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4 inch lift and drive shaft HELP

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ragleone

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81 blazer I put 4 inch lift on rear today back it out and the drive shaft is not right it makes a bad noises it looks to short to me .I do not know it if the drive shaft has been changed or what. It had 2 inch blocks before just wanted to level it up with 4 inch blocks has messed up the rear drive shat It does have a 205 t case that the person I got it off put in can this be the trouble. HELP ME
 
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sounds as if the drive shaft is too short. can you post pics of the end at the case and the end at the rear axle ?
 
I'm not totally sure what I'm looking at there, but all that shiny metal on that last shot makes me think that your problem may indeed be a short drive shaft. I've got 4 inch blocks in the back of my truck right now though with the stock driveline and no problem at all (not nearly that dramatic of a difference). I understand that a lot of people DO have drive line issues with a 4 inch lift, but usually only at full suspension travel, not at ride height, so it makes me think something else is going on...

Nothing else changed? You put the blocks in the correct direction? Forgive me if that seems a dumb question...no insult intended... I'm just trying to rule out all possible problems here!

As for the t-case, the 205 was never (to my knowledge) stock on an '81 K5, but if it was working fine with 2 inch blocks, there's not much reason to think that going to 4 inches would cause complete dysfunction unless it was right on the edge of working before, meaning whoever swapped in the 205 didn't put a long enough shaft in the truck.
 
Yes I am thing it was to short when I got it made fun noise driving it. all is stock but the 205 t case and maybe the rear drive shaft . it has 2 inch springs front and 2 in the rear that i remove to add 4 inch back . Now the drive shaft is to short and a bad angle. What is the diffrent in a 205 and 203 t case? Will a long drive shaft change the angle? Would you use a longer drive shaft and cut it down or add to mine shaft? It was one of those great truck deals until you start looking at all the half butt rigging they made to the truck.
 
well your '81 should've come with a 208 transfer case. If you certain that you have a 205 in there then the problem could've come from the adapter and np205 being shorter than the original setup with the 208. Don't quote me on that though as I have zero experience with 208's. I too have heard of people having driveline angle issues with a 4" lift on a k5. When you take a shaft to a driveline shop one that is too long will be cut down to fit if the tube is not to corroded or damaged. If it is too short then they will retube it. Cost in the end is almost the same though.
 
If you've got angle problems also, you'd probably better address that too when/if you drop the cash on a custom driveline. There are literally dozens of threads on this forum discussing drive shaft angle, how to measure it, how to fix it, how to adjust it (on the cheap), what the symptoms of it are, etc.

I don't have any experience with 208's either, but if it turns out they are longer when installed than the 205 setup you have now and the previous owner never modified the drive shaft, you'll probably have to spring for a shaft modification. (re-tubing your current one to be longer, if it's in decent shape, is probably the most cost effective custom solution)

It's always a crap shoot when you buy a truck someone else has modified. On the plus side, you've got a 205 case... damn near bulletproof :)
 
That shaft is too short. Also unless that is a later 205 case with the slip rear output then it's not a 205. Get a pic of the back of the t-case and we'll verify this for you.
 
you only lifted it 2 more inches, so it looks as if your shaft was already too short. and just like "4x4high" said, it might not even be a 2o5. get pics of the back of case. also, the angle you have is not good either, so you will have to add a shim and a high angle drivline.
 
your driveshaft looks like its barely in the tranny. your angle at the joint down at the pinion looks like it might have some binding going on.
have you lowered your tcase at all? show pics please
 
no I have not lower the t case but do have the kit to lower it 2 inchs. The aglne of the rearend looks good to me it is all at the t case I work out of town all week put when I get home more photos of t case thank all of for the help
 
Kind of hard to tell from the pics but it seems like your angles differ to much (rear do look ok though).

Looks not like an aluminium tail housing to me, so it might be a 205.

Walter
 
i had the same driveline issues as you are having right now. it almost sounds exactly what i did went from a 2" block to a 4" block. my driveshaft was too short so i exteded it tried to get the right angle with the axle and t-case. still had vibes shimed the rear end again still had issues. i finally said f#%@ it pointed the rear end to the t-case and got a cv shaft end of story. the only advice i can give you is try shiming the rear end till you get it right or lower the t-case. but lowering the t-case will give you another set of head aches from what i have herd. good luck my friend. :o
 
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