Inner Joints
The inner joint is of the tripod type with spherical bearings to reduce sliding resistance. The joint has three bearings supported on needle roller bearings. This allows the shaft to slide horizontally inside the joint. The horizontal sliding movement will allow the overall length (differential to hub) of the shaft to increase or decrease as required with suspension travel. A maximum drive angle of 25 degrees is possible with this type of joint but the working angle is normally less than 10 degrees. This is why tripod plunge joints are normally positioned at the differential end of the drive shaft. On the left inner joint, used with the R65 gearbox, the drive shaft is retained in the differential by pressure from a spring located between the 2 halves of the inner joint. On ECVT and Getrag gearboxes, the left drive shaft is located in the differential by a spring ring on the end of splines. See Fig 1 .