Patent ID: 7993232

Claim:
An axle assembly comprising: a housing; a differential in the housing, the differential having a ring gear; an input pinion having a pinion shaft and a pinion gear that is meshingly engaged to the ring gear; a friction clutch having an input member, an output member and a clutch pack, the input member being supported for rotation in the housing, the output member being coupled to the pinion shaft for common rotation, the clutch pack being configured to rotatably couple the output member to the input member for rotation therewith; a head bearing mounted directly on the pinion shaft proximate the pinion gear so as to be positioned axially between the pinion gear and the clutch pack, the head bearing further being mounted to the housing to support the pinion shaft for rotation in the housing; and a tail bearing directly mounted on the pinion shaft on a side of the clutch pack that is opposite the head bearing, the tail bearing further being mounted to the input member; wherein the head and tail bearings are preloaded in an axial direction.