Carrier Assembly: What It Is and How to Buy One

Carrier Assembly: What It Is and How to Buy One

A carrier assembly is not well understood by many people, even enthusiasts. Consequently, Our Auto Store's experts have decided to take action. Here, we'll explain what this part is and how to get it.

Carrier Assembly: What Is It?

Carrier assemblies, also known as axle carrier assemblies or differential carrier assemblies, consist of differential casings, differential bearings, and differential assemblies. Generally, carriers are confused with their components for the reasons mentioned above. These two images depict an assembly of carriers, for example.

The figure on the left resembles a differential casing, while the figure on the right resembles a differential assembly. Let's examine the following two figures in order to clarify this point.

I believe that it is better to call the entire carrier assembly, as you can see. Then why does it also get called a differential unit or differential carrier if that is the case? This topic will be explained in more detail by Lebanese Europe Auto Parts Center experts in the following section.

Differentials vs. carrier assemblies

Firstly, you should know that differentials are groups of gears that allow wheels on the same axle to rotate at different speeds in curves, hence the name. If you have ever seen a differential serviced, the figure below will be familiar to you.

Differencing plays a crucial role in the process. They allow the wheels to turn at different speeds as well as reduce the rotational speed of the axle shaft. The differential ratio refers to this reduction. The carrier assembly may seem irrelevant to all this. Answering this question is simple. For many people, the differential and carrier assembly are basically the same part since the differential is the heart of the carrier assembly. Understanding the difference between the two terms is relevant to My Auto Store for the purpose of this article. A used differential may be all you need for your car when buying parts for it instead of a used carrier assembly.

Carrier assembly types:

It is imperative not to confuse the types of carrier assemblies with the types of car axles introduced in our article Buying Used Axles Without Getting Scammed.

Assembly of front carriers

Transaxles are commonly located in the front of vehicles and are called such because of their location.

Assembly for the rear carrier

Most people confuse the rear differential with this type, which is located at the rear of the vehicle.

Assembly of the center carrier

Power and torque are transmitted from the transmission to the front and rear carrier assemblies through this component. Alternatively, it is called a transfer case.

Every carrier assembly is powered by a differential, as mentioned earlier. In addition, the types of differentials that are most commonly used should be briefly discussed.

Open differential

Among all of them, it is the simplest. A rear-wheel-drive vehicle is quite likely to have it.

Differential with limited slippage

During difficult cornering, one of these differentials uses clutches and plates in order to prevent the wheel from slipping.

Differential locking

Sports cars and 4x4 vehicles often have this type of differential. Two-axle wheels receive the same amount of torque thanks to special mechanisms.

Active differential

In this type of differential, torque is distributed to the wheels in real-time through computer-controlled sensors and actuators.

Carrier Assembly: How to Pick the Right One?

Now let's take a quick look at the most critical points. Carriers are composed of many parts, including the differential, which plays a key role. Basically, the differential functions as a small gearbox with a fixed ratio tailored to the application at hand. Different types of differentials can be equipped with different types of cars, depending on the type and year.

Because of these reasons (and many others), it is imperative to know what type of part your car requires before looking for used carrier assemblies for sale.

For your convenience, the My Auto Store team has prepared a checklist that contains all the necessary information.

  1. Vehicle year, model, trim, and manufacturer.
  2. Type of engine (petrol, diesel, turbo).
  3. Car body types (sedan, coupe, SUVs, crossovers, light trucks).
  4. Four-wheel drive, all-wheel drive, front-wheel drive.

Fortunately, your car's owner's manual contains most of this information. For those who are unable to do this, there is a free VIN decoder available online. A 16-digit alphanumeric code visible from the outside of your car's windshield offers access to your car's VIN if you don't have it handy.

Lastly, we would like to repeat our caution about the used axles that we provided previously. Changing your vehicle's axle ratio (differential gear ratio) could result in increased fuel consumption, affect gearbox performance, and cause a number of other unwanted issues.

Head over to Lebanese Europe’s Blog for any advice you may need regarding car parts, or for any new high-quality parts you may need. Give us a call today!

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Thank you for your interest, as wholesale distributors, we currently only operate with suppliers and business owners.
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Thank you for your interest, as wholesale distributors, we currently only operate with suppliers and business owners.
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Thank you for your interest, however we currently provide auto-parts a for passenger cars only.
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or press Enter ↵
We're are sorry we only deal with suppliers and shop owners
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