Patent ID: 7175560

Claim:
A power transmission device comprising: a housing; a differential assembly having a case; a bearing rotatably supporting the case for rotation in the housing about an axis, the bearing being positioned in a load path in which a compressive preload is applied to the bearing, the load path extending to the case and the housing; and a shim positioned in the load path between the bearing assembly and one of the housing and the case, the shim including a body, a first metal plate member, a second metal plate member and a third metal plate member, the first metal plate member being coupled to a first side of the body, the second metal plate member being coupled to a second side of the body opposite the first side, the third metal plate member being coupled to the first side and spaced apart from the first metal plate member, at least one of the first, second and third metal plate members abutting the bearing, the body being formed of a material having a predetermined coefficient of thermal expansion, the body being operable to at least partially compensate for different rates of thermal expansion in a plurality of components within the load path to maintain the compressive preload over a predetermined range of operating temperatures.