Fleetwood Brougham V8-307 5.0L (1989)
Axle Shaft Assembly: Description and Operation
In these rear axles, the rear axle housing and differential carrier are cast into an integral housing assembly. The drive pinion assembly is mounted
in two opposed tapered roller bearings. The pinion bearings are preloaded by a spacer behind the front bearing. The pinion is positioned by a
washer between the head of the pinion and the rear bearing. The differential is supported in the carrier by two tapered roller side bearings. These
bearings are preloaded by spacers located between the bearings and carrier housing. The differential assembly is positioned for proper ring gear
and pinion backlash by varying these spacers. The differential case houses two side gears in mesh with two pinions mounted on a pinion shaft
which is held in place by a lockpin. The side gears and pinions are backed by thrust washers. A limited slip rear axle, available on most models,
uses disc or cone type clutches which are splined to the side gears to lock the axle shafts to the case or in effect to each other. Therefore, if one
drive wheel is on a slippery surface, the other wheel must develop more torque than on a standard type differential before the differential case will
allow wheel spin. However, axle shaft torques produced during cornering are sufficient to overcome the clutch action, allowing axles to rotate at
different speeds.
