The Maintenance of Portal Axles in Off-road Vehicles

The portal axle of off-road vehicles is very important; The off-road vehicle must be svehiclered after running through various extreme terrains and undergoing various tests. Everyone will inspect the vehicle, but it is also very essential for the inspection of the portal axle:

The Basic Inspection

The portal axle inspection may seem simple, but it is not. After the portal axle to be maintained is removed from the original vehicle, we must first perform the bending test of the portal axle body. If there is any bending, it needs to be replaced with a new one to ensure the working performance of the entire portal axle.

Check the backlash between the sliding fork of the portal axle and the spline shaft to ensure its best condition.

Check the spline shaft for irreparable flaws such as distortion. If the distortion of the portal axle has not been detected and repaired in time, it can be dealt with under daily driving conditions. However, once it encounters a situation that requires a large adjustment of the wheelbase, likely, the twisted shaft cannot be effectively retracted and adjusted. Damage to the joint structure may even cause damage to the entire portal axle. What should be emphasized is that the hard damages like distortion and deformation must be removed from the vehicle, and then a complete internal inspection can be done after disassembly. Only simple observations from the outside can sometimes be very difficult. It is easy to ignore such large damages, so everyone must pay attention to this when doing maintenance.

The Rotation Balance Detection

The portal axle is a rotating body with high speed and less support, so its dynamic balance is very important. Therefore, it is an indispensable link to detect the integrity of the balance weight of the portal axle and whether there is any desoldering.

Check the clearance of the universal joint fork, cross shaft, cross shaft needle roller bearing and cross shaft journal to ensure the tacit degree of cooperation.Of course, if the cross shaft structure is damaged, don't worry too much, just change to a new product and thus this problem could be solved. 

Check whether the universal joint plug is loose or even falling off, if yes, it needs to be tightened spot welding or replacement.

The Overall Cleaning

After the comprehensive inspection is completed, the technician must first polish the portal axle to remove rust and stains on the surface of the portal axle and return the shaft body to its original appearance.

The technician performs cleaning, dust removal, sand removal and mud removal for the key parts of the universal joint and the shaft body. If there is looseness, further tightening is required.

Clean the cross shaft, cross-bearing, bearing needle roller, and re-assemble with fresh butter. Among them, the bearing needle is the most easily damaged component, if it is damaged, it needs to be replaced.

The technician cleans the spline shaft to remove the dust and oil on the tooth groove and surface. Clean the portal axle sleeve to remove the oil, dust and sand inside it

After reassembling each structure of the portal axle that has been inspected and maintained, refill each part with new grease to increase its self-lubrication and reduce its wear during operation, which can increase driving safety and the components themselves. Service life.

The maintenance of the portal axle is very important. So all drivers who own off-road vehicles should pay attention to it.

TRE 4x4 Productions is specialized in  off-road vehicles parts such as portal axles. The technicians at TRE 4x4 are continually conducting research and development to create new products to meet the demands of the off-road community.