Front wheel drive: A - control size; 1 - body of the outer hinge; 2 - retaining ring; 3 - clip; 4 - ball; 5 - outer clamp; 6 - separator; 7 - thrust ring; 8 - protective cover; 9 - inner clamp; 10 - wheel drive shaft; 11 - retainer of the internal hinge; 12 - body of the internal hinge; 13 – a lock ring of the case of the internal hinge
The drive of each wheel consists of two hinges of equal angular velocities and a shaft 10 (see fig.), which at the drive of the left wheel is made of a bar, and at the right wheel it is made of a pipe.
The outer hinge consists of a body 1, a separator 6, an inner cage 3 and six balls. Grooves are made in the hinge body and in the holder to accommodate the balls. The grooves in the longitudinal plane are made along the radius, which provides an angle of rotation of the outer hinge up to 42°. The splined tip of the hinge housing is installed in the front wheel hub and attached to it with a nut.
Hinge holder 3 is mounted on splines of shaft 10 between thrust ring 7 and retaining ring 2. The inner hinge differs from the outer one in that the paths of the body and holder are straight, not radial, which allows the hinge parts to move in the longitudinal direction. This is necessary to compensate for movements caused by oscillations of the front suspension and power unit.
Balls of the same sorting group are installed in the outer and inner hinges, if necessary, replace all six hinge balls (they must be in the same sorting group). When assembling the inner hinge, a selective method is used. Replacement of any one part is not allowed - the inner joint must be replaced as an assembly.
The hinge parts are lubricated with SHRUS-4 grease, which is put into the hinge bodies during assembly. Sealing of hinges is provided with protective covers which are fixed by collars.
Helpful advice. The drive hinges are very durable, their design life is almost equal to the life of the car. However, in operation they are changed or repaired quite often. Such work is quite expensive and laborious. 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.