Constant Velocity Joint: Description and Operation

Fig. 1 Front Wheel Drive Components And Axle Shaft Removal:

Fig. 2 Front Wheel Drive Components And Axle Shaft Installation. (Typical):

The front wheel drive system, Figs. 1, and 2, consists of left and righthand output shafts and drive axles. Each drive axle consists of an axle shaft, with a ball type constant velocity joint at the outboard end and a tri-pot joint at the inboard end.

Fig. 3 Exploded View Of Drive Axle With Tri-pot Inboard Joint. Except Geo Models & LeMans:

Fig. 4 Exploded View Of Cross-groove Design Drive Axle. Models w/Manual Transmission Except Geo Models & LeMans:

On all except Geo models and LeMans, a ball type constant velocity joint is used at the outboard end, while a tri-pot type joint is used at the inboard end, Fig. 3. Snap rings are used to lock the male splines of the axle shafts into the transaxle gears, except for the left side inboard joint used with the automatic transaxles. The left side inboard joint used on automatic transaxle models utilizes a female spline which installs over a transaxle stub shaft.
On some manual transmissions, a constant velocity joint is used on the inboard end of the drive axle, Fig. 4.