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Rear drive unit 

Viscous coupling 

Freewheel unit 

Final drive 

is of the conventional type and has a support 
bearing mounted in a cross member. The 
propeller shaft has CV joints front and rear and 

a traditional joint in the middle by the support 
bearing. The propeller shaft runs along the 
tunnel in the floor of the car. 

 

A short torque tube is mounted on the final 
drive. The torque tube contains a viscous 
coupling and a freewheel unit. Together with 
the final drive and drive shafts these make up 
the rear drive unit. 
1. Propeller shaft 
2. Torque tube 
3. Viscous coupling and freewheel unit 
4. Final drive 
5. Drive shaft 

 

The viscous coupling allows power to be 
transferred via the internal friction of a fluid 
(oil). 
The viscous coupling transmits driving power 
to the rear wheels when necessary. In normal 
driving conditions on dry asphalt only a small 
proportion of driving power is transmitted to 
the rear wheels via the viscous coupling. 
However, the slightest difference in speed 
between the front and rear wheels causes 
power to be transmitted to the rear wheels to 
ensure good grip. 
The viscous coupling protects itself from 
overheating due to prolonged and intensive 
slipping by automatically locking-up. 

 

A freewheel unit is connected to the viscous 

coupling. It automatically provides complete 
braking stability. This is achieved by the 
freewheel unit disconnecting the rear wheels 
during braking so that the rear wheels cannot 
transfer power to the front wheels. This means 
that the car's stability is not reduced. 
The freewheel unit, which has a centrifugal 
roller lock-up mechanism, also makes it 
possible to reverse with four-wheel drive at up 
to 50 km/h. 

The 850 AWD has a final drive type 1165. This 
final drive is in principle the same as the 1055 
used in the 1995 model year 960. 1165 differs 
only in the castings and machining on the 

"VCC-057798 US 2002-07-11"

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