I know how an internal combustion engine works, but I don‘t understand how that, in turn, turns the axle. And if you are going to use weird terms, please define them.
Engine - Crank Shaft - Transmission(clutch,flywheel,pressure plate) - Differentials - Drive shaft(axle)
From the engine through the transmission along the driveshaft to the crown and pinion ( gears in the rear end) to the spider gears (part of the gears in rear end) to the axle.
The setup I'm describing is a typical rear-wheel drive setup. As previously mentioned, the engine/transmission drive a driveshaft, which is the long tubular piece of steel that you can see spinning under RWD cars and trucks. That driveshaft interfaces with a gear known as a pinion gear at the very front of the axle assembly. This looks like a steel lollipop , but instead of candy at the top, there is a gear cut to a certain ratio. That gear faces towards the rear of the car, but spins around like clock, moving clockwise or counterclockwise- depending on the direction traveled (foward or reverse.) The teeth in the pinion gear interface with a ring gear, which looks like a big onion ring. This gear sits perpendicular to the pinion gear, and is oriented the same way that the wheels on the car are oriented (ie a circle that runs lengthwise with the body of the car.) As the pinion gear turns, it rotates the ring gear, which is attached to the differential which is the mechanical piece that determines how the power is distributed to each tire. Axle shafts slide into the differential and turn as the differential turns (sometimes both axle shafts turn, sometimes only one, depending on the type of differential and the traction situation.) These axle shafts have lugs (little threaded nubs) on the ends of them, and the wheels bolt onto these. That's pretty much the process, in a nutshell. The big key is the ring and pinion gear, as they take rotation in one direction and convert it into rotation in another direction (ie left to right rotation into back to front rotation.) Hopefully this makes sense.
