driveshaft and pinion angles

[Hottrucks]

I think I got it...

trany output is @ o* so my drive shaft will be at 1 1/2* (up) and driveshaft 2 will be @ 3* up (compared to the output shaft or 1 1/2* from the other shaft) my axle needs to be at 1 1/2*

I'm going to gather up an angle guage tomorrow cut out my carrier and see what I can make it look like it maybe a combo of trany wedge relocateing the carrier and some sort of axle wedge...

[fixit-p]

Okay yes if your tranny is at 0* you can set drive-line #1 @ 1 1/2* up, but the angle of drive-line # 2 will be determined by its length and rise or fall after you have set the rear end to 1 1/2* down (parallel with drive-line #1. Once you have your angle gauge post up some real numbers.

[Hottrucks]

ok borrowing a gauge but can't get it till monday so here we are...

on a side note I was doing some measureing and noticed that we forgot 1 small detail...the pinion isn't in the middle??? its offset about 1 1/2" to the pass side which means that we are dealiing with a compound angle..(up and right)...

I'm pretty close to flipping the carrier cheating it to one side eye ball straight and calling it good but I want to follow though so maybe someone else can learn from it.....but it is confusing the hell out of me

Jeff

[fixit-p]

Dont worry about it being a compound angle virtually all rear axles are offset to some degree.

[Chevydude56]

I don't know if this will be any help. I have used this before to set up drive lines in heavy duty trucks

http://training.meritorhvs.com/DriveLineAngle.html

[Hottrucks]

chevydude I couldn't get it to open....I think I have a grip on it and once I get a guage I will start to move things around and look for the least amount of angle...one of the issues is going to be trying to get it RIGHT at ride height..that means I can't get my fat head under the truck...I'll also be adding drop spindles which is going to change my rear axle height since the front ride height of the frame will be 2" higher ( I can make that up with air for now it will look front high but after the drop things will come back around)


I just want to thank everyone for the help and input

[fixit-p]

You can set it at ride height on top of some ramps or jack stands if you need extra head room
Chevydude thats a really cool calculator.

[LostMy65]

@ fixit-p,

Thanks for such great contributions to this thread.

[70's luvr]

I just did an axle flip and ended up with this:

Trans -1
1st driveshaft +2
2nd shaft -3
Rear end -1

Using this calc I get these numbers.
http://spicerparts.com/calculators/d...gle-calculator

Operating Angle 1
3
Operating Angle 3
5
Operating Angle 2
2

I'm thinking angle 3 (5) is too much?

[gmc 2500 4x4]

excellent info #25 thank you

[Richard]

For a two piece shaft there are three joints. One of the operating angles needs to be at 1 degree or less. The other two should be about two degrees apart, with the pinion set at the + 2 degrees to allow for wrap or load. The reason one angle needs to be at 1 degree is because there is not another joint to cancel it out. Regarding the 3 degree operating angle rule many seem to think is necessary. It only applies to longevity. The facts on that may surprise some with the proper research. My rear trans joint operating angle is at 12 degrees and I have no worries about strength or maintenance.
My front shaft has a 16 degree operating angle on the t-case cv at ride height. It reaches almost 32 degrees at full droop. The shaft and joint will survive.
Angles constantly change while vehicle is used. Setting anything exact is not something to be expected especially if the vehicle is modified.