheels. If there is such an assembly on the car's rear axle, the car has a rear-wheel drive. On front-wheel drive cars, the differential is integrated with the transmission in a unit at the rear of the engine called a transaxle, and the wheels are connected to the driveshaft by constant velocity (CV) joints.