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front tail shaft angle

Posted: Sun Jun 14, 2009 4:17 am
by Petesarmy
whats the best way to solve the problem of my front tail shaft angle being to steep?
cheers pete

Posted: Sun Jun 14, 2009 6:43 am
by 11_evl
cut and rotate the knuckles us the best way
lower your car is the other option
deal with really bad caster and fit plates is the worst option

Posted: Sun Jun 14, 2009 11:20 am
by ZUKPOWER
11_evl wrote: deal with really bad caster and fit plates is the worst option
Bad caster? what do you mean? why are plates the worst option? I only ask because I fixed my angle issues with plates and the only difference i've noticed is lighter steering so if I've inadvertently created other issues that I haven't noticed yet it might be a good idea to redo my front diff while I have it apart next.

Cheers

Posted: Sun Jun 14, 2009 5:08 pm
by Gwagensteve
Plates are the worst option because anything that reduces cater in a sierra is a terrible idea- at any height, let alone at the 5" of lift or so that would result in fouling the crossmember.

I don't understand why anyone would take caster OUT of the front end of a sierra to fix a problem that's really a symptom of the car being way too high.

If it's already that high it needs all the caster you can give it keep it handling properly, so cutting and rotating the knuckles might be the better option, however, I'm still going to say lowering the car would be the best option overall because not only will you be able to run plates to increase[/] rather than decrease caster, you'll benefit from the added stability and handling of the lower COG as well.

Steve.

Re: front tail shaft angle

Posted: Sun Jun 14, 2009 5:12 pm
by joeblow
Petesarmy wrote:whats the best way to solve the problem of my front tail shaft angle being to steep?
cheers pete
what is it doing?.....vibrating?....binding?

Posted: Sun Jun 14, 2009 10:49 pm
by Petesarmy
it binds beacuse the forks of the uni hit each other i have looked at running a hilux tailshaft but it will not fit beacuse of the crossmember. lowering the car is not a option beacuse it has 35" tires abd they wont fit if i do.

Posted: Sun Jun 14, 2009 10:56 pm
by Gwagensteve
A hilux shaft will not permit more total angle than a sierra shaft. It just permits more angle at one end than the other.

If you want to stay the height you car, you might be able to cut and turn the knuckles to raise the pinion, and run a hilux shaft with the double cardan joint at the transfer end. This should work, but may take some crossmember work to clear the bulk of DC shaft.

You can lower your car to clear the problem. 35's have been cleared with zero suspension lift.

Steve.

Posted: Mon Jun 15, 2009 3:54 am
by Petesarmy
i was thinking the hilux shaft not for the cardan joint but for the larger uni as a cardan joint wont help my angle.

Posted: Mon Jun 15, 2009 5:59 am
by 11_evl
Gwagensteve wrote:A hilux shaft will not permit more total angle than a sierra shaft. It just permits more angle at one end than the other.

Steve.
are you sure??
i dont no for the front but im sure that when i went hi lux tailshaft for the rear of my car it had noticabley better angle.

my temp fix for the front shaft was to grind away the parts where it rubs

Posted: Mon Jun 15, 2009 7:10 am
by get it up there
11_evl wrote:
Gwagensteve wrote:A hilux shaft will not permit more total angle than a sierra shaft.
Steve.
are you sure??
i dont no for the front but im sure that when i went hi lux tailshaft for the rear of my car it had noticabley better angle.
Agreed.. when i used lux shafts i got HEAPS more angle. I was using an early model lux shaft.. had about the same as the zook shaft. Double cardon joints give you bugga all angle. The later model shafts offer heaps more angle in the uni's..

Posted: Mon Jun 15, 2009 9:47 am
by Highway-Star
Hilux tailshafts do allow more uni angle, not huge amounts, but maybe enough to be useful. DC joints suck for large angles, had to get rid of the one on my fathers hilux as it bound up on full front suspension droop (now has a single uni both ends and has ample clearance).

Posted: Mon Jun 15, 2009 9:54 am
by lay80n
DC joints are only used to help tame driveline vibration issues. They get significantly less angle than a single uni setup.

Layto....

Posted: Mon Jun 15, 2009 10:42 am
by get it up there
just found an old post of mine..

Had some more dramas with uni angles.. the standard lux uni was crashing on itself.. after a bit of researching.. i found a slip joint out of a 85 lux (DC joint end), which has heaps more angle!! Heres the difference
Image

Posted: Mon Jun 15, 2009 11:01 am
by david123
Is there such a thing as a CV joint for suzis like high lift Jeeps have.

Posted: Mon Jun 15, 2009 11:13 am
by lay80n
david123 wrote:Is there such a thing as a CV joint for suzis like high lift Jeeps have.
The yanks often refer to a Double Cardan joint as a CV joint, as technically the two uni's in a DC joint do cancel out each others phaseing as they rotate at angle.

Layto....

Posted: Mon Jun 15, 2009 11:24 am
by david123
Ahh, ok

Posted: Mon Jun 15, 2009 11:29 am
by Gwagensteve
and because a double cardan joint is two unis in one unit, it cancels out the velocity variations inherent in a single uni.

Therefore, for a double cardan joint to work it must have ALL the angle of the shaft on it - the other end of the shaft must have the smallest angle possible.

So with a DC joint in practise, you point the pinion at the transfer case and the DC goes at the transfer case end.

Steve.

Posted: Mon Jun 15, 2009 6:51 pm
by Petesarmy
i olnly need a little more angle in my front tail shaft beacuse it only binds near full droop so i will try a hilux shaft and replace the cardan joint for a single uni.
tanks for all the help. Pete