Rear driveshaft angles

[xjnation]

What kind of rear shaft angles are you guys running? My truck is SOA, about a 24" shaft at the rear is what I'll have. I did a rough measure with an angle finder yesterday and it looks like I'll need about 40* at the t-case at droop. WTF!! The truck is not that high. I really don't want to drop the case any lower, but I'm sure as hell not spending $750 for a rear driveshaft. At ride height it came out to about 28-30*. Was I high from the garae fumes??? Seems excessive, eh? I'll know more tonight after work, but just curious what angles everyone has at the rear shaft.

 

[inkpot]

Howdy! I had less angle than than on my Piggy. Rerar DS is probably over 3 ft long. I still went with a CV on it. I just tipped the rear axle up to make the lower ujoint straight. Local DS shop did the CV and balanced for under $300. John

 

[bustanutley]

I think you are hosed, something needs to change.

Truck looks tall in the pics. What is your measurement to the bottem of the frame, and what size tires.

Edit: is this with the pinon pointed at the case, or both flanges parallel?

 

[Isotel]

Whats the Story on your Rear Axle?? is that a Flipped Housing?

Ive got a 24" Drive shaft, 23" Frame Height and a Mini truck CV Joint worked out Perfect.. I Literally took the one out of my DD 4Runner and Tossed it in. but my Rear axle is a Centered Hybrid..

 

[Mace]

8 to 15" of vertical difference between the pinion and the tcase output?

 

[peesalot]

I would say the 40* ay droop is accurate. The big difference you are having is that the centered output on that t-case is about 4" higher than a cruiser t-case.
With the auto making the d-line even shorter I can say you will need a cv and a modified or custom one at that. You may try the Tom Woods offset u-joint and then clearancing the standard yolk/flanges on top of that. Move the rear axle back will help to.

 

[xjnation]

Alright, on the 35s the frame is 22 1/2" high. Tcase output is 31", and the pinion is 19 1/2" high. Rear housing is turned to point at the case. Housing is also "spun" to be a ds pumpkin and is directly inline with the t-case output. All angle will be at the case. I re-measured the static angle and it's about 23*. The $750 was the price for a Tom Woods 42* BAMF shaft. Rear springs are flipped and axle moved another inch back on the perch. Been tempted to pull a leaf out of the packs to lower it a bit and I guess I can strap that side to limit droop, but I am not a fan of limiting articulation at all. I've got a 1330 dc shaft that is pretty well maxed out at static height. 1310 dc will pull 30+. I do have one of those too. MAybe it's time to lower the case and just build a stout skidplate.

So I gotta ask, 22 1/2" frame height really that high???

 

[bustanutley]

my truck on 40s is between 23 and 24.. closer to 23

 

[Mace]

my truck on 40s is between 23 and 24..

22" on 40's here..

 

[Isotel]

maybe Snap a few photos of the T-case and maybe a mock up of where the Shaft will sit. and it will help us out a bit..

22.5" is not too high, but the lower the better! are 37's in your future?

 

[peesalot]

frame heigth is fine. maybe a little tall but that is a soa issue we all deal with.
FWIW my front d-line had angles similar to yours because the t-case actually points up just a hair past level which caused stock land cruiser flanges to bolt up but bind upon any drop. My pinions point at t-case as well. I used a 1310 dc at the t-case which I had the d-line shop take the dc apart and clearance the stops in it to get closer to the 40* mark. It has worked well. Keep in mind that my dc runs so close to my sm420 that you can not get a credit card between them. If you have more room I would look into getting the next size up dc taken apart and clearanced. The stops that run up against the u-joint body in the dc can be taken down for approx 10 to 12* more droop but you have to stop before you start to cause a bind in the dc. You can see what I'm talking about if you look at a dc joint. You also have to modify the cup that rides on the ball in the center of the dc by taking it's edges down about an 1/8 " to allow the extra travel gained by taking the stops down. If you do not modify the cup it will bottom out on the lip of cup and eventually pop the dc.

 

[xjnation]

If you have more room I would look into getting the next size up dc taken apart and clearanced. The stops that run up against the u-joint body in the dc can be taken down for approx 10 to 12* more droop but you have to stop before you start to cause a bind in the dc. You can see what I'm talking about if you look at a dc joint. You also have to modify the cup that rides on the ball in the center of the dc by taking it's edges down about an 1/8 " to allow the extra travel gained by taking the stops down. If you do not modify the cup it will bottom out on the lip of cup and eventually pop the dc.

from what I've read a 1310 dc clearanced will work at steeper angles than a 1330 or even 1350 dc clearanced. I believe it has to do with the cup size. Is the grinding something I can do myself? And is your rig a driver or toy? Mine is going to be a DD in between wheeling. Dumb question, it's your front. You think it would hold up as a DD without scattering itself on the highway??



Here are some pics of my 1330 dc mounted at the case at ride height and another of where I want the diff to be at droop. You think it might see that much travel, or am I being hopefull? I've not wheeled a 40 before so I don't know how they articulate. Let me know what you think. Thanks








You know what? Looking at the pic I dont think it will droop as much as I was thinking. I bet I could get away with 32-35 deg.

 

[mookie]

this is one of the best build threads i've ever seen, just awesome work! you might try a front D-shaft out of a 84-85 mini-truck or 4 runner, iirc they have the most cv angle. you should just run it for a while and see what happens but i think that if you do any heavy duty offroading that the offset angle is going to cause some problems, you might have to go to a mini-truck rear end or build yourself a centered fj40 rear end

 

[xjnation]

this is one of the best build threads i've ever seen, just awesome work! you might try a front D-shaft out of a 84-85 mini-truck or 4 runner, iirc they have the most cv angle. you should just run it for a while and see what happens but i think that if you do any heavy duty offroading that the offset angle is going to cause some problems, you might have to go to a mini-truck rear end or build yourself a centered fj40 rear end

Right on, thanks! I have heard they are good shafts to have, but that would mean I'd need a flanged output at the case and some way to adapt it to the early small pattern flange at the diff. Either way I'd have to replace the output/inputs so it just comes down to which will get better angle, easier to modify, and longevity.
The diff is directly inline with the case. No offset between them. A centered rear would be a PITA as I'd have to re-do the entire motor/trans/case mounting.

Anyone know what kind of angles a yota dc will pull SAFELY?

 

[mookie]

seems like your life would have been easier if you had just left the LC t-case on there......on the mini-truck cv '85 and older is 35 degrees, 86' and newer is 25

 

[xjnation]

What's fun about easy? I was going to until I saw how close the case was to the 4L60E with Downeys adapter. Their replacement output would have had to be small as hell.

I'll have to look into a mini front shaft. I can see how easy (yeah, I know) it would be to adapt to the case and diff. Thanks!

 

[Isotel]

you need one of these..

Poly Performance Inc.*::*Driveline/Parts*::*High Angle Driveline*::*32 Spline To Toyota Conversion Flange - JK Synergy Suspension Systems, Fox Racing Shox, Beard, CTM, Johnny Joints®, Currie Enterprises, Edelbrock, Total Chaos, Ramsey Winch, Walker E

and a Triple Drilled Flange from Marlin (you will need to Go Fine Spline Pinion, but its your new week link anyway)

And a Minitruck CV.

that would be the cheapest and strongest way to go

 

[mookie]

man that flange is expensive!

 

[bustanutley]

pretty much any conversion flange of the like will fetch at least that much $$. I have toyota flanges on my atlas I don't' remember how much they cost, but they were not cheep.

 

[Isotel]

Yea i paid like $125 Straight from Jessie, but now they are producing more of them..

Still a way cheaper option than the $700 Shaft you had priced out before.. and the Toyota CV is Strong compared to the Splicer stuff.. Plus if and when you break it they can be found at the junk yard cheep!

Even if you go with the 1330 shaft you will need to convert your flange on the Axle to a U-joint style..