Carrier assembly for drive axle

摘要

A carrier assembly for a drive axle includes an pinion and ring gear input that is operably coupled to a differential assembly. The differential assembly includes first and second case halves that attach to each other at an interface to define a case split line and a differential gear assembly supported by the first and second case halves with the gear assembly being operably coupled to drive a pair of laterally spaced wheels. The ring gear, first case half, and second case half are all connected together via a single bolted joint with the case split line being located behind the ring gear. The differential housing is supported on a pair of tapered roller bearings having a diverging apex configuration to reduce cup rotation. The pinion gear is solely supported by a pair of tapered roller bearings positioned on opposite sides of the ring gear. A two-piece pinion cage supports both pinion bearings and facilitates the setting of preload with the use of external shims.