HELP! front pinion angle w/lift

[87 Blue Beast]

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

are you talkin about me? i have a d60...

 

[carpeonnel]

I'm running a D44 up front w/8in springs, zero rate, and 7.25in shackles. I originally put a 4* shim in and it still didn't look right (just eyeballing it), so I put some 6* shims in I had and it put the pinion angle back the normal stock looking angle with it just maybe a little bit tilted up. I don't have an angle finder to tell you exactly what i'm hitting on, up I've been running the shims with the long shackles for a few years now and it hasn't given me any problems.

 

[carpeonnel]

if you want I'll try and see if I can get a pic of it for you

 

[87 Blue Beast]

yeah that would be nice

 

[carpeonnel]

another thing I forgot to tell you was that I had to get my shims blank (without an alignment hole in them) since I was putting it in between my leaf pack and my offset zero rate. I measured them out and put a hole 1.5in from center of the shim towards the narrowed end of the shim so it would sit right with the offset zero rate. If not you get an over hanging gap with in a shim with a centered hole

 

[87 Blue Beast]

i moved my zero rates back to center when i did the 1 ton swap. i found 10* shims, im thinkin that should be enough.

 

[carpeonnel]

if you're running 6in shackles on the front I wouldn't recommend 10*. That's probably too much and might cause you problems that others in this thread have mentioned before. a 4* will probably be closer. But you can try it and see if it works. like I said I'm running 7.25 shackles and i'm only using a 6* shim

 

[87 Blue Beast]

if you're running 6in shackles on the front I wouldn't recommend 10*. That's probably too much and might cause you problems that others in this thread have mentioned before. a 4* will probably be closer. But you can try it and see if it works. like I said I'm running 7.25 shackles and i'm only using a 6* shim

yeah, but you also have a 700r and 241 case. i have a sm465 and 205 case, which means my t-case is more foreward than yours is, making the angle worse. im going to measure it to be sure, but im pretty sure im going to need 8-10*. its so bad right now that my front driveshaft doesnt even spin because its binding at the axle u-joint.

 

[HEAVY METAL]

yeah, but you also have a 700r and 241 case. i have a sm465 and 205 case, which means my t-case is more foreward than yours is, making the angle worse. im going to measure it to be sure, but im pretty sure im going to need 8-10*. its so bad right now that my front driveshaft doesnt even spin because its binding at the axle u-joint.

i have same prob.. its prolly ur cv thats binding....im gona make a square shaft..no cv..

 

[87 Blue Beast]

im having a local shop make me some high angle shafts

 

[Blue85]

If you have longer shackles, then you really should add shims. Just calculate the amount based on the length of the spring and the increased shackle length. This will make the driveline angle better and make the caster better. You could also go 1-2 degrees further with the shim to improve the DL angle even more by sacrificing a little caster.

 

[carpeonnel]

finally got some pics for you of what mine looks like with 6* shims. The first pics are of what it looked like when I had the 6* aluminum shims in there after I put in my zero rates and the later ones are of what it looks like now with the 6* steel shims with the offset center alignment holes. Make sure if you're running a zero rate with your shims like i'm doing, to run a grade 8 3/8 bolt as your alignment bolt thru the spring pack or you might have bolts that look like the last pic. And some people think there's no stress on them

 

[Hogback Fabrication]

finally got some pics for you of what mine looks like with 6* shims. The first pics are of what it looked like when I had the 6* aluminum shims in there after I put in my zero rates and the later ones are of what it looks like now with the 6* steel shims with the offset center alignment holes. Make sure if you're running a zero rate with your shims like i'm doing, to run a grade 8 3/8 bolt as your alignment bolt thru the spring pack or you might have bolts that look like the last pic. And some people think there's no stress on them

There shouldn't be any stress on them. When you have u-bolts that aren't tight enough or if you have too little surface area at the spring pad you will bend or break center pins.

 

[87 Blue Beast]

carpeonnel, your pinion angle still looks like it alittle steep but its hard to tell. got any pics of it with the drive shaft hooked up? what kinda degree is your angle now?

 

[carpeonnel]

I beg to differ on the subject of the alignment bolts as my u-bolts I know weren't/aren't loose.

I bust out my angle finder and see what it says. That picture is kind of deceiving cuz my driveway is slanted. Let me go put it on level ground

 

[carpeonnel]

found some flat ground. I just bought my angle finder yesterday and it says my pinion is pointed approx. 2* up. I don't know what the stock angle is, but I would think zero

 

[carpeonnel]

i'd get you a pic with the driveshaft in, but I don't have a front driveshaft yet

 

[87 Blue Beast]

have you tried to hook up a drive shaft to that yet? for your lift and shackle length, your giong to need that pointed up alot more than 2*. mine looks about like yours does right now and i dont have any shims in it as it sits. id be really supprised if your joint doesnt bind

 

[carpeonnel]

I've planned on running one of tom woods super flex joints. Heard good things

 

[87 Blue Beast]

oh ok. how pricey are they? let me know how it turns out