U joints have a limited working angle

Variation in speed changes

Greater working angles the more speed changes
.8:1 1600rpm
Drive shaft at 2000rpm
3.42 revolutions of the driveshaft per 1 revolution of the tire
585 rpm of the axle shaft / wheel
Speed change on driveshaft every 90 degrees
Driving and a driven yoke
2 driving yokes are 90 degrees apart so that they cancel each other out will
the first driving yoke may speed up the second driving yoke may slow down
and thus cancel each other out
U joint maximum allowable operating angle approx. 4 degrees
o Difference from the front and rear .5 degree maximum
Minimum is 0.5 degrees
Seized u joint will give vibrations
Drive shaft run out can be measured with a dial indication total of 3
measurements
.0040 - .0060 max run out
Leaf springs = Hotchkiss type
Brinnelling = when the bearings get imprints
4 measurement
o Back lash
o Pinion bearing preload
o Side bearing preload
o Pinion depth
Low torque from drive shaft
High torque at axles
Hypoid system pinion messes the pinion lower on the diff (below the center
line)
o Quieter
o Smoother
o Lower body mounting
o Handles high amounts of torque
o Disadvantage would be extreme friction because of the sliding action
that they do
Different types of gears
o Hypoid (below centerline)
o Spiral bevel (center)
o Helical (final drive gear)
Differential case (diff case) (carrier assembly)
o Mounts ring gear
o Has the side bearings pressed on
o Grade 8 or stronger bolts
o Some bolts are reverse and some are regular (markings on center of
the bolt L represents left hand thread)

Differential case assembly

o Removable carrier assembly as one unit
Pinion pin
o Allows spiders to rotate
o Holds them in positions
o Pinion shaft
Types of housings
o Integral housing (the Salisbury housing)
Has removable cover on back side
Usually solid axle
Welded tubes to the carrier assembly
Most work will be done in vehicle
o Removable carrier axle housing (Banjo housing)
The carrier can be removed from the front of the housing
No inspection cover on the back
Axle types and bearings
o Taper bearings
o Straight roller bearings
o Ball bearings
Bolt in style axle (jeep dana 35)
Semi floating axle
o Has one wheel bearing inside the axle tube or housing
o Axle shaft supports all the vehicle weight as well as drive the vehicle
o C clip or bolt in retained
Full floating type
o Axle shaft carrier no weight
o Job is only to drive the wheels
o The bearing, housing, and the hub support the vehicle weight
EP stands for extreme pressure

Heel located on the outside

Root is between the two teeth
Toe located on the inside
Crown is the very top of each tooth
Outside of the tooth (drive side) is also called the convex side
Other side is concave (coast side)
The intermediate position between drive and coast is called the floating
position

Gear tooth nomenclature

Aim for a center pattern between the heel and toe
Covers as much of the teeth as possible
High face contact or running off the face of the teeth means the pinion is too
far away

Low flank means the pinion is too deep

To determine the axle ratio of a diff without removing the axle housing cover
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Safely hoist the vehicle

Mark the rear tire at 12 oclock
Mark the drive shaft with masking tape
Hold one wheel from turning and turn the wheel 10 times
Multiply the drive shaft revolutions by 2 and then move the decimal point one
place to the left

LSD diff case drives the side gears directly through the clutch packs
Always has a preload spring to put some pressure on the clutch packs different
designs
Checking operation of clutch style lsd wheel should rotate same direction as one
being turned
To check proper operation measure the break away torque on one axle/continuous
rotating torque

Limited slip diffs

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Multi-disc
Cone type
Viscous coupled units
The eaton locker type
Torsen differentials

In a LSD the wheel with the most traction will receive the most torque
Spool rear end just has bearings and a ring gear

Differential drive pinions

Companion flange where you bolt your drive shaft too
To change the pinion seal
Mark the pinion shaft and the nuts relationship together
Count the number of threads sticking past the nut
Remove nut by impact or holding tool and by hand
Overall preload using a beam or dial torque wrench to measure the force it takes
to measure the overall torque required to turn the pinion (rule of thumb the overall

torque should be 5-10 in/lb more than the pinion preload) new bearing preload will
always be higher than used
For pinion depth adjustment a gear pattern is the final say if it is ok
Shims belong to the housing dont loose shims as that is your starting point
Ring and pinions are made together and should not be separated
Pinion head can have variance difference if from the factory (check pinion head if
there is a + or with a number to adjust shims)