Axle & Differential Articles

Understanding your car rear end – a key segment of your vehicle’s drivetrain – is essential for proper maintenance and troubleshooting. Key Takeaways The rear end of a car is also known as the rear differential. There are various types of differential. Including open, limited-slip, locking, electronic, and torque-vectoring adjust to driving conditions and needs…. View Article

What causes a bent axle? Have you ever driven over a pothole or a big bump and all of a sudden it feels harder to turn your vehicle? You may have bent or caused a broken axle. A damaged axle can come from a variety of sources. For example, you drove over a gravel road… View Article

What is a differential? The differential on a vehicle allows the wheels to spin at different rates to maintain traction. For more information on differentials, check out our How Differentials Work series of articles. We go over the components of front and rear differentials such as the differential gears. Also, what differentials do. And we… View Article

Have you had your axle broken? Or curious about what to avoid your car axle doesn’t break? Here are some causes that can commonly damage or even break an axle. Age of the axle The occurrence of axle breaks increases as the vehicle, and the axle age. As time goes on, the axle weakens from… View Article

What is an axle? An axle is a rod or a spindle that goes through one or more wheels. There are multiple ways an axle connects to the wheels. There are two main types of axles in cars and trucks. These are live axles and dead axles. Live axles are used to provide power and… View Article

What is a differential? A differential is a critical component of a vehicle’s drivetrain. It is often located on the axle of the vehicle and is responsible for providing power to the wheels. The differential allows the wheels to rotate at different speeds, which is necessary when turning a corner. The number of differentials and… View Article

Have you been driving down the road and accidentally driven over a pothole and heard a concerning sound? Maybe you were in a seemingly minor accident but something doesn’t feel quite right. Or you drove on a gravel road that was rougher than you thought. These are just a few examples that can damage your… View Article

What is an axle? An axle is a rod or a spindle that goes through one or more wheels. An axle can be connected to the wheels in multiple ways. First, the axle could be attached to the wheels and rotate with the wheels and the wheels spin. Second, the axle may be fixed to… View Article

People typically don’t pay much attention to their axles throughout the life of the vehicle. This is most likely due to their lack of understanding of how the axle works. The majority of axle components are durable and will require very little attention with the exception of maintenance work. However, many of the components in… View Article

How is the axle on an independent rear suspension different from solid axles? The primary difference between independent suspension axles and solid axles is the construction, (or lack of), a housing surrounding the axle shafts joining the wheel hub and differential. Most noticeably the axle tubes of the solid axle are not present on the… View Article

How do hydraulic locking differentials work? Another version of a locking differential is the hydraulic locking differential. As explained in the clutch-type locking differentials article, these have had different names depending on the manufacturer. These include Hydra-Lock and Vari-Lock but the basic function remains the same. Hydraulic locking differentials contain a rotary style oil pump…. View Article

How does a cone differential work?   A cone differential works much the same as a clutch plate differential. However, instead of clutch plates, friction lined cones are used. Pressure from the preload spring and side gears forces the cone into a dished depression in the differential case. This locks the cone and side gear… View Article

What are locking differentials? As mentioned before, vehicles use locking differentials in situations with low traction. Locking differentials are useful in situations that standard differentials are not designed for. Standard differentials apply power to the wheel with the least traction. In contrast, locking differentials will apply some power to both wheels. As a result, this… View Article

So now that the differential has drive power applied to it How does it apply that power differentially to the wheels? Front and rear differential explained, this article will help explain standard and single-pull differentials. First off, let’s discuss the components of standard differentials or single-pull differentials. As previously mentioned, the ring gear is attached… View Article

What is a Differential and what does it do? I’ve always called the whole rear axle the differential? So which part of the rear end assembly is the differential? The differential is contained within the central axle housing. This is the central part of the rear axle also known as the differential carrier. It is… View Article

  Breaking-In a new Ring and Pinion Gearset? Frequently we hear people say; “Do I really need to break-in a new ring and pinion? I have never heard of having to do that before!” We also hear; “When I bought my truck new, I was never told about having to break-in the rear axle.” I… View Article

How axles work, what are they and what do they do? At Houston Rebuilt Axles, we sell rebuilt axles. Are you asking yourself, “what is a rebuilt axle and why would i want one?” You may have heard of the rear axle, rear end or differential of your vehicle but you don’t know much about… View Article

Rear Axle or Rear Differential Troubleshooting While cars make a variety of noises, some of them can indicate a serious issue and should be checked immediately. Differential noises can quickly lead to expensive repairs for your differential or axle or even failure if not addressed quickly. Let’s have a look at exactly what a differential… View Article