| 摘要 |
A clutch assembly for a vehicle with selective front wheel drive includes an automatic oil level control system. The clutch assembly includes a housing which encloses a hydraulic clutch. The hydraulic clutch, when engaged, connects a front wheel drive shaft to a main vehicle drive shaft. Since the hydraulic clutch has a tendency to leak fluid into the housing, the fluid level within the housing is controlled by pressurizing the housing via compressed air from a turbocharger or the like. A pair of blow back tubes extend into the housing from opposite sides of the housing, and are interconnected and then connected to an unpressurized reservoir, such as the crankcase or transmission case, via an excess oil evacuation line. The blow back tubes have open ports which are positioned such that, when oil simultaneously covers the ports in both blow back tubes, excess oil is evacuated to the connected reservoir. The blow back tube ports are positioned such that excess oil is detected and evacuated when the clutch and drive shaft are static or dynamically rotating.
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