Drive Axles, Bearings and Joints: Description and Operation

The gear set consists of a ring gear and an overhung drive pinion supported by two opposed tapered roller bearings. The differential case is a one-piece unit fitted with openings to allow assembly of the internal parts and lubricant flow. The differential pinion shaft is retained with a threaded bolt (lock) assembled to the case.
The roller-type wheel bearings have no inner race and the rollers directly contact the bearing journals of the axle shafts. The axle shafts do not use an inner and outer bearing retainer, rather, they are held in the axle by means of C-locks. These C-locks also fit into a machined recess in the differential side gears within the differential case. There is no retainer bolt access hole in the axle shaft flange.