Differential Assembly: Description and Operation

GENERAL DESCRIPTION





The rear axle assembly is of the semi-floating type in which the vehicle weight is carried on the axle housing . The center line of the pinion gear is below the center line of the ring gear (hypoid drive). All parts necessary to transmit power from the propeller shaft to the rear wheels are enclosed in a banjo type axle housing.
The 9.61 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 degree angle from the propeller shaft to the drive shafts.
The axle shafts are supported at the wheel end of the shaft by a roller bearing.
The pinion gear is supported by two tapered roller bearings. The pinion depth is set by a shim pack located between the gear end of the pinion and the roller bearing that is pressed onto the pinion. The pinion bearing preload is set by crushing a collapsible spacer between the bearings in the axle housing.
The ring gear is bolted onto the differential cage with 12 bolts.
The differential cage is supported in the axle housing by two tapered roller bearings. The differential and ring gear are located in relationship to the pinion by using selective shims and spacers between the bearing and the axle housing. To move the ring gear, shims are deleted from one side and an equal amount are added to the other side. These shims are also used to preload the bearings which are pressed onto the differential cage. Two bearing caps are used to hold the differential into the rear axle housing. The differential is used to allow the wheels to turn at different rates of speed while the rear axle continues to transmit the driving force. This prevents tire scuffing when going around corners and prevents premature wear on internal axle parts.
The rear axle is sealed with a pinion seal, a seal at each axle shaft end, and by a liquid gasket between the differential carrier and the axle housing.