External Hinge Type «Bearfield» consists of body 1, separator 4, cage 3 and six balls 2. Grooves for placing balls are made in the hinge body and cage. In the longitudinal plane, the grooves are made along the radius, which provides the required angle of rotation of the outer hinge. The splined tip of the outer hinge housing is installed in the front wheel hub and attached to it with a nut. The outer hinge cage is mounted on the splines of the shaft and fixed on the shaft with a retaining ring.
Inner Hinge Type «tripod» consists of a body 1 and three rollers 2 on needle bearings, put on the pins of a three-pin hub 3. Grooves for the rollers are made in the hinge body. The three-stud hub is fixed on the shaft with a retaining ring. The rollers allow the hub to move in the grooves of the hinge housing in the axial direction, so that the drive can be extended or shortened to compensate for the mutual movements of the suspension and the power unit. The tip of the body of the internal hinge with external splines is fixed in the side gear of the gearbox with a snap ring 1 (see fig. 6.10), installed in the groove of the shaft.
To reduce torsional vibrations and vibrations, a rubber damper 6 is pressed onto the shaft of the right drive and secured with clamps.
In external hinges «Bearfield» balls of one sorting group are installed. All parts of the hinge are selectively matched to each other, therefore it is impossible to repair the hinge by replacing individual parts, and only the hinge assembly is supplied as spare parts, as well as a small repair kit, including a retaining ring, boot, boot clamps and in some cases grease.
Inner Hinge Type «tripod» They are delivered to spare parts in the form of two repair kits: a large one, which includes all the details of the hinge, and a small one, similar to the outer hinge repair kit.
A special grease with molybdenum disulphide is used to lubricate the hinges (domestic analogue - SHRUS-4). The cavities of all hinges are protected from road dirt and water by rubber corrugated covers 4, fixed on the hinge bodies and drive shafts, respectively, with large 3 and small 5 clamps.
The drive shafts differ in length, so the drives of the right and left wheels are not interchangeable.
USEFUL ADVICE: Drive joints are very durable, their design life is almost equal to that of a car. However, in operation they are changed or repaired quite often due to damage to the protective covers. Such work is expensive and time consuming, in order to save a lot of money, regularly check the condition of the protective covers of the hinges and immediately replace them at the slightest damage. If water or dust gets into the hinge through a damaged cover, it will fail after several hundred kilometers. The sealed hinge wears out extremely slowly.