1980 gmc.. build thread.. im back.. post 438. :/

[Xtremegmc80]

front driveshaft wont work..

hey ya all i got home from work at noonish, same with 3 other guys.. yay. i was playin around the truck a lil bit. mostly looking at it, and played with front driveshaft.. its probably way too short, and i dont think it will work at all.. pics posted so u guys can look at it to see.. how many of you fit shaft with no problem with 6 inch of lift?? i sure as heck cant make my work.. i think i got to shim the axle up a little more.. so for now i got to take the driveshaft out of the front..

 

[twoslo4five0]

ok you have 3 options here:1st i would prolly do-

1.make a spacer for inbetween the trans crossmember and the frame...you can flip the little spacers around and that will work but its hard on the bolts...

2.if that doesnt work buy a set of zero rates and move the axle back an inch if you can (i wouldnt if i was you though)

3.make your own driveshaft out of square tube like many of us have here.I had mine made but another member but if you have some welding and fab skills you should be able to do it..

 

[twoslo4five0]

but your prolly gonna have to get the exhaust rerun or dimple it to get the drive shaft to clear...thats the same thing i have to do...i dimpled mine with 6 inches of lift and it just barley cleared the exhaust but when i went to 7 i could not dimple it anymore...got another excuse for headers and new exhaust...

 

[twoslo4five0]

oh and your shim question you need to pull the driver side steering arm (if it doesnt have flattops) and go buy a angle finder or protractor and set it on top of the flat surface of the knuckle that way you can make sure you get the right angle shim...places like jkw offroad will make you one any degree you want...iirc you want to be right around 8 degrees to be back to factory...so example if you put the angle finder on and it says 14 degrees then you need a 6 degree shim...hope that helps..

 

[Xtremegmc80]

do i have a 6 inch spring? cauuse the y pipe exhaust.. i dont have to dimple it.. and it has alot of clearance like a inch left.. the only problem is my front driveshaft are at full drop where it wont turn. thats where my front axle yoke is. i pick it up abt an inch to 2 it finally turns freely.. so what does that tell you? my best option is drive shaftless till i spend some money on new front driveshaft ill try to space the cross member and the frame to see what happens.. stay tuned til tonight..

 

[twoslo4five0]

how much lift do you have??i thought you had 6???no its not the sides its the bottom from the pic it looks like your shaft is laying on the exhaust causing it not to drop all the way,plus its to short...no need for a custom crossmember just drop your and inch...i think after you drop it and put make sure the shaft isint laying on the exhaust then you will be fine..and when you drop your transfer cause your shaft is gonna be sitting on your exhaust...

 

[gmc4cw]

Jay is right about the exhaust being in the way. cut it off. do NOT drop the crossmember, this will make your front shaft angle worse. You can grind out the CV to get more angle. But start by cutting the exhaust off. you needed new DUAL exhaust anyways. once the exhaust is out of the way you can tackle your next issue which is the angle.

take the shaft out. you will see where there are stops cast into the CV. grind them off. IF I remember I will take pics of mine.

 

[twoslo4five0]

thats the first ive ever seen of not running the transfer case dropped...mine is but i have no shaft in yet...mabye i will raise mine back up now cause i have a ground out cv...

 

[Xtremegmc80]

Jay is right about the exhaust being in the way. cut it off. do NOT drop the crossmember, this will make your front shaft angle worse. You can grind out the CV to get more angle. But start by cutting the exhaust off. you needed new DUAL exhaust anyways. once the exhaust is out of the way you can tackle your next issue which is the angle.

take the shaft out. you will see where there are stops cast into the CV. grind them off. IF I remember I will take pics of mine.

thank guys! i droppeed the crossmember. it doesnt work.. after abt 10 mins of swearing. i took the shaft out, and put the cross member up. the shaft is not on the exhaust at all. it has a inch of clearance left after full drop. i will grind the darn cv to see whats up. after that if it doesnt work. got to add a new cv with high angle to my bill..

 

[gmc4cw]

if its long enough you should be able to stretch it past the yoke on the axle. then its just a matter of angle. grinding the cv will give you a lot.

 

[Xtremegmc80]

if its long enough you should be able to stretch it past the yoke on the axle. then its just a matter of angle. grinding the cv will give you a lot.

i will be starting to grind on the cv this week.. thanks for telling me abt that, never thought it would do..

 

[YZEATER]

get a longer shaft from another truck, then grind the cv on it. that one looks way to short. you need to check the angle like the other guys said. you should be able to shim it up some. those spacers on the x-member should be on the inside of the frame, not below the x-member.

 

[Xtremegmc80]

get a longer shaft from another truck, then grind the cv on it. that one looks way to short. you need to check the angle like the other guys said. you should be able to shim it up some. those spacers on the x-member should be on the inside of the frame, not below the x-member.

yep i agree with you. i already put the spacer back in its stock location. and you are right, my shaft is too short. i have another shaft thats longer. got to grind the cv and put the longer tube shaft on my cv. since the 203 and the 205 cv isnt the same.. but tube is same size.. so got to swap it around a little, and then take it to get it balanced.. thats my plan. and for the angle.. got to get a different shims for it.. and see whats up next.

 

[skyyk5]

looks good. Making fast work of it I see. I can't wait to get back on Road kill, as soon as I get the time.

 

[Xtremegmc80]

looks good. Making fast work of it I see. I can't wait to get back on Road kill, as soon as I get the time.

this coming week the rearend should be together. the bed back on the truck. and start to put her back together. brake sys are in probably 2 to 3 weeks. the summer crawl is out of the question.. cause im going to north carolina maybe that weekend...

 

[Xtremegmc80]

i got the hub and rotors togs. need to buy more wheel studs since some were bad and some were good. so tomorrow will do that. the adaptor for the caliper in the rear should arrive tomorrow. will put that togs. pic time.. 2nd pic is what makes my silverado look like a wimp. last pic is a picture of my truck with the rear tire sitting where it should be.. cant wait to have it all togs.

 

[54inches]

I like that las pic....It looks alot different.

 

[Dafey]

Man thats looking GOOD !
I Cant wait to see it on the road.
I was going to say "see it finished" but there never really finished are
they

 

[Xtremegmc80]

Man thats looking GOOD !
I Cant wait to see it on the road.
I was going to say "see it finished" but there never really finished are
they

thanks! and yep its long from done. still have alot more to improvise, but as of now im just gonna get it finished up so i can drive her again..

 

[Xtremegmc80]

today i got 246.25 bucks worth of parts to put on my truck..
1) 2 wheel seals for both hub
2) 7 more wheel bolts
3) Converstion U joint non greaseable
4) front tie rod end and adjuster sleeve
5) both calipers for rear.
6) disc brake pads.
7) grease

and those are with my discount. if theres no discount it would be over 300 bucks.. whew
anyhow, i got a suprise at my mail today.. i got the adaptor for the rear disc. got it all tog. and hub on.. finally got the wheels on. now shes standing on her own, no more jack stands!
put the conversion u joint on my rear driveshaft and installed. my angle looks darn good.
one caliper didnt work right. got to return it tomorrow for a replacement. pic time!