Outdoor Power Equipment (Lawn Mowers, Snow Blowers, Chain Saws and more) Discussions

It actually seems like a simple design to me.  Like with any snowblower, everything happens underneath under the hood.  Directly in front of the friction disc there's an assembly called a pawl-clutch sprocket.  It appears to serve a similar function as a pressure plate does on a car, including spring loaded fingers.  In front of that is the wheel axle, which is actually two axles, each with it's own 44 tooth sprocket, separated by what's called a tube axle, which until you pull a trigger, actually allows both axles to work as one. 

So it doesn't have one continuous solid axle like my old snowblower had of course.  When either trigger is pulled, it disengages that side, enabling the opposite side to remain powered.  When both triggers are pulled simultaneously, it's like shifting into neutral.