Patent ID: 6964317

Claim:
A drive assembly for a vehicle having a frame, said drive assembly comprising: a drop box adapted to be fixedly secured to the frame of the vehicle; an input shaft rotatably disposed within said drop box; an articulation drop box pivotally mounted to said drop box; an output shaft rotatably disposed within said articulation drop box; an intermediate sprocket assembly coupling said input shaft to said output shaft to transfer torque from said input shaft to said output shaft; a pivot pin defining a pivot axis and extending through both said drop box and said articulation drop box with said intermediate sprocket assembly disposed about said pivot pin and said articulation drop box selectively pivoting about said pivot pin; and a thrust bushing disposed between said drop box and said articulation drop box with said thrust bushing having a first portion substantially parallel with said pivot axis and wedged between said drop box and said articulation drop box to define a radial interface surrounding said pivot pin for supporting a preload thrust force from said pivot pin and for allowing relative rotational motion between said drop box and said articulation drop box.