My front driveline angle is very steep. First trip out i could tell that the u-joint was not too happy with the angle it sits at. I heard that if you shim the front axle one way or the other it can cause or reduce bumpsteer. But i need a better d-line angle and shims is the only thing i can think of.
Has anyone shimmed there front axle for better pinion/driveline angle?
Will it cause mad bumpsteer?
Right now my pinion angle shoots just below level to the ground which does not seem right. And shims would fix one problem but would it create another?

 

You can shim up to the caster angle limits for good steering response:
- http://www.4crawler.com/4x4/ForSale/Shims.shtml#FAQ1

Beyond that either live with the front shaft angle, fine as long as it does not bind up, or you can install dual t-cases (longer driveshaft = less angle) or you can install a high pinion front diff (less drop = less angle) or you can cut and rotate the steering knuckles:
- http://www.4x4wire.com/toyota/tech/rotated_housing/

 

shims work well

 

That is your answer.

I never like to hear about people shimming front axles. It is usually misused, and can become dangerous. Odds are your caster is correct now, and once you start adding shims you will screw up and/or bind your steering and probably pick up a nice death wobble.

 

x3

The key is you NEED to know the caster angle before and after. It is a really critical part of preventing death wobble. If you have any doubt that the caster angle might not be right, don't do it - go with one of the other solutions first.

 

o man... what if i had a double cardan joint at each end of the driveline?

 

Then you would be in worse shape. U-joints operate at higher angles. You want u-joints. (besides you cant run cv's at BOTH ends)

To be honest...just run it. I used to be tall and super flexy, and had an auto/single case (the shortest drive train available, yes shorter than yours) and people used to winch in horror at what my front drive shaft would endure. And it never broke a sweat.

But if you must do something, a cut and turn or dual cases are the correct options.

 

Sure you can. Damn lot of ujoints though...

Actually, that would be the best way to run a driveshaft as then the angles on each end wouldn't matter at all. You could set either at whatever angle you wanted as the velocity changes would be cancelled on each end by the double cardan.

 

That may run smooth but it wont help with binding. CV's bind earlier.

 

Agreed (for a normal double cardan - there are "high angle" ones now), but with each ujoint splitting the angle in half, times 4 - I think you could make up a lot of angle with this setup.

 

I run a high angle in the rear and it doesnt have the travel that my u-joint does. Sorry to beat this to the ground but its a common misconception (Im sure YOU understand) and I dont want readers to get confused. I see people trying to use cv's in short high angle situations and many times they cant even get them bolted in.

 

should i just use regular u joints at both ends. cause when it blew there is one double cardan joint connected to the transfer case flange and a regular u joint on the pinion flange if they were both just single u-joints maybe it would work better, the shaft could be a lil longer and decrease the pinion u-joint angle a lil bit.
looks like if the double wasnt there it would help.

 

Yep, that is another option. U-joints are shorter overall so you end up with a little more effective shaft length that way. U-joints can handle more angle than a CV joint. However, you may find there is more vibration is you use 4WD at high speeds.

 

4CRAWLER the fastest i go in 4wd is MAYBE as fast as 4lo will go in fifth. is this enough vibration to hurt bearings in the transfer case or diff? If i were to go at that speed it would only be for a lil bit not long.

 

Actually, if you have a CV on one end and a single ujoint on the other, and the pinion angle is flat (not pointed at the tcase) won't you have vibration because you're not constant velocity going into the pinion now?

A single u-joint at each end with the pinion angle = tcase angle shouldn't have much vibration at all.

Molly has the same issue. When it has a motor and we get pissed off at the Trutrac again and have money, a HP elocker is going in ... I would love to cut and rotate the knuckles too.

 

ya cut and rotate sounds very nice. so does a HP. but for now im just gonna try the single u-joint at both ends. i got a trutrac up front too.. and my u-joint broke before i ever really got to try it out.

 

You ain't missing much (in my experience).

 

i have the same front pinion angle issue. i have an 83 first gen. i dont really have the money for dual cases and there really is no point for them where i live. maybe if i could find a 5 speed out of an 84-85 truck and swap that in since it is longer than my stock 5 speed?

 

Ive recently replaced my old 240K mi. trans/tcase in my 84 w one out of an 86 , IFS, I was gonna swap the front shaft, they looked the same, But the IFS cardigan joint does'nt bend half as far as my old sas one. and not enough to even bolt it up w 3.5" lift.

 

clearancing toyota CV joint...