Axle Assembly

Are you bothered with the grinding noises that your vehicle generates? Better inspect the vehicle’s axle because you may have a defective or damaged axle assembly. This type of damage is commonly encountered by those SUVs, pick up trucks and other vehicles that usually go off-road or regularly pass through harsh and uneven terrain. A vehicle axle is a load- bearing assembly that links two wheels on opposite sides together. A combination of an axle shaft, one or two constant velocity joints or maybe a U-joint, the axle assembly is designed to pass on rotational force coming from the transmission to the wheels of the vehicle.

The axle assembly is usually found on front and four-wheel drive vehicles and even on most high-end, rear-wheel drive European import cars. The most popular type of axle is the transaxle, which typically encases a differential and a manual or automatic transmission. The drive axle is another common type of vehicle axle. Sometimes called as live axle, the drive axle contains the differential. The least famous type is the non-driving straight axle which fades quickly from use. This type of axle does the job of connecting the wheels together but it doesn’t have a differential.

Axles are significant structural components of a wheeled vehicle. They are responsible for keeping up the position of the wheels relative to the body of the vehicle and to each other. Since the wheels of almost all vehicles are the only components that touch the ground, the axles do the job of bearing the vehicle’s weight, plus the weight of any cargo. Axles also carry the acceleration forces between the ground and the vehicle. And because vehicle axles differ in complexity, their purposes also vary. A simple straight axle serves as attachment point of the wheels while bearing the vehicle’s weight. The drive axle does the said purposes, plus they give the differential’s torque transfer abilities. A transaxle does all the tasks of the drive axle along with the transmission’s gear-changing capabilities.

If you found out that your vehicle’s axle assembly is malfunctioning and creating grinding noises, better have it replaced at soonest time possible. Oftentimes, it is better to change whole axle assembly, instead of replacing just a damaged cv joint. Although getting the entire axle assembly costs more than having individual parts replaced, setting you hands in a new axle assembly will assure you that all the components are in good, new condition. Looking for a replacement axle assembly? You can easily get it here at Parts Train.

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