Front Wheel Drive Shafts are flexible assemblies which
consist of the following components:
| • | Front wheel drive shaft constant velocity joint (outer joint). |
| • | Front wheel drive shaft tri-pot joint (inner joint). |
| • | The front wheel drive shaft connects the front wheel drive shaft
tri-pot joint and the front wheel drive shaft constant velocity joint. |
| • | The front wheel drive shaft tri-pot joint is completely
flexible, and moves with an in and out motion. |
| • | The front wheel drive shaft constant velocity joint is flexible
but can not move in and out. |
The Wheel Drive Shaft is a balanced shaft that transmits
rotational force from the front differential to the front wheels when the
transfer case is engaged. The wheel drive shaft is mounted to the front
differential by bolting the flange of the wheel drive shaft to the flange
on the inner output shaft of the front differential. The other end of the
wheel drive shaft is splined to fit into and drive the hub assembly when
the transfer case is engaged. The tri-pot joint and constant velocity joint
on the wheel drive shaft allows the shaft to be flexible to move with the
suspension travel of the vehicle.
