Pinion Angle
Thread Starter
|
Posting Guru
Joined: Nov 2007
Posts: 2,014
Likes: 1
From: Long Island, NY
Pinion Angle
I am going to add about 7 inches of lift to my truck and I am wondering if I will have to change the pinion angle with that much lift. I think 30* is the max angle between the drive shaft and pinion gear but I am not sure.
Lead Driver
Joined: May 2007
Posts: 8,606
Likes: 13
From: Belair md
you may need shims, i know with the 6 inch on my 250 the rear angle is pretty hairy, i could use some shims on mine. i dont know what my actual angle is though so i cant give you details, i can tell you this; hard take offs from a dead stop yields bone chilling drivline shudders even with the carrier bearing lowered.
Lead Driver
Joined: May 2007
Posts: 8,606
Likes: 13
From: Belair md
i have not replaced any u-joints since 175k and i'm at 256k now. they are greasable units and i grease them every 1-2k. i do eat carrier bearings about every 30-40k but that is attributed to my extrem rear axle twist. i can get almost 12 inches of lift from the rear just by building the truck up and launching under boost. the vibrations will rattle your fillings.
this one is just flooring the truck from a dead stop, you get the idea with a no-boost launch so imagine what it does under load. you can hear my dash rattleing in the video. if i build it up and launch it will vibrate till the rear drops back down to normal around 25 mph.
YouTube - 14.7 with chip
this one is just flooring the truck from a dead stop, you get the idea with a no-boost launch so imagine what it does under load. you can hear my dash rattleing in the video. if i build it up and launch it will vibrate till the rear drops back down to normal around 25 mph.
YouTube - 14.7 with chip
Lead Driver
Joined: May 2007
Posts: 8,606
Likes: 13
From: Belair md
the fact that its a crew cab will help some with the angle of attack. the standard cab 350 at work running 6 inches has a scary angle on it. best thing to do is get the lift on and see what it looks like. you may be ok on the rear. it depends on if you do a spring lift or a block lift. the spring lift is where i ran into problems, since i have lots more arch now and a soft ride spring i gets LOTS of axle twist. my pinion angle is crazy. if i could get the wife to understand what i want her to take a picture of while i build the truck up i could post a bone chilling picture and maybee even a video.
Thread Starter
|
Posting Guru
Joined: Nov 2007
Posts: 2,014
Likes: 1
From: Long Island, NY
This is strange. I looked under my truck the other day and the diff on the rear axle is rotated so the pinion gear is in line with the drive shaft. I am pretty sure that this is a stock setup. Now if you go to this link or some of the others about pinion angles you will see that this is WRONG!! If you have a single u joint on each end of your drive shaft the pinion gear should be parallel to the ground. Can it be that Ford goofed on this? Or am I missing something?
Tom Wood's Custom Drive Shafts - Driveline 101
Tom Wood's Custom Drive Shafts - Driveline 101
Trending Topics
Lead Driver
Joined: May 2007
Posts: 8,606
Likes: 13
From: Belair md
any shims under the last leaf? i think our trucks have a little bit of upward angle, but not much
FTE Stories
Ford Trucks for Ford Truck Enthusiasts
10 Best Ford Truck Engines We Miss the Most!
Joe Kucinski
2026 Shelby F-150 Off-Road: Better Than a Raptor R?
Brett Foote
2027 Super Duty Carhartt Package First Look: 12 Things You NEED to Know!
Michael S. Palmer
10 Most Surprising 2026 Ford Truck Features!
Joe Kucinski
Top 10 Ford Trucks Coming to Mecum Indy 2026
Brett Foote
5 Best / 5 Worst Ford Truck Wheels of All Time
Joe Kucinski
Ford Super Duty: 5 Things Owners LOVE, 5 Things They LOATHE!
Joe Kucinski
Every 2026 Ford Truck Engine RANKED from WORST to FIRST!
Michael S. Palmer
The Best F-150 Deal of Every Trim Level (XL through Raptor)
Joe Kucinski
Posting Guru
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 1,081
Likes: 0
From: Gladwin,Mi
IMO it needs to be a strait shot so there is the least amount of binding......if you rotate the pinion up high enough you lower the fill plug....meaning you will get less fluid in through it(unless you fill it by the VSS)...the front axle is a different story because you will have to get into cutting and turning the knuckles if you want to raise the pinion.
Also...before I would even think of shims I would move spring perches to rotate it....I have seen/experienced shims shatter and fall out.....not fun going down the road at 60 MPH
Also...before I would even think of shims I would move spring perches to rotate it....I have seen/experienced shims shatter and fall out.....not fun going down the road at 60 MPH
Thread Starter
|
Posting Guru
Joined: Nov 2007
Posts: 2,014
Likes: 1
From: Long Island, NY
Thread Starter
|
Posting Guru
Joined: Nov 2007
Posts: 2,014
Likes: 1
From: Long Island, NY
Hey joe, just a WAG. Set up your pinion angle like they say it should be in the link I posted and get some traction bars and see what happens. Might really smooth things out when you get on it. It looks like my rear spring perch is not the weld on type, just a block. If yours is the same it should make it easy to drop the pinion down to where they say it should be.
Lead Driver
Joined: May 2007
Posts: 8,606
Likes: 13
From: Belair md
my angle is in pretty much the correct position while sittin idle, its when its under hard load in first gear that all hell brakes loose. the axle twist sends it up into the air, you can really feel it lift the rear of the truck and the nose points down. the traction bars will fix my problem
FTE Leadership Emeritus
Joined: May 2001
Posts: 13,653
Likes: 6
From: Cabot, Arkansas
This is strange. I looked under my truck the other day and the diff on the rear axle is rotated so the pinion gear is in line with the drive shaft. I am pretty sure that this is a stock setup. Now if you go to this link or some of the others about pinion angles you will see that this is WRONG!! If you have a single u joint on each end of your drive shaft the pinion gear should be parallel to the ground. Can it be that Ford goofed on this? Or am I missing something?
Tom Wood's Custom Drive Shafts - Driveline 101
Tom Wood's Custom Drive Shafts - Driveline 101
Most lift blocks are tapered at the front. This rotates the carrier up and into the proper angle, but with a 7" lift you will likely also need to shim the carrier down to keep the rear joint zeroed out.
Thread Starter
|
Posting Guru
Joined: Nov 2007
Posts: 2,014
Likes: 1
From: Long Island, NY
Driveshaft angles only have to be phased if the shaft has a single joint at both ends. Multi-piece driveshafts and those using double cardan type front joints (like the Bronco) need the rear joint as close to in line as possible. Pretty much exactly how yours is set up now.
