Compact differential housing assembly

A differential axle assembly comprising:

• an axle housing adapted to receive a pair of axle half shafts and including a pair of opposing axially aligned openings;
• and
• a differential gear set including a pair of side gears substantially axially aligned and spaced apart from each other, each of said side gears being supported within one of said opposing axially aligned openings and adapted to engage an axle half-shaft, a plurality of pinion gears substantially aligned and spaced apart from each other, each of said pinion gears engaging said side gears, a hypoid ring gear rotatably supported within said axle housing, and a pinion shaft secured to and extending diametrically across said hypoid ring gear, said pinion shaft supporting said pinion gears in engagement with said side gears and allowing rotational movement of said pinion gears about said pinion shaft;
• said hypoid ring gear including a cylindrical inner diameter having a pair of axially spaced inwardly facing annular surfaces, said axle housing including a pair of axially spaced outwardly facing annular surfaces, said hypoid ring gear being rotatably supported within said axle housing by a pair of roller bearings positioned between said inwardly facing and outwardly facing annular surfaces;
• and
• a spherical thrust washer positioned on said pinion shaft between each of said pinion gears and said hypoid ring gear, each of said spherical thrust washers including a cylindrical top surface having a radius that matches a radius of said cylindrical inner surface of said hypoid ring gear, a spherical bottom surface having a radius that matches a radius of a back surface of said pinion gears, and an outer diameter having a pair of flats formed thereon, said axle housing including corresponding flats formed therein such that said flats of said spherical thrust washers clear said flats of said axle housing.