82 longbed d/s length, engagement question

[NZSquare]

Hi all,
Ive got an 82 longbed pickup which we've installed bags and a 4-link into out back, and with the bags at full extension the driveshaft moves back too far and disengages the tranny seal so it leaks.

What I want to know is whether the tranny is the right one for the vehicle before I go lengthening the shaft. The truck originally had a 305 v8, and now has a 350/T350 short nose on it, anyone know if this would be stock ?

the chassis no. is 16CEC14F3CF342125

Thanks

[devilmike82]

I am by no means a master fabricator but have had this issue before with some early bag jobs i did. sometimes it's just the arc of the rear end moving up and down if you have too much lift it will pull that sucker right out of the back of the tranny. you may have to look at relocating bag mounts to keep it from lifting too much( in my opinion having much air in a bag defeats the purpose anyways). one word of advice before considering lengthening the d/s or getting a new one made is making sure when the truck is aired out the d/s doesn't do the opposite and punch into the seal causing a leak. it's all about finding that sweet spot in the tailshaft of the tranny from full extension to full layout. hope this helps i know it wasn't exactly what you were looking for.

[NZSquare]

Thanks for the reply,

When we figured it out the axle sits in the same position and at the same angle at the new ride height ,which is about 4 inches lower than it was so you may be right, by shifting the whole lot down it physically wont go any higher, and Id rather it had the ability to go lower without bottoming on the tranny.

[devilmike82]

hope i'm not insulting any intelligence here i just remember it being like a light bulb going off when i couldn't figure out why i kept ending up with tranny fluid all over my rear windshield from the broken seal. whether you air up or down the rear end doesn't move in a straight line up and down it's moving in an arc so regardless of pinion angle the arc will cause that d/s to move laterally forward and backwards. just do some extra measuring and a little bit of math and you should be able to make it work with that old d/s