Open Rear Differential - V8 5.0L Petrol, V6 3.0L S/C Petrol, GTDI 2.0L Petrol And TDV6 3.0L Diesel Vehicles

Rotational input from the drive shaft is passed via the input flange to the pinion shaft and pinion gear. The angles of the pinion gear to the crown wheel drive gear moves the rotational direction through 90°.

The transferred rotational motion is now passed to the crown wheel drive gear, which in turn rotates the differential casing. The cross-shaft, which is secured to the casing, also rotates at the same speed as the casing. The planet gears, which are mounted on the shaft, also rotate with the casing. In turn, the planet gears transfer their rotational motion to the left and right hand sun gears, rotating the drive halfshafts.

When the vehicle is moving in a forward direction, the torque applied through the differential to each sun gear is equal. In this condition both drive halfshafts rotate at the same speed and the planet gears do not rotate.

If the vehicle is turning, the outer wheel will be forced to rotate faster than the inner wheel by having a greater distance to travel. The differential senses the torque difference between the sun gears. The planet gears rotate on their axes to allow the outer wheel to rotate faster than the inner one.