Ford 8.8 Inch Front Differential

Front Drive Axle and Differential





Front Axle Assembly-Disassembled View

Part 1 Of 2:

Part 2 Of 2:

Front Differential-Disassembled View
^ The axle housing assembly consists of a cast-aluminum center section, a removable cast-aluminum axle housing tube, and a differential housing cover. Both the axle housing tube and the differential housing cover use silicone sealant as a gasket.
^ The hypoid-design gearset consists of an 8.8-inch ring gear and a pinion gear. Two opposed tapered roller bearings support the drive pinion in the axle housing.
^ A drive pinion collapsible spacer, located on the pinion shaft, maintains pinion bearing preload. The pinion nut adjusts the preload.
^ Differential bearing shims, located between the differential bearing cups and the axle housing, adjust the differential bearing preload and the ring gear backlash.
^ The differential case is a one-piece design with two openings to allow for assembly of the internal components and lubricant flow. Two opposed tapered roller bearings (differential bearings) support the differential case in the axle housing. Removable differential bearing caps retain the differential assembly in the axle housing.
^ Inside the differential case, the differential pinion shaft supports two differential pinion gears. The pinion gears engage the differential side gears, to which the left axle shaft and the right axle shaft are splined. The differential pinion shaft bolt retains the differential pinion shaft in the differential case.
^ An embossed metal tag, bolted to the rear face of the RH axle tube, contains front axle identification information.