Cardan shaft details: 1 - elastic coupling (2101-2202120); 2 - front propeller shaft flange (2101-2202023); 3 - flange seal (2101-2202110); 4 - oil seal cage (2101-2202115); 5 - front propeller shaft (2101-2202015); 6 - fork mounting nut (2101-2202105); 7 - intermediate support (2101-2202080); 8 - front propeller shaft fork (2101-2202022); 9 - retaining ring (2101-2202043-with a thickness of 1.50 mm); 10 - crosspiece with bearings (2101-2202025); 11 - mud deflector (2101-2202103); 12 - rear propeller shaft (2101-2201014)
The cardan transmission consists of two shafts (front and back), two cardan joints, an elastic coupling and an intermediate support.
A flange secured with a nut is mounted on the splines of the secondary shaft of the gearbox. It is connected with six bolts through a rubber elastic element to a similar flange, which together form elastic coupling. The second flange also has a splined hole into which a splined tip welded to the front shaft is freely inserted.
Shaft it is made of a steel pipe, and a second splined tip is welded to its opposite end, resting on the bearing of the intermediate support.
The front fork is installed on the splines of the tip and secured with a nut cardan joint.
The hinge consists of two forks, a crosspiece and four needle bearings with blind bottoms and radial-face seals to protect against water and dirt, as well as to prevent grease leakage. The bearings are fixed from axial displacement in the fork eyes with spring retaining rings.
Another fork of the front joint is welded to the rear cardan shaft. This shaft is also made of a steel pipe, at its rear end there is a second cardan joint of a similar design, the rear fork of which has a flange connected by four bolts and nuts to the flange of the tailstock of the drive gear of the rear axle reducer.
Intermediate support consists of a steel bracket with a rubber elastic corrugated cushion vulcanized to it, inside which a steel sleeve-housing is placed. A closed-type ball radial bearing is installed in the housing, additionally protected by mud-deflecting washers.
The cardan transmission is dynamically balanced as a unit using balancing plates-weights welded to the outer surface of the shafts.
(The text is on the website: «VAZBOOK»)
To prevent a car accident in the event of a "break" of the front propeller shaft (for example, destruction of the elastic coupling) there is a safety bracket on the bottom of the body that prevents the shaft from falling onto the road.
When the rear suspension is in operation, the distance between the rear axle and the gearbox changes. The design of the cardan transmission allows this change to be compensated for by a movable splined connection of the front shaft with the flange of the elastic coupling. The rubber cushion of the intermediate support, due to its configuration, does not prevent axial displacement of the front shaft. Angular movements of the rear shaft are provided by cardan joints. The elastic coupling smooths out fluctuations in torque and compensates for small angular deviations of the front shaft. In addition, the coupling and elastic intermediate support dampen noise and vibrations that occur when the car is moving.
Maintenance of the cardan transmission is reduced to periodic lubrication of the movable splined connection, for which purpose a hole is made in the flange of the elastic coupling, closed with a threaded plug. A rubber seal prevents grease from leaking out and dirt from getting into the connection. The bearings of the hinges are lubricated only during assembly (replacement of bearings). The intermediate support bearing is also lubricated for its entire service life and does not require replacement.