Axle assembly having an adjuster ring

1. An axle assembly comprising:

a housing assembly;

a bearing support disposed on the housing assembly, the bearing support including:

a body that has a locking fastener hole; and

a bearing journal that extends from the body, the bearing journal having a bearing journal hole that is disposed along an axis and is adapted to receive an axle output shaft, an outer bearing journal surface disposed opposite the bearing journal hole, and a threaded portion;

a first roller bearing assembly that has a first inner race that is disposed on the outer bearing journal surface and a first outer race disposed opposite the first inner race that facilitates rotation of a ring gear;

an adjuster ring that is disposed on the bearing journal and the first inner race and includes:

a threaded region that receives and mates with the threaded portion; and

a set of openings that are arranged around the axis; and

a locking fastener that is received in the locking fastener hole and in a member of the set of openings to inhibit rotation of the adjuster ring about the axis.

2. The axle assembly of claim 1 wherein the housing assembly has a differential carrier and the bearing support is fixedly disposed on the differential carrier.

3. The axle assembly of claim 1 wherein the adjuster ring is disposed on the bearing journal between the body and the first inner race.

4. The axle assembly of claim 1 wherein the set of openings are disposed opposite the threaded region.

5. The axle assembly of claim 1 wherein the set of openings is defined by a plurality of teeth that extends away from the axis.

6. The axle assembly of claim 1 wherein the threaded region is disposed on an inner surface of the adjuster ring and engages the threaded portion such that rotating the adjuster ring relative to the bearing journal adjusts a position of the ring gear relative to a drive pinion.

7. The axle assembly of claim 6 wherein the threaded portion of the bearing support is disposed further from the axis than the outer bearing journal surface.

8. The axle assembly of claim 7 wherein the bearing journal further comprises a step surface that extends from the outer bearing journal surface to the threaded portion, wherein the step surface is disposed substantially perpendicular to the axis.

9. The axle assembly of claim 8 wherein the threaded portion extends between the body and the step surface.

10. The axle assembly of claim 7 wherein the body has a thru shaft hole that is adapted to receive a thru shaft that extends through the drive pinion.

11. The axle assembly of claim 10 wherein the locking fastener is disposed below the thru shaft hole.

12. The axle assembly of claim 10 wherein the locking fastener extends along a locking fastener axis that is spaced apart from and disposed substantially parallel to the axis.

13. An axle assembly comprising:

a differential carrier;

a bearing support including:

a body that is disposed on the differential carrier and that has a locking fastener hole; and

a bearing journal that extends from the body toward a differential unit, the bearing journal having a bearing journal hole that is disposed along an axis and is adapted to receive an axle output shaft, an outer bearing journal surface disposed opposite the bearing journal hole, and a threaded portion;

a first roller bearing assembly that has a first inner race that is disposed on the outer bearing journal surface and a first outer race disposed opposite the first inner race that rotatably supports the differential unit;

an adjuster ring that is disposed on the bearing journal between the body and the first roller bearing assembly, the adjuster ring including:

a threaded region that receives and mates with the threaded portion; and

a plurality of teeth that are disposed opposite the threaded region and extend away from the axis, wherein the plurality of teeth define a set of openings that are arranged around the axis; and

a locking fastener that is received in the locking fastener hole and in a member of the set of openings to inhibit rotation of the adjuster ring about the axis.

14. The axle assembly of claim 13 wherein members of the set of openings have a generally semicircular shape.

15. The axle assembly of claim 13 further comprising a second roller bearing assembly that rotatably supports the differential unit, wherein the bearing journal extends from the body toward the second roller bearing assembly.

16. The axle assembly of claim 15 wherein the second roller bearing assembly engages the differential unit and no shims are provided between the second roller bearing assembly and the differential unit.

17. The axle assembly of claim 13 wherein the first inner race engages the bearing support and the first outer race engages a case of the differential unit.

18. The axle assembly of claim 17 wherein a ring gear is fixedly disposed on the case.

19. The axle assembly of claim 13 wherein the body of the bearing support includes a face surface that extends around the bearing journal, wherein the locking fastener hole extends through the face surface.

20. The axle assembly of claim 13 wherein the adjuster ring is disposed between the bearing journal and the locking fastener.