The outer joint of the "Birfield" type consists of a housing 1, a separator 4, a cage 3 and six balls 2. Grooves for placing the balls are made in the joint housing and in the cage. In the longitudinal plane, the grooves are made along the radius, which ensures the required angle of rotation of the outer joint. The splined tip of the outer joint housing is installed in the hub of the front wheel and attached to it with a nut. The cage of the outer joint is installed on the splines of the shaft and fixed on the shaft with a locking ring.
The inner joint of the "Tripod" type consists of a housing 1 and three rollers 2 on needle bearings, put on the journals of a three-spike hub 3. Grooves for the rollers are made in the joint housing. The three-spike hub is fixed on the shaft with a locking ring. The rollers allow the hub to move in the grooves of the joint housing in the axial direction, due to which the drive can be lengthened or shortened to compensate for the mutual movements of the suspension and the power unit. The tip of the inner joint housing with external splines is fixed in the half-axle gear of the gearbox with a spring locking ring 1 (see figure 6.10), installed in the groove of the shaft.
To reduce torsional vibrations and oscillations, a rubber damper 6 is pressed onto the right drive shaft and secured with clamps.
In the external hinges of the "Birfield" type, balls of one sorting group are installed. All the 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, a cover, clamps for fastening the cover and, in some cases, grease.
The internal Tripod type joint is supplied as spare parts in the form of two repair kits: a large one, which includes all the joint parts, and a small one, similar to the repair kit for the external joint.
A special lubricant with molybdenum disulfide 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, secured to the hinge housings and drive shafts by large 3 and small 5 clamps, respectively.
The drive shafts differ in length, so the drives of the right and left wheels are not interchangeable.
USEFUL TIP: Drive joints are very durable, their estimated service life is almost equal to the service life of the car. However, during operation they are changed or repaired quite often due to damage to the protective covers. Such work is expensive and labor-intensive, in order to save a lot, regularly check the condition of the protective covers of the joints and immediately replace them at the slightest damage. If water or dust gets into the joint through a damaged cover, it will fail after several hundred kilometers. A sealed joint wears out extremely slowly.