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4inch lift, and the usual problems.........

Jeremy_C

Jeremy_C

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Hey all, i've got a 78 chevrolet 350 auto with a 4inch super lift suspension lift. I just threw a driveshaft again. Do I need a longer driveshaft? I already know that i need to tilt the rear-end up some, but do I also need a longer driveshaft? And if I do, does anybody have one for sale /forums/images/icons/laugh.gif

Also, I need a cheaper way to tilt the rear end, what have you done thats worked? /forums/images/icons/smirk.gif
 
What exactly do you mean by "threw a driveshaft"? Front or rear? /forums/images/icons/confused.gif
 
Oh yea....sorry bout that

It was the rear driveshaft, it didn't start shaking or anything....It just hit the ground as i was going down the road about 50mph /forums/images/icons/frown.gif
 
What t-case do you have? Did it seperate at the t-case or the pinion? Did the shaft actually pull apart or did a u-joint break? Sorry for the rapid fire questions, just tryin to get an idea about what happened. /forums/images/icons/grin.gif
 
hey no problem on the rapid fire questions, thats fine with me. The u-joint busted i guess, the drive shaft fell out of the tail shaft, and the drive shaft hit the ground. I've not found the tail shaft yet, i'll have to go look at day light.

Not sure on the T-Case /forums/images/icons/confused.gif
 
Some people here are running 6" lift with the stock drivelines,and some people needed to extend there driveshafts just for a 3" lift (like me) Every truck is different. It's hard to tell.. /forums/images/icons/smirk.gif
 
I had my truck lifted and stated to bleed from the rear main seal, but since having my driveshaft extended the bleading stoped, I just hope it dont put added stress on the spoines. /forums/images/icons/smile.gif Happy trails.
 
Easiest thing to do (and probably one of the cheapest) is to re-install the existing driveshaft, then make a mark on the slipjoint where the two parts currently come together.

Bring the driveshaft to a local driveshaft shop....they can look at where the mark is, and then they can probably lengthen and re-balance the existing shaft if that's all that's wrong.

The only other concern though, is if you haven't dealt with pinion angles, you may be running those u-joints at an excessive angle which dramatically reduces their lifespan....if you keep breaking u-joints (even on the street), then you will probably have to cut-and-turn your spring perches, or at least add angle shims to the springpack to reduce those angles.....

Just a few ideas. /forums/images/icons/smile.gif
 
The shim idea is probably what i am going to do. Do i need a machine shop to make one, or do they actually sell them some where?? /forums/images/icons/smirk.gif
 
Most spring manufacturers will sell various degrees of shims...Superlift comes to mind, but I'm sure there are others....
 
I've found 2*, 3* and 4* shims available at a local spring shop. It's not a custom 4x4 shop either...so I'd guess any spring shop should carry them in stock.

Rene
 
do shims make the center spring bolt move out of the perch hole? just wondering?

nathan
 
Yeah they do, but the same place sells the small spacer washers that should be used with shims to keep the center bolt far enough into the perch...

Rene
 
I have busted 3 driveshafts with my 4 inch lift. I got no angle in the rear because of angled blocks. I just put in a driveshaft loop, and carry around an extra u-joint /forums/images/icons/tongue.gif
 
Yes, he's right if you drop the Transfer case a few inches the driveshaft will be at less of an angle so you wouldn't break the driveshaft. And getting spacers for the T-Case is cheap!
 
how do you get the transfer case dropped. do you just lower the crossmember and let it pivot down?

nathan
 
I lost my tail shaft, so I'm gonna have to get another one. I think my transmission got a hole knocked in it, it was leaking pretty bad. Would the tail shaft have anything to do with it leaking so bad?? /forums/images/icons/confused.gif
 
Yes it would, but also there are, i think 2 hoses from the transmission to the radiator and you could have punctured one of those.
 
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