Claims
- 1. A method for maintaining a differential bearing preload in an axle assembly, the method comprising:supporting a differential assembly in an axle housing with a differential bearing; coupling said differential bearing to said axle housing with a bearing cap, wherein said bearing cap includes an aperture; engaging an adjustment nut with said differential bearing, said adjustment nut including a retention aperture; preloading said differential bearing by rotating said adjustment nut; and substantially simultaneously axially displacing a first portion of an adjuster lock within said bearing cap aperture and axially disposing a second portion of said adjuster lock within said adjustment nut retention aperture, wherein said first portion is spaced apart from said second portion, whereby said adjustment nut and said bearing cap are interconnected by said adjuster lock.
- 2. The method of claim 1 wherein said first portion includes a body having a plurality of barbs outwardly extending therefrom.
- 3. The method of claim 2 wherein said adjustment nut includes a second retention aperture spaced apart from said retention aperture and wherein said second portion of said adjuster lock includes a pair of generally parallel, spaced apart locking pins, wherein said locking pins are axially positioned within said retention apertures.
- 4. The method of claim 3 wherein each of said locking pins includes a radially extending section and a downwardly extending section and wherein each of said downwardly extending sections are substantially parallel to and spaced apart from one another.
- 5. A method for maintaining a differential bearing preload in an axle assembly, the method comprising:obtaining an axle housing, a differential assembly and an adjuster lock, wherein said adjuster lock includes an axially extending first portion and an axially extending second portion spaced apart from said first portion; coupling said differential assembly to said axle housing; coupling said differential bearing to said axle housing with a bearing cap, said bearing cap including an aperture; engaging an adjustment nut with said differential bearing, said adjustment nut including a retention aperture; adjusting a preload on said differential bearing by rotating said adjustment nut; and interconnecting said adjustment nut and said bearing cap by axially translating said first portion into said bearing cap aperture and axially translating said second portion into said retention aperture.
- 6. The method of claim 5 wherein said first portion includes a body having a plurality of barbs outwardly extending therefrom.
- 7. The method of claim 6 wherein the step of interconnecting said adjustment nut and said bearing cap occurs without relative rotation between said adjuster lock and said bearing cap.
- 8. The method of claim 7 wherein said adjustment nut includes a second retention aperture spaced apart from said retention aperture and wherein said second portion of said adjuster lock includes a pair of generally parallel, spaced apart locking pins, wherein said locking pins are axially translated within said retention apertures.
- 9. A method for maintaining a differential bearing preload in an axle assembly, the method comprising:coupling a bearing cap to an axle housing to position a differential bearing; adjusting a preload on said differential bearing by rotating an adjustment nut; and restricting rotation of said adjustment nut relative to said bearing cap by interconnecting said adjustment nut and said bearing cap with an adjuster lock, wherein said adjuster lock includes a first portion positioned within an aperture of said bearing cap, a second portion positioned within a first aperture of said adjustment nut and a third portion spaced apart from said second portion positioned within a second aperture of said adjustment nut.
- 10. The method of claim 9 wherein the step of interconnecting said adjustment nut and said bearing cap occurs without relative rotation between said adjuster lock and said bearing cap.
- 11. The method of claim 10 wherein said first portion includes a body having a plurality of barbs outwardly extending therefrom.
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
This application is a divisional of prior application Ser. No. 09/535,623 filed Mar. 27, 2000, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,398,689 entitled ONE PIECE DIFFERENTIAL BEARING ADJUSTER LOCK AND FASTENER, which application is herein expressly incorporated by reference.
US Referenced Citations (21)
Foreign Referenced Citations (1)
Number |
Date |
Country |
2157630 |
Oct 1985 |
GB |