Hummer H3. Manual - part 1032

Left and Right Axle Shaft Tubes

Left and Right Axle Shafts

Fill Plug

Drain Plug

The rear axle receives power from the propeller shaft and transfers it to the drive pinion through
the universal joint and the pinion yoke, which is attached to the drive pinion. The drive pinion
transfers the power to the ring gear which is splined to the drive pinion at a 90 degree angle. The
ring gear is attached to the differential case which contains four gears inside of it. Two of the gear
are side gears and two are pinion gears. Each side gear is splined to an axle shaft so each axle
shaft turns when it's side gear rotates. The pinion gears are mounted on a differential pinion shaft
and the pinion gears are free to rotate on this shaft. The pinion shaft is fitted into a bore in the
differential case and is at right angles to the axle shafts. Power is transmitted through the
differential as follows: the drive pinion rotates the ring gear. The ring gear rotates the differential
case. The ring gear, as it rotates with the differential case, forces the pinion gears against the side
gears. The side gears rotate the axle shafts to which the wheels are attached to. When both wheels
have an equal amount of traction, the pinion gears do not rotate on the pinion shaft because of
input force on the pinion gears is equally divided between the two side gears. Therefore, the
pinion gears revolve with the pinion shaft, but do not rotate around the shaft itself. As long as the
input force is equal between the two axle shafts, the axle shafts could be solidly attached to the
ring gear. The addition of the two pinion gears and the two side gears are needed to allow the
axle shafts to turn at different speeds. When the vehicle turns a corner, the inner wheel turns
slower than the outer wheel. The amount slower the inner wheel spins is equal to the same amount
the outer wheel spins faster, as compared to the straight line speed. When this happens, the pinion
gears rotate around the pinion shaft and allow the wheels to spin at different speeds. For
information regarding the description and operation of a locking differential, refer to Locking
Differential Description and Operation.

SPECIAL TOOLS AND EQUIPMENT

SPECIAL TOOLS

Special Tools

Illustration

Tool Number/Description

J 2619-01

Slide Hammer

2007 Hummer H3

2007 Driveline/Axle Rear Drive Axle - H3