HELP! front pinion angle w/lift

[87 Blue Beast]

im sitting on about 8" of suspension lift, sm435 tranny, 205 t-case, and d60 front. my pinion angle is horrible (as expected). what are you guys using to correct the angle? can you use that big of shim to correct it?

 

[mnstrburbon]

i think some are having a ez lift or a ! inch lift block machined to what degree needed or i belive jkw sells steel ones that bolt to the spring not hte aluminum ones you see at local spots
here is the link he goes up to 10 degrees should not need anything bigger.
i have seen people in stall it on the pass side only asn have the spring perch rotated on the driver side more strenght that way im guessing. either way should be fine.
harder to change degree if lift changes if you move the perch.

 

[Hogback Fabrication]

Changing the front pinion angle will screw up your caster and the truck will become very squirrelly and you will have difficulty keeping it going straight down the road.

That is unless you cut off the inner c's, turn them and weld them back on.

 

[k5 krawler 50]

http://www.highangledriveline.com/38cv.html

here is what i plan on doing to help mine out.. but as 38377k5 said, the best way would be to cut and turn the inner c's

 

[muddybuddy]

getting an nice expensive front driveshaft up front will still not change your pinion angle, which is the problem. getting a new driveshaft will just reduce front vibrations, which wouldnt matter anyways if your on the highway at 60mph in 2wd. what you need would be shims or cutting the knuckles.

hope that makes sense haha

 

[twoslo4five0]

hi pinion 60 and a doubler...sorry i had to lol

 

[Stomis]

Doubler will help drive angle...

The only true fix is either a highpinion axle or cut your C's and rotate. Which I would do yourself unless you build a jig

 

[Mudstud]

Drop the t-case an inch.

 

[87 Blue Beast]

dropping the case makes the front angle worse...

 

[Stomis]

dropping the case makes the front angle worse...

Yessir. How bad is it? How fast do you drive the truck in 4wd that you need a real good angle? Investing in a nice front shaft would be alot easier than say cutting the tubes. I used to have shims in the front of my truck I think 5* but I ditched them because I never go over 25mph in 4wd so whats the point.

 

[muddybuddy]

u dont even need an expensive driveshaft, just the right parts in the driveshaft (1480 joints allow for a ton of angle w/o binding for example). u could look into the tom woods joints that are offset, that allow for alot more angle, might be a cheap solution to ur problem.

do u have problems in 2wd or just 4wd?

 

[Hogback Fabrication]

u dont even need an expensive driveshaft, just the right parts in the driveshaft (1480 joints allow for a ton of angle w/o binding for example). u could look into the tom woods joints that are offset, that allow for alot more angle, might be a cheap solution to ur problem.

do u have problems in 2wd or just 4wd?

Even with 8" of lift I doubt his u-joints are binding. I think the op doesn't like the angle that the joints are at.

If you change the pinion angle in the front you change the caster unless you cut and turn the c's.


As far as using 1480 joints at the driveshaft, yeah they are stronger and can turn mid 30 degree angles. They are stupid overkill, don't forget that they are the joints used in D60 front axles and that those joints see 4.xx (whatever your gear ratio is) more torque than your driveline.

 

[87 Blue Beast]

im not going to be moving very fast in 4wd, but i would like to get the angle somewhere close to being right. right now it binds... so i have to atleast work on it alittle. as far as shafts, im not giong to dump alot of money into them, but im getting some decent ones made

 

[twoslo4five0]

here is my driveshaft (38377k5 gave me the idea) its a square tube with 1410 fixed ends on each end...the slip is in the middle..

here it is with the doubler and the hi pin installed..and my doubler is clocked flat and my truck has 6 inches of lift

 

[carpeonnel]

Well, I'm running to 6* shim bolted to the bottom of my leaf pack, but I did that to correct the angle my 7.25 shackles created. Don't know if it's absolutely right but it hasn't given me any problems and just eyeballing it my pinion angle looks close to stock

 

[87 Blue Beast]

i just put 6" shackles on mine and didnt realize it till after i did it, but i screwed my pinion angle even more

 

[87 Blue Beast]

Well, I'm running to 6* shim bolted to the bottom of my leaf pack, but I did that to correct the angle my 7.25 shackles created. Don't know if it's absolutely right but it hasn't given me any problems and just eyeballing it my pinion angle looks close to stock

so your saying you have 8" springs in the front w/zero rates and longer shackles, and 6* shims are working for you?

 

[mnstrburbon]

take it to an alignment shop have them tell you what the caster currently is and then you will know how much of a shim you need. I would say go over a bit because of the pinion angle will be better and should not affect driving. with the wheels sticking out as far the caster is sort of increased because the wheel center is no longer in the stock location.

 

[Hogback Fabrication]

Don't bother taking your truck to an alignment shop to determine the caster.

Buy an angle finder for $5 from Home Depot and put it on the flat part of one of the kingpin caps, that will tell you your caster angle.

If you shim the front up 6 degrees you will essentially have no caster

 

[twoslo4five0]

he doesnt have a 60 i belive but i think there is a flat groove on a 10 bolt by the pinion you could use...im just assuming you dont have a 44 because of the year of your truck so no flat tops