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DIFFERENTIAL UNIT
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DIFFERENTIAL

DRIVE LINES

An automotive drive line is an assembly of one or more driveshaft, universal joints, and slip joint. It transmits torque through varying angles
and distances from one shaft to another. Vehicle with front engine and rear-wheel drive have a long propeller shaft or driveshaft extending from
the transmission to the rear axle. Front-wheel drive vehicle usually have the engine transaxle assembly mounted transversely. Short driveshaft
extends from the transaxle to the front wheels.

In a rear-wheel drive vehicle with front engine, the drive line connects the transmission output shaft to the rear axle. It contains the final drive
gears, differential and axle shaft, which drive the rear wheels. The drive line includes two kinds of joints, slip joint and universal joint. The slip
joint take care of changes in the drive-line length. The universal joint on each end of the driveshaft takes care of changes in drive angle. Many
driveshafts are made of hollow steel tube. Others are aluminum or a composite material made of aluminum and carbon fiber. These materials
allow the driveshaft to be lighter and quieter than steel tube. There is less vibration and no rusting.

FUNCTION OF THE DIFFERENTIAL (AXLE)

The purpose of differential is to transmit the torque from the drive shaft to the axles and drive wheels of the vehicle. The rear axle is often
suspended from the body or frame of the vehicle by leaf spring attached to the axle housing. Vehicle with other types of springs position the
rear axle with control arms. A rear axle performs several functions. These include:

1. Changing the direction of driveshaft rotation by 90° to rotate the axle shafts.
2. Providing a final speed reduction between the drive shaft and the axle shafts through the final drive gears.
3. Providing differential action so one wheel can turn at different speed than the other, if necessary.
4. Providing axle shafts or half shafts to drive the rear wheels.
5. Acting as a thrust and torque reaction member during acceleration and braking.

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REAR AXLE CONSTRUCTION

Drive pinion – main input shaft to the differential. It is driven from the drive shaft.

A – Head
B – Inner bearing seat
C – Pinion shaft
D – Shoulder
E – Outer bearing seat
F – Splines
G - Threads

Ring gear – driven from the drive pinion. Its purpose is to drive the remaining parts of the differential.

A – Top. The top of the gear tooth (Face)

B – Root. The bottom of the gear tooth (Flank)
C – Heel. The outside-diameter-end of the gear tooth
D – Toe. The inside-diameter-end of the gear tooth
E – Drive pitch line
F – Coast pitch line

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Differential case – holds several bevel gears. The entire differential case is driven from the ring gear, which is bolted to it. Two differential
side gears and two pinion gears – these four gears is placed inside the differential case. All four gears are meshed together. The pinion gears
have a shaft running through their center. The shaft is secured to the differential case. Thus, as the differential turns, the shaft rotates (end to
end) at the same speed as the differential case. Since all four gears are meshed, the differential side gears also rotate at the same speed.

Axle – attached to the differential side gear by a spline on the axle and inside the differential side gear. As the differential side gear rotates, the
axles also rotate, causing the vehicle to move.

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All other parts of the rear axle are assembled in or attached to the rear axle housing. It supports part of the vehicle weight and contains the
final-drive gears, differential, axle shaft and bearings. Shaft seals prevent the gear lubricant from leaking out. The axle shafts are solid shaft
with no universal joint. The wheels attached to mounting flanges on the outer end of the axle shafts. Splines on the inner ends fit into the
differential side gears.

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DIFFERENTIAL OPERATION

When the vehicle is moving straight down the road, the transmission of power comes from the drive pinion to the ring gear and differential
case. As the differential case turns, the pinion (also called bevel) gears inside the case also move with the case. However, although the pinion
gears are meshed during this condition, they are not rotating among themselves. In fact, the pinion gears are not spinning on their shaft at this
point.

As the car goes around a left corner, the axle slows down and the right axle speed up. During this slowing down and speeding up, the bevel or
pinion gears inside the differential case begin to rotate among them. When the vehicle returns to a straight line, both axles are turning at the
same speed, but the gears are no longer turning among themselves. As the car goes around a right corner, the right axle slows down and the
left axle speeds up. Again the pinion gears inside the differential case begin turning among themselves. This is necessary so that the axle will
spin at different speed while still transmitting power.

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FINAL DRIVE GEARS

The final drive is the gear set that transmits torque received from the transmission output shaft to the differential. The gear set is made up of
a smaller driving gear or pinion gear and a large driven gear or ring gear. The smaller gear in a gear set is always the pinion gear. Rear-drive
axle use hypoid gear. Hypoid gears have teeth cut in a spiral form, with the pinion gear set below the centerline of the ring gear. This lowers
the driveshaft, which allows a lower floor pan and driveshaft tunnel. It also allows more teeth to be in contact to carry the load.

The ring gear is three to four times larger than the pinion gear. When the pinion turns the ring gear, it reduces the speed of the axle shafts while
increasing the torque applied to them. The pinion gear connects to the rear end of the driveshaft and is assembled into the front of the axle
housing or differential carrier. The ring gear attaches to the differential case. The differential side gears are splined to the inner end of the axle
shafts. Rotation of the ring gear rotates the differential case.

PINION GEAR

RING GEAR (CROWN GEAR)

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AXLE RATIO

The actual ratio through a drive axle is the axle ratio or final drive-ratio. It can be calculated by dividing the number of teeth on the ring gear by
the number of teeth on the pinion gear.

NUMBER OF TEETH ON RING GEAR

FINAL DRIVE RATIO =
NUMBER OF TEETH ON PINION GEAR

Ring and pinion-gears must always be used in matched sets, or the teeth will never mesh correctly. Each gear-set is stamped with an identifying
“set number” on both the pinion and ring-gear (dotted circle). The final drive ratio or number of teeth also stamped on both the ring-gear (circle).

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CLEARANCE AND BACKLASH

Clearance is the distance between the top of the tooth of one gear and the valley between the adjacent teeth of the mating gear. Backlash
is the distance between adjacent meshing teeth in the driving and driven gears. It is the distance one gear can rotate backward before it will
cause the other gear to move. The heel is the larger section of the gear tooth and is farthest from the center of the ring. The toe is the smaller
or inner end of the gear tooth.

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CONTACT PATTERN

Before removing the differential, measure pinion-bearing preload and ring-gear backlash. Also, check the ring-gear contact pattern. This is done
by wiping the lubricant from the carrier and cleaning each tooth on the ring gear. Then dip a small brush in a gear-marking compound such as
blue engineering. Coat both the drive and coast sides of the ring-gear teeth. Slightly load the ring and pinion gears and rotate the ring gear one
complete revolution in each direction.

HIGH FACE CONTACT HEEL CONTACT

Increase pinion shim Decrease backlash

DESIRED PATTERN
Center of ring gear tooth

LOW FACE CONTACT TOE CONTACT

Decrease pinion shim Increase backlash

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DIFFERENTIAL LUBRICATION

The differential uses several types of lubricants. The exact type depends on the year of the vehicle and whether the differential is separate or
combined into the transaxle. Also, the viscosity will also change with the weather condition. On rear-wheel drive vehicles, where the differential
is separate, hypoid-gear oil such as 80W-90 can be used.

LIMITED SLIP DIFFERENTIAL

Multidisc clutch
Differential
housing
Side gear

Pinion gear

Ring gear

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On a standard differential, equal torque is transmitted to the rear wheels if the loads on the two wheels are the same. However, if one wheel
hits a patch of ice or other slippery surface, the torque on the two wheels will be different. In this case, one wheel may spin freely while other
wheel produces torque.
Instead of an open differential, some drives axles have a limited-slip differential. It has clutches or cones in the case. When a wheel spins, the
clutches or cones lock the case to the differential side gears. This prevents differential action. Both axles now turn at the same speed. Each
multiple-disc clutch is made of a series of alternating friction plates and steel plates.
Three additional parts in limited-slip differential are:-
1. Clutch plate – used to produce the necessary friction to lock up both wheels
2. Preload spring – used to produce the pressure against the clutches
3. Pressure ring – a surface against which the clutches rub for the side gear.

The friction plates are splined to the side gear and rotate with it. The clutches or cones apply a pressure to the side gears. This additional
pressure prevents one wheel from spinning more rapidly than the other. As the car rounds a curve during normal driving, enough force is
released to allow the clutch to slip. This permits the outer wheel to turn faster than the inner wheel.

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