10-1/2 Inch Ring Gear (Rear Axle)

The 10 1/2 inch ring gear rear axle uses a conventional ring and pinion gear set to transmit the driving force of the engine to the rear wheels. This gear set transfers this driving force at a 90° angle from the propeller shaft to the axle shafts.

This axle is full-floating. The axle shaft is supported at the wheel ends by the wheel hubs. The bolts that attach the shaft to the hub also support the axle at the hub. The splined end of the shaft is supported by the
differential.

The pinion gear is supported in a pinion cage by three bearings; a pinion front bearing, a pinion rear bearing, and a pilot bearing. The pinion cage is separate from the axle housing. Selective shims are used between the pinion cage and the axle housing to set the pinion depth. The pinion bearing preload is set by crushing a collapsible spacer between the front and rear bearings in the pinion cage.

The ring gear is bolted to the differential case with left-hand thread bolts.

The differential case is supported by two tapered roller bearings. The differential and ring gear are located in relationship to the pinion by using two different bearing adjusting nuts. These allow the differential to be moved from side to side by adjusting the nuts in or out. The differential side bearing preload is accomplished by tightening the bearing adjusting nuts after the ring gear backlash has been set. Two bearing caps are used to hold the differential into the axle housing and supply half of the threads for the bearing adjusting nuts.

The differential allows the wheels to turn at different rates of speed while the axle continues to transmit the driving force. This prevents tire scuffing on turns and premature wear on internal axle parts.

The axle is sealed with a pinion seal, a gasket at each axle shaft end, and a gasket between the cover and axle housing.

All rear axles are identified by the alphanumeric broadcast code on the right axle tube near the carrier. The carrier cover does not have a drain plug.