The rear axle for this vehicle consist of the following
components:
• | Aluminum Differential Carrier Housing |
• | Differential Case Assembly (Open or Locking) |
• | Ring Gear and Drive Pinion Shaft |
• | Left and right axle shaft tubes |
• | Left and right axle shafts |
The rear axle receives power from the propeller shaft and
transfers it to the drive pinion through the universal joint and the pinion
yoke, which is attached to the drive pinion. The drive pinion transfers the
power to the ring gear which is splined to the drive pinion at a 90 degree
angle. The ring gear is attached to the differential case which contains
four gears inside of it. Two of the gear are side gears and two are pinion
gears. Each side gear is splined to an axle shaft so each axle shaft turns
when it's side gear rotates. The pinion gears are mounted on a differential
pinion shaft, and the pinion gears are free to rotate on this shaft. The
pinion shaft is fitted into a bore in the differential case and is at
right angles to the axle shafts. Power is transmitted through the differential
as follows: the drive pinion rotates the ring gear. The ring gear rotates
the differential case. The ring gear, as it rotates with the differential
case, forces the pinion gears against the side gears. The side gears rotate
the axle shafts to which the wheels are attached to. When both wheels have
an equal amount of traction, the pinion gears do not rotate on the pinion
shaft because of input force on the pinion gears is equally divided between
the two side gears. Therefore, the pinion gears revolve with the pinion
shaft, but do not rotate around the shaft itself. As long as the input
force is equal between the two axle shafts, the axle shafts could be solidly
attached to the ring gear. The addition of the two pinion gears and the
two side gears are needed to allow the axle shafts to turn at different speeds.
When the vehicle turns a corner, the inner wheel turns slower than the outer
wheel. The amount slower the inner wheel spins is equal to the same amount
the outer wheel spins faster, as compared to the straight line speed. When
this happens, the pinion gears rotate around the pinion shaft and allow the
wheels to spin at different speeds. For information regarding the description
and operation of a locking differential, refer to
Locking Differential Description and Operation
in Locking Differential.