Cardan shaft and rear axle — general information

Cardan shaft

The cardan shaft of Ford Sierra cars consists of two parts. In vehicles with a 1.3 dm engine³ has one elastic joint (front), as well as two cruciform hinges, while in cars with engines of 1.6 and 2.0 dm³ - three cruciform hinges.

The front part of the shaft after installation is balanced as a whole. In case of disconnection of the shaft parts during their assembly, attention should be paid to maintaining the relative position of the installation marks (recesses made with a center punch on the shaft, as well as a wide line on the cross), which must lie on the same line. The pivot crosses have needle bearings sealed to protect against contamination. The cruciform hinges form a non-separable unit with the shaft, which, if necessary, should be replaced as a whole.

Rear axle

The rear axle has a rigid suspension, in front on the rear axle beam, and in the rear through metal-rubber elements to the body. The main gear is hypoid.

The final drive gear rotates in two tapered bearings with an initial tightness, implemented using a deformable spacer sleeve.

Adjustment of the clutch of the teeth of the main gear is made by selecting the thickness of the gaskets between the inner bearing of the gear and the gear of the main gear.

Adjustment of the tooth gap of the main gear, as well as the initial tightness of the differential bearings, is carried out using two adjusting flanges with projections.

The side gears are mounted on the splines of the side shaft and fixed with a retaining ring.