Axle Assembly

DESCRIPTION
The 216 Rear Beam-design Iron (RBI) axle housing has an iron center casting (differential housing) with axle shaft tubes extending from either side. The tubes are pressed and welded into the differential housing to form an one-piece axle housing.
The integral type housing, hypoid gear design has the centerline of the pinion set below the centerline of the ring gear.
The axle has a vent hose to relieve internal pressure caused by lubricant vaporization and internal expansion.
The axles are equipped with semi-floating axle shafts. The vehicle weight is supported by the axle shaft and bearings. The axle shafts are retained by plates bolted to the end flanges of the axle tubes.
The cover provides a means for servicing the differential without removing the axle housing.
For vehicles equipped with ABS brakes, the axles have a tone ring pressed onto the axle shaft. Use care when removing axle shafts to ensure that the tone ring or the wheel speed sensor are not damaged.
The 216 RBI axle has the assembly part number and gear ratio listed on a tag. The tag is attached to the differential housing by a cover bolt. Build date identification codes are stamped on the cover side of an axle shaft tube.

Fig. 1:

The differential case is a one-piece design. The differential pinion mate shaft is retained with a rollpin. Differential side bearing preload and ring gear backlash is adjusted by shims positioned between the side bearing cone and differential case. Pinion gear depth is adjusted by shims positioned between the axle housing and the inner pinion bearing cup. Pinion bearing preload is maintained by shims positioned between the pinion gear shaft shoulder and the outer bearing cone. (Fig. 1)
Axles equipped with a Trac-Lok differential are optional. A Trac-Lok differential has a one-piece differential case, and the same internal components as a standard differential, plus two clutch disc packs.


OPERATION
The axle receives power from the transmission/transfer case through the rear propeller shaft. The rear propeller shaft is connected to the pinion gear, which rotates the differential through the gear mesh with the ring gear bolted to the differential case. The engine power is transmitted to the axle shafts through the pinion mate and side gears. The side gears are splined to the axle shafts.