Drive Shaft angle?

[grego37]

How important is correct drive shaft angle?
what is the correct angle and why?

I recently put a spacer between my tranny tail shaft housing and the crossmember to bring the tail shaft up a bit (1/2") in an effort to level my motor (bring the front of the motor down)

thanks

 

[Edbert]

The straighter the better, I don't know what the limit is though. The most important part is that the angle on the pinion be as close as possible to the angle on the yoke to avoid stress and vibrations.

 

[ForceFed70]

The more angle you have the more stress is put on the driveline. The u-joints in particular. It also increases the chance/severity of high-speed shaking do to the driveshaft walking around the U-joint.

I'd install a driveshaft safety loop and give it a try. If you find your breaking u-joints then you could look at turning the rear axle a little.

 

[monk302]

How do you tell if you driveshaft is at a bad angle? What kind of shims do you use and where do you get them?

 

[Glen's 1965 5.0]

angle

I think I have read that the optimal is 2 degrees down ant the tranny. Try to get the tranny to that level and then measure the angle on the diff. They need to match or vibrations will occur. There are shims at Summit or jegs. I just used large washers until I obtained the proper angle and then welded them to the perch.

 

[ForceFed70]

Well.. no angle would be best.

4x4 guys often get away with alot of angle when they install lift kits.

I'd say that anything under 5* will probably be OK.

Some of the guys I 4wheel with have had such problems with driveshaft angles that they've had custom driveshafts made that use a CV style joint.

Angled shims go between the leaf spring and the spring perch. You can buy them all over the place..again a 4x4 shop would be a good place to start.

 

[grego37]

great advice, keep it coming.

how do I go about measuring to see what angle I currently have.
Is there some sort of magnetic gauge I can just stick on the driveshaft and read the needle?

 

[302 coupe]

yep, use a magnetic angle finder. I wouldn't be too worried about driveshaft angle, it can only be so bad in a car that sits as low as a mustang. Pinion angle, however is important. You want the pinion to be 2 or 3 degress downward from the angle of the driveshaft. If you know your geometry, lets say the driveshaft is 5 degrees down from horizontal. You'd want the pinion angle to be 7-8 degrees below horizontal.

 

[grego37]

just found this

http://www.drivetrain.com/driveline_angle_problem.html

 

[HistoricMustang]

How important is correct drive shaft angle?
what is the correct angle and why?

I recently put a spacer between my tranny tail shaft housing and the crossmember to bring the tail shaft up a bit (1/2") in an effort to level my motor (bring the front of the motor down)

thanks

Search this one as it has been kicked around several times.

HistoricMustang
www.historicmustang.com