American Axle & Manufacturing, Inc.

Victor S Sanchez

James P Borowiak

Jacek J Jankowski

A propshaft assembly that includes first and second shaft members, a joint, a center bearing assembly and a deflector. The joint couples the first and second shaft members to one another. The center bearing assembly includes a bearing that supports the joint. The deflector is coupled to the joint and shields an axial side of the bearing.

Propshaft assembly with center bearing shield

A method for determining an imbalance of a propeller shaft assembly can include establishing balancing planes relative to certain areas of the propeller shaft assembly and identifying each component of the propeller shaft assembly that could have a potential imbalance condition due to a tolerance variation. The method can also include determining the potential imbalance condition for each identified component, and determining a contribution of each determined potential imbalance condition to a respective pair of the established balancing planes. The method can further include determining a total magnitude of imbalance at the respective pair of established balancing planes based on the determined contributions of each potential imbalance condition, and determining a statistically representative value of the determined magnitude of imbalance.

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Belleville, MI, United States of America

Victor S Sanchez