Method for structuring a gear assembly housing

1. A method for structuring a housing to enclose a gear assembly for attachment to an axle assembly of a land mobile vehicle comprising:

identifying a lowest surface structure defined by a plurality of ring gear teeth top lands that define a spin plane of a gear assembly relative to a vertical axis perpendicular to a horizontal plane that would be tangent to a bottom of a plurality of wheels of a land vehicle;

forming a lower gear housing portion having a wall of smooth, generally non-planar surfaces positioned below a gear assembly centerline with an interior surface adjacent said lowest surface structure that does not contact said lowest surface structure;

shaping said wall relative to an axis of an axle of said land vehicle to form:

a convex curved wall segment adjacent to said lowest surface structure joined to a first concave curved wall segment that transitions to a generally linear wall segment that is adjacent said gear assembly;

a first transition wall segment is joined to said generally linear wall segment and to an axle tube interface element;

a ring gear wall segment that is of generally linear form and approximately parallel to a ring gear outer diameter surface and said ring gear wall segment joined to said convex curved wall segment;

said ring gear wall segment opposite said convex curved wall segment joined to a second concave curved wall segment that transitions to a second transition wall segment that is attached to an axle tube interface element;

wherein said wall is positioned adjacent to a contour of outer surface structural surfaces of said gear elements, but not contacting said gear elements; and

attaching an upper housing portion to said lower housing portion to enclose said gear assembly.

2. The method as in claim 1 wherein said interior surface is not more than 0.035+/−0.025 inches distance from said lowest surface structure.

3. The method as in claim 1 wherein there is less than 0.090+/−0.025 inches distance from said ring gear outer diameter surface to an interior surface of said ring gear wall segment.

4. The method as in claim 1 wherein said first concave curved wall segment is at least 0.100 inches distance from a chord of said first concave curved wall segment at the maximum separation point from said chord.

5. The method as in claim 1 wherein said second concave curved wall segment is at least 0.100 inches distance from a chord of said second concave curved wall segment at the maximum separation point from said chord.