Front Drive Axle And Differential - Project 8 (G2231194): Description
Front Differential
| ITEM | DESCRIPTION |
|---|---|
| 1 | Halfshaft support bracket |
| 2 | Breather |
| 3 | Input shaft interface |
| 4 | Left halfshaft interface |
| 5 | Drain plug |
| 6 | Filler/level plug |
| 7 | Bolt (4 off) |
| 8 | Front differential assembly |
The differential comprises of 2 sections, the carrier and the cover. Both sections have machined mating faces. When assembled, the 2 sections are sealed and secured together with 11 bolts. A breather is attached to the carrier section to ventilate the differential. The breather does not allow the ingress of water into the differential.
The carrier section is also equipped with a drain plug and filler/level plug.
For additional information, Refer to: SPECIFICATIONS
The differential assembly is a conventional design using a hypoid gear layout. This employs a hypoid bevel pinion gear and crown wheel, with the pinion offset above the centerline of the crown wheel. This design allows for a larger pinion gear to be used, which has the advantages of increased gear strength and reduced operating noise.
The differential comprises a pinion shaft and hypoid bevel gear, a crown wheel drive gear with an integral case, which houses two planet gears. The 2 sunwheels are also located in the case and pass the rotational drive to the halfshafts.
The pinion shaft is mounted on 2 opposed bearings, 1 taper roller bearing and 1 angular contact bearing, with a collapsible spacer located between them. The spacer is used to hold the bearings in alignment and also collapses under the pressure applied to the pinion nut. This allows the bearing preload to be set without the use of selectable shims.
The pinion shaft has an externally splined outer end which accepts the internal splines of the front driveshaft. An oil seal is pressed into the carrier and seals the pinion shaft. The pinion shaft has a hypoid bevel gear at its inner end which mates with the crown wheel drive gear.
The crown wheel drive gear is welded onto the differential case. The differential case is mounted on taper roller bearings located in both the differential's carrier and cover sections. The bearings are press fitted and a spacer is located on the outside face to set backlash and apply preload to the bearing.
A shaft is installed to the differential case. The shaft is secured in the differential case with a roll pin. The 2 planet gears are mounted onto the shaft. The sunwheels are located in pockets within the case and mesh with the planet gears. Thrust washers are located between the case and the sunwheels and hold the sunwheels in mesh with the planet gears. Each sunwheel has a machined, splined bore to accept the drive shaft. A groove is machined in the bore to locate the snap ring attached to the drive shaft, providing positive drive shaft location.