The 1947 - Present Chevrolet & GMC Truck Message Board Network







Register or Log In To remove these advertisements.

Go Back   The 1947 - Present Chevrolet & GMC Truck Message Board Network > 47 - Current classic GM Trucks > The 1967 - 1972 Chevrolet & GMC Pickups Message Board

Web 67-72chevytrucks.com


Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 09-20-2014, 10:34 PM   #1
Chevys10dr
Registered User
 
Chevys10dr's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: Fort McMurray, AB
Posts: 192
12 Bolt rear end saddle angle

Hey guys,

Hoping someone can help me out, I'm switching over from leafs to trailing arms, the rear end I have is setup for leafs, I need to weld on trailing arm saddles, what is the angle that they are welded on or are they parallel to the yoke?
Chevys10dr is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-20-2014, 11:09 PM   #2
Zeroman
Registered User
 
Zeroman's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: Houston, TX
Posts: 348
Re: 12 Bolt rear end saddle angle

I've got a differential sitting in my garage that I am rebuilding.

It is not parallel to the pinion shaft. The saddles tilt downward towards the front of the truck.

Not sure how I would measure the angle.

If someone could tell me how to measure the angle, I'd be happy to tell you what it is.
Zeroman is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-20-2014, 11:25 PM   #3
mechanicalman
Registered User
 
Join Date: Jun 2014
Location: Glendale, Arizna
Posts: 1,642
Re: 12 Bolt rear end saddle angle

Quote:
Originally Posted by Chevys10dr View Post
Hey guys,

Hoping someone can help me out, I'm switching over from leafs to trailing arms, the rear end I have is setup for leafs, I need to weld on trailing arm saddles, what is the angle that they are welded on or are they parallel to the yoke?
I believe parallel. I would assemble it without welding, with the truck fully assembled with bed on and at operating weight, and at the suspension height you intent to leave it. Then rotate the pinion parallel to the trans output shaft or carrier bearing then weld it in that position. Of course make sure the panhard bar is in place and that the rear-end is centered in the truck to your satisfaction. (you might have to use a bottle jack and a mallet or get creative with a come-along).

I have never done this before, just thought about it. I would for sure defer to more experienced fabricators on this forum and use my advice, in this case, as a last resort if nobody else replies.
Attached Images
 

Last edited by mechanicalman; 09-20-2014 at 11:32 PM. Reason: panhard bar
mechanicalman is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-20-2014, 11:50 PM   #4
Zeroman
Registered User
 
Zeroman's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: Houston, TX
Posts: 348
Re: 12 Bolt rear end saddle angle

mechanicalman, I think his question was concerning the saddles on the axle tubes, not the pinion angle.

Here is a pic of my differential I am rebuilding. You can see the pic is taken directly over the pinion shaft which is pointing straight down, and the saddles are tilted down towards the front.

[IMG][/IMG]
Zeroman is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-21-2014, 12:48 AM   #5
mechanicalman
Registered User
 
Join Date: Jun 2014
Location: Glendale, Arizna
Posts: 1,642
Re: 12 Bolt rear end saddle angle

Quote:
Originally Posted by Zeroman View Post
mechanicalman, I think his question was concerning the saddles on the axle tubes, not the pinion angle.

Here is a pic of my differential I am rebuilding. You can see the pic is taken directly over the pinion shaft which is pointing straight down, and the saddles are tilted down towards the front.

[IMG][/IMG]
My bad, I thought he meant pinion angle parallel to the yoke of the trans, as the goal of getting the brackets at the right angle is to achieve proper pinion angle as parallel to the output shaft location (see picture). Maybe I should have started on a more basic level so here goes.

Getting back to the brackets, they need to be installed at an angle to get the drive-shaft correct, and that means the pinion needs to be parallel to the trans output shaft or primary drives-shaft if a 2 piece shaft. When I said assemble it without welding, I meant put the brackets on the axle shafts without welding, then rotate the pinion to the proper angle (see picture). The panhard bar is going to center the rearend, but best check placement before welding in case something needs to be done to the panhard bar and that depends on ride height (unknown factor).

The angle of the brackets vs the angle of the pinion, by itself without respect to the drive-shaft angle, is a crude method at best. The best he could hope to do is to try to get close to what you have, and that might not be right for him depending on his drive-shaft configuration and ride height.

If he welds them on wrong resulting in an improper driveshaft angle, he can get a custom adjustable cross-member or shims between the brackets and the trailing arms to correct it.

Last edited by mechanicalman; 09-21-2014 at 01:00 AM.
mechanicalman is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-21-2014, 01:01 AM   #6
Chevys10dr
Registered User
 
Chevys10dr's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: Fort McMurray, AB
Posts: 192
Re: 12 Bolt rear end saddle angle

Thanks guys, I was hoping there was a factory placement angle, so that I could weld up and install, the setup I am using uses the stock setup and no pinion angle change needed.
Chevys10dr is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-21-2014, 01:19 AM   #7
mechanicalman
Registered User
 
Join Date: Jun 2014
Location: Glendale, Arizna
Posts: 1,642
Re: 12 Bolt rear end saddle angle

Quote:
Originally Posted by Chevys10dr View Post
Thanks guys, I was hoping there was a factory placement angle, so that I could weld up and install, the setup I am using uses the stock setup and no pinion angle change needed.
Good luck, have fun, and stay safe.
mechanicalman is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-21-2014, 10:28 AM   #8
Zeroman
Registered User
 
Zeroman's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: Houston, TX
Posts: 348
Re: 12 Bolt rear end saddle angle

mechanicalman, your explanation is spot on in regards to setting the pinion angle.

Chevys10dr, I am going to set up my diff with some magnetic mounted levels later today, and should have a stock angle for the saddles.
Zeroman is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-21-2014, 10:57 AM   #9
Chevys10dr
Registered User
 
Chevys10dr's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: Fort McMurray, AB
Posts: 192
Re: 12 Bolt rear end saddle angle

Thanks Zeroman, that would be awesome, greatly appreciated
Chevys10dr is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-21-2014, 12:02 PM   #10
Lees68GMC
Registered User
 
Lees68GMC's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: Prescott Arizona
Posts: 343
Re: 12 Bolt rear end saddle angle

Here's my 12 bolt 1975 rear installed in my 68 GMC SWB. These are the stock spring saddle locations and angles resulted and as you can see I'm going to have to install 4 degree angle pinion shims (Speedway) to get the nose of the pinion down. Hope this helps. I did nothing to lower the rear except remove some leafs. Main thing to worry about is oil starving the pinion bearing at such an angle. Something that works good to See straight lines and visualize angles under your dark truck is one of those cheap Stanley laser levels the Wife uses to hang pictures on the wall. That and degree levels should do it.
Attached Images
  
__________________
68 GMC SWB Vortec 5.3
98 Chevy Blazer ZR2
94 Mazda Miata, LS2 6 speed, sold
"No matter what happens, nobody gets out alive"

Last edited by Lees68GMC; 09-21-2014 at 12:10 PM.
Lees68GMC is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-21-2014, 03:18 PM   #11
Zeroman
Registered User
 
Zeroman's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: Houston, TX
Posts: 348
Re: 12 Bolt rear end saddle angle

I set up my diff with the flange on the back of the case vertical "0".

The resulting angle of the bottom of the saddles was 13.5 degrees with the leading edge of the saddles down. This would be for a stock ride height suspension.

As mechanicalman stated though to set the saddles perfectly you would have to have everything in alignment.

Hope this helps.
Zeroman is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-21-2014, 10:29 PM   #12
calvin78612
Registered User
 
calvin78612's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: Aledo, Texas
Posts: 803
Re: 12 Bolt rear end saddle angle

Quote:
Originally Posted by Zeroman View Post
I set up my diff with the flange on the back of the case vertical "0".

The resulting angle of the bottom of the saddles was 13.5 degrees with the leading edge of the saddles down. This would be for a stock ride height suspension.

As mechanicalman stated though to set the saddles perfectly you would have to have everything in alignment.

Hope this helps.
Can you show a pic of this ? Not sure I understand what flange your talking about,plus 13.5 sounds like a lot.
__________________
84 step side
87 swb
calvin78612 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-21-2014, 03:28 PM   #13
Chevys10dr
Registered User
 
Chevys10dr's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: Fort McMurray, AB
Posts: 192
Re: 12 Bolt rear end saddle angle

Perfect, gives me somewhere to start, thanks again.
Chevys10dr is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-21-2014, 03:34 PM   #14
geezer#99
Registered User
 
geezer#99's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: Bowser
Posts: 13,731
Re: 12 Bolt rear end saddle angle

Read this.
http://www2.dana.com/pdf/J3311-1-DSSP.pdf

Or this
http://www.drivetrain.com/parts_cata..._problems.html
geezer#99 is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Bookmarks

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -4. The time now is 09:12 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.11
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions Inc.
Copyright 1997-2022 67-72chevytrucks.com