Differential axle assembly with adjustable gear offset

A differential axle assembly having an adjustable gear mesh comprising:

• a differential housing;
• a ring gear rotatably mounted within the differential housing;
• and
• a pinion assembly having a pinion gear driving said ring gear during operation of said differential axle assembly,
• wherein said pinion assembly is eccentrically mounted within a bore of the differential housing such that the gear mesh between the pinion gear and the ring gear is adjustable by rotation of said pinion assembly within said bore wherein said pinion assembly comprises:
• a pinion carrier having an inner bearing and an outer bearing bore with concentric centerlines and an outer circumferential surface with an eccentric centerline relative to the inner and outer bearing bore centerlines;
• inner and outer pinion bearings seated within the inner and outer bearing bores respectively;
• and
• a pinion shaft supported for rotation by said inner and outer pinion bearings such that an axis of rotation of said pinion shaft is aligned with the centerlines of said inner and outer bearing bores and is eccentric with respect to said centerline of said outer circumferential surface of said pinion carrier,
• wherein said outer circumferential surface of said pinion carrier is mounted within said bore of the differential housing.

A differential axle assembly with an adjustable offset between a ring gear and a pinion gear comprising:

• a differential housing supporting a differential case assembly including the ring gear and differential gearing, the differential case assembly supported by said differential housing for rotation on a first pair of roller bearings;
• and
• a pinion assembly supporting said pinion gear and a pinion shaft for rotation on a second pair of roller bearings,
• wherein said pinion assembly is mounted eccentrically within a bore of said differential housing such that rotation of the pinion assembly within the bore adjusts an offset between the ring gear and the pinion gear.