PART-IV

Drive Shaft
 Drive shaft
• The main function of drive shaft is transmits engine
torque from the transmission to axle assembly.
 The Requirements
• The drive shaft line assembly must perform the following:
• Should send turning power from the transmission to the
rear(front) axle assembly.
• Should flex and allow up-and-down movement of the
rear axle assembly.
• Should provide a sliding action to adjust for changes in
drive line length.
• Should have light weight and be strong enough.
Components of drive line assembly
 Components of drive line assembly
• SLIP YOKE
• connects the transmission output shaft to the front universal joint
• FRONT UNIVERSAL JOINT
• the swivel connection that fastens the slip yoke to the drive shaft.
• DRIVE SHAFT
• a hollow metal tube that transfers turning power from the front universal
joint to the rear universal joint.
• REAR UNIVERSAL JOINT
• a flex joint that connects the drive shaft to the differential yoke.
• REAR YOKE
• holds the rear universal joint and transfers torque to the gears in the rear
axle assembly.
Drive Shaft Assembly
 The Movements of Drive Line
• Up and down movement (the differential movement)
• U-joints permit change in angle.
• Horizontal Movement
• Slip yoke allows change in length.
 U-JOINTS
• The importance of using U-Joint
• To transmit torque between 2 shafts where they are
connected at an angle.
• To transmit uniform velocity

• Types of Drive shaft U-joint

• cross and roller,
• ball and trunnion, and
• double-cardan (constant velocity).
 U-JOINTS
• Cross and Roller Universal Joint
• The cross and roller design is the most common type of
drive shaft U-joint.
• It consists of four bearing caps, four needle roller bearings

• Parts of U- Joint
• Cross (spider)
• Needle bearings
• Driven and driving yokes
• Snap rings inside
• caps
 Slip Joint
• Propeller shaft must be capable of extension to account for
suspension travel.
• Change in propeller shaft length due to
• Bumps and re-bounds
• Acceleration-torque reaction
• Brake-torque reaction

• How a non uniform velocity

is canceled by u-joints?
 Propeller Shaft Configurations
• One piece with extended gear box housing

• One piece with extended differential housing

 Propeller Shaft Configurations
• Two piece with single intermediate support.

• Three piece with two intermediate supports.

 PART-V

Final Drive and Differential

Differential gears…
Differential gears…
 Final Drive
• The Function of Final Drive
• To transmit torque from drive shaft to drive axles

• To Provide a gear reduction between the drive pinion and

drive axles.

• To transmit torque at an angle of 90 degree

• To Split driving torque between the two wheels.

• To allow drive wheels to turn at different speeds when turning

corners.
Final Drive Components
 Final Drive Components…
• Differential drive pinion yoke (flange)
• connects drive shaft to differential ring gear.

• Drive pinion:
• transmits torque from drive shaft to differential ring gear

• Ring gear
• transmits torque from drive pinion to differential case

• Differential case
• transmits torque from ring gear to differential pinion shaft contains;
differential pinion gears, and axle side gears.
 Final Drive Components
• Differential case side bearings:
• Support differential case in axle housing
• Differential pinion shaft: (Pinion Gear)
• transmit torque from differential case to differential pinion gears.
• Differential pinion gears: (Sun Gear)
• transmit torque from differential pinion gears to axle gears, allow axle gears to turn at
different speeds when cornering.
• Axle side gears:
• transmit torque from differential pinion gears to drive axles
• Drive axles:
• transmit torque from axle side gears to drive wheels
• Axle housing
• supports and contains the differential assembly and drive axles and support the
chassis
 Differential
• The differential consists of two parts,
• Final gears
• Differential gears
• Final reduction
• Crankshaft rotation, after being modified by the
transmission, is further reduced by the final gear to obtain a
greater torque.
• Differentiation
• The differential gear assembly is designed to permit the
inner rear wheel to turn at a different speed than the other
when the vehicle is changing direction (cornering, etc., ) so
that wheels do not slip.
 Differential
• Final Reduction
• To provide permanent speed reduction
• It consists of bevel pinion and crown wheel (Gear)
• The 3 types of gears which can be used for final drive are
• Straight bevel gear
• Spiral bevel gear
• Hypoid gear

HELICAL GEAR

(Front-wheel-drive vehicles)
• Power Flow
– Transmission O/put Shaft
– propeller shaft
– drive pinion
– ring gear
– differential case
– differential pinion
– Side gears
– axle shaft
– wheels
 Basic Function Of The Differential Gear Unit
• Straight Ahead Travel
• The rolling resistances of the two drive wheels are almost identical
when the vehicle is traveling straight ahead on a level road
• Therefore, both side gears move equally with the revolution of the
differential pinions
• all components rotate as one unit
• differential pinions themselves do not rotate about their own axis,
but turn as a unit with the ring gear, differential case and pinion
shafts
• the differential pinions only function to connect the right and left
side gears.
Basic Function Of The Differential Gear Unit
 Travel on cornering
• The inside wheel travels less distance (i.e., in a shorter arc) than the
outside wheel.
• Since a resistance is therefore applied to the left-hand side gear, as
illustrated below, each differential pinion rotates around its own shaft
and also revolves around the rear axle
 Axle shaft
• The axle shaft transmits the torque from the differential
side gears to the rear hub (wheels).
 Axle shaft
• The shaft is subjected to:
• Torsional stress: due to driving and braking torque
• Shear stress due to the weight of the vehicle
• Bending stress due to the weight of the vehicle
• Tensile and compressive stress due to cornering forces
• There are basically three designs/Types of Axle Shafts and these
refer to where the axle bearing is placed in relation to the axle and
the housing.
• Semi-floating
• three-quarter floating
• Fully floating
 Types of Axle Shaft
Semi-floating
• It is used in passenger vehicles and
light trucks.

• The shaft as well as the housing will

have to resist all the stresses
(supports the weight of the vehicle).
 Fully floating
• This is generally fitted on commercial vehicles where torque and
axle loads are greater (used in many heavy-duty trucks).

• The drive wheel is carried on the outer end

of the axle housing by a pair of tapered
roller bearings.

• The axle housings take the full weight of

the vehicle and absorb all stresses and end
thrust caused by turning, skidding, and
pulling.
 BEARING
• Three styles of solid axle bearings.
• Ball Axle Bearing

• Straight-Roller Axle Bearings

• Tapered-Roller Axle Bearings

 BEARINGS
Straight Roller Axle Bearing

Ball Axle Bearing

Tapped Roller Axle Bearing

CHAPTER FOUR

END