Stupid noob front driveline question.

[muddysub]

So I'm starting in on my suburban finally after too many years of sitting stagnant and I've got some ideas that have got me thinking.

My "plan" is to keep the 4" front springs that are on the suburban now, add a 1" EZ inch from DIY pushing the axle forward 1" AND clock the transfer case up some to get a flatter belly under the long ass truck. Am I asking too much from a front driveline at that point? Drivetrain specs are 350/400/241/10b/14bff but it'll be getting a 60 front in the future.

 

[DokWatson]

Are you worried about length or the angle? I went through something similar, but with a 7" lift and zero rates, no T-case clocking.

First it was too short, and bent. I got it re-tubed to the proper length, which was cheap. That lasted one wheeling trip and the 25 year old double-cardan exploded. I don't know why it didn't explode when it was bent. Got an entire new driveline after that, which wasn't so cheap, but its working great.

 

[muddysub]

I know length can be changed easily enough, it's the angle I'm more worried about. I figure with 5-6" of suspension plus the clock it'd work out to about 8-9" of "lift" that the front shaft is putting up with.

 

[DokWatson]

I know length can be changed easily enough, it's the angle I'm more worried about. I figure with 5-6" of suspension plus the clock it'd work out to about 8-9" of "lift" that the front shaft is putting up with.

I don't know a ton about driveshaft 'science', I just know when its not working right lol. One big issue is crossmember clearance. Sledheadak's Jimmy has about that much lift, hes running a two-joint style driveshaft instead of a double cardan. He had to modify his crossmember to clear it. Seems to be working well for him.

 

[muddysub]

If I'm clocking the case for clearance I'll be building a new cross member/belly pan anyway.

 

[DokWatson]

If you want I could go measure my driveshaft angle to give you an idea. 7" lift with the axle moved 1.5" forward isn't too far off from your plans.

 

[muddysub]

That'd be awesome man

 

[DokWatson]

Driveshaft angle is 18 degrees.

My pinion angle isn't right, I didn't bother figuring it out. My pinion is nowhere near pointed at the t-case, which I guess it should be. Oh well, its not a fricken street rig :P

 

[muddysub]

Cool thanks man.

 

[muddysub]

So is anyone here running a clocking ring between their th400 and np241? Does it leave enough spline engagement to feel comfortable running it permanently?
NWF sells one that's 3/8" thick are there others on the market that are preferred over the NWF ring?

 

[K85 Octane]

Kert sells one
and asking him some "pre" well developed questions over the phone couldn't hurt either

 

[Zeus33rd]

At 8-9", you'd probably be lookin at something like High Angle Drivelines 42°cv. My V3500 has 8-9" with the axle in the stock location and the 42° was pretty much required. The stock 3r cv wasn't even close. A 1350cv might have worked sitting static, on flat ground. I paid close to $1000 for the stupid thing, but money well spent. It has the long slip option too, so if I decide to reloacte the front axle I won't have to worry about shaft length. The slip will compensate.

 

[muddysub]

thanks guys, i figured i might be getting into expensive driveshaft territory with this one. i wish i could just divorce mount the damn case and run equal length shafts... i'll give kert a call sometime before i start buying parts.