Structural Features of Automotive Drive Shafts

According to Tongxin Transmission, a tubular sealing protective sleeve has been added to the flange spline shaft of this drive shaft type, and two polyurethane rubber oil seals are installed at the end of the sleeve. This creates a fully sealed space inside the telescopic sleeve, preventing the telescopic spline shaft from being eroded by external dust and dirt, thus providing both dust prevention and rust resistance.

During assembly, grease is applied to the spline shaft and sleeve, which fully meets operational requirements. No grease nipple lubrication is needed, reducing maintenance requirements.

The drive shaft is a high-speed, lightly-supported rotating component, so its dynamic balance is critically important. Drive shafts are generally tested for dynamic balance and adjusted on a balancing machine before leaving the factory. Special attention must be paid when using the complete drive shaft assembly supplied ex-factory.

Analysis of Vehicle Vibration Caused by Drive Shaft Imbalance

Block the front wheels with wooden blocks, and jack up the middle and rear drive axles on one side of the vehicle. Start the engine, engage a high gear, and observe the wobble and vibration of the drive shaft. During inspection, note whether vibration increases significantly as speed decreases – this indicates a bent drive shaft or skewed flange.

Bending of the drive shaft refers to bending of the shaft tube, mostly caused by vehicle overloading. Coal trucks often suffer from drive shaft bending, fracture and other failures due to overloading and over-hitching. For example, vehicles towing over 60 tons of coal often experience severe drive shaft damage. Even with reinforced intermediate supports and strengthened flange yokes, fractures and failures still occur frequently.

After replacing drive shaft parts and straightening the shaft, balance must be checked. The unbalance value must meet standard requirements. The condition of universal joints and drive shaft hangers should also be carefully inspected. Improper installation or damage to cross shafts and rollers can lead to looseness and vibration, causing drive shaft imbalance.

Common Connection Types Between Gear and Drive Shaft

Common connection methods include flat key connection, spline connection, semicircular key connection with tapered bore, special pin connection, and polygon shaft-to-polygon gear hole connection. There are three typical connection forms between the shaft and gear:

• Fixed connection between the shaft, wheel and key.
• Sliding connection with clearance for sliding gears on the shaft.
• Interference fit connection.

The drive shaft is a high-speed, lightly-supported rotating body, and dynamic balance is essential. Each drive shaft is dynamically balanced and adjusted on a balancing machine before delivery. For front-engine, rear-wheel-drive vehicles, the drive shaft transmits rotation from the transmission to the final drive. It may consist of multiple sections connected by universal joints.

This concludes today’s introduction. If you need automotive drive shafts, please feel free to contact Tongxin Transmission.