Vehicle differential units

Claim 1

A vehicle differential unit comprising a housing, first and second apertures in the housing, the second aperture being larger than the first aperture, an abutment surface on the housing located between said apertures and facing said second aperture; a removable cover for the second aperture; differential gearing in the housing and including a drive pinion mounted on a pinion shaft and spaced from the ends thereof so that the pinion is located between first and second end portions of the shaft, a crown wheel meshing with the drive pinion, a cage secured to the crown wheel, bevel pinions carried by the cage and output bevel gears meshing with the bevel pinions; an outer bearing assembly in said first aperture and in which the first end portion of the pinion shaft is supported, the first aperture being of insufficient size to allow the drive pinion to pass therethrough so that the first end portion of the shaft can only be mounted in said outer bearing by inserting the pinion and shaft into the housing through the second aperture which is of a size sufficient to pass the drive pinion; an inner bearing assembly for the second end portion of the shaft; a bearing support separate from the housing and having an aperture which receives said inner bearing assembly and an abutment surface facing said first aperture and engaged with said abutment surface on the housing, said engaged abutment surfaces being located in an arc around the rotary axis of the drive pinion shaft; releasable means securing the bearing support to the housing with said abutment surfaces in engagement so that the bearing support can be inserted into the housing through the second aperture and, after the first end portion of the pinion shaft has been received in the outer bearing assembly, the inner bearing assembly can be located on the second end portion of the shaft and the releasable means then engaged to secure the bearing support to the housing.