Hey, I got another question: I've heard from numerous people that shackle lifts are bad for driveshaft angle. Wouldn't it be good for the angle, if you had the shackle in question in front of the front axle, and behind the rear axle? Wouldn't it rotate the front axle counter-clockwise, making less of an angle? And the rear axle clockwise, doing the same? That's what makes sense to me. I have a driveshaft angle reduction kit for the T-case, if it helps at all.
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Originally posted by paintballaddict_6
Well... On a normal driveshaft with one u-joint on each end, your two angles are supposed to be the same or you will get a vibration.
BUT if you have a double cardan joint otherwise known as a CV joint then you can point your pinion directly at your transfer case like this:
You would only want to do that on the rear axle though because if you rotate your front axle then you start messing with your caster angle.
Although that pic looks funky, basically what it is showing is that caster is the amount in degrees that the top ball joint/kingpin of your steering knuckle is set back behind the lower ball joint/kingpin. Usually they are set around 6-8 degrees. This is what makes the steering wheel go back to center after making a turn and also makes the car go down the road straigt. If you decrease your caster you will have a hard time driving in a straight line and it will be downright dangerous.
Some people have put double cardan/CV joints on their front drivelines and pointed their pinon straight at the t-case. In doing that they also had to grind off their steering knuckles and rotate them an appropriate amount of degrees, then reweld them to gain back the caster they lost.
A good way to explain caster would be to go out and ride a bike with no hands, now turn the handlebars around one half turn so that the tire is actually backwards and try riding it again...
Edit: oh and check out driveshaft 401 in the tech articles section on pirate4x4.com. It's full of all kinds of useful info! And goes wayyyyyyy more into depth about things than I did.My FeedbackComment
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So shackles are fine for rear ends, as long as you have a cv shaft, but not good for front ends? Would 1.25" in the front matter that much for caster angle?Comment
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I think shackle lifts more effect the caster angles. So shim it. I believe
Edit: I wonder if you wouldnt be better off with a 1 inch block front and rear? Dont forget new shocks.
Double Edit: sorry, I think you could also try chevy springs. Not positive, anyhow P4x4.com is an awesome place for all of that
Triple Edit: YJ's are spring under I think, so I guess blocks wouldnt work.Last edited by maxama10; 11-28-2007, 06:42 PM.Comment
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take a look at this thread.Comment
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I didn't think about jeeps being spring under... No blocks.Comment
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go with a Spring over axle lift.
probably the cheapest lift you can do right now.
[21:00] < FunkTehChillinMunky > I've got a Warped Sportz Dark TalonComment
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Agreed... if yours hasn't been coverted to spring over yet now would be the time to do it...Originally posted by skifeMy FeedbackComment
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Cheapest way to do that is to grind the yokes off, rotate, and re-weld. A lot of trouble to get those caster angles correct. If you didnt, I'm not sure even with a "cv" driveshaft the driveshaft angles would work, jeeps have pretty short front DS's. Would probably need to point the pinion at the TC then rotate the yokes.
Theres a lot involved, and you don't just want to jump into it. Plus unless you have the tools and skills, youll need to find someone who can do it for you.
Lot easier to do a spring lift/kit/shackles.
Involved with SOA:
all the work to get the thing Sprung over: welding grinding etc... (labor?)
extended brake lines
new leafs (stock ones are too weak, axle wrap would be a major problem) or an anti-wrap bar
steering: crossover steering or z-draglink etc... (expensive if you do it right)
assorted: paint, u-bolts, new bushings
it adds up.Comment
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If you shoot for the SOA, you may as well just throw a set waggy D44s under there.Comment
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The only reason I don't want SOA is because then I'd have to adress axle-wrap. It's got a decent amout of lift on it already (leafs) I was just wondering if I could get another inch and a half or so just from the shackles with out any driveline reprocussions.Comment
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I wouldn't worry too much about the rear, but the front would bother me. Remember to get a 1.5 inch lift from just shackles, the shackles will have to be an additional 3 inches longer than they already are.Originally posted by paintballaddict_6My FeedbackComment
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How do you figure that? Are you saying to get 1.5" I have to buy a 3" shackle lift? I'm not following.Comment
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With a leaf spring suspension you've gotta lift the front and rear of the spring the same amount to get that amount of lift. Say you lengthened the shackle 1.5 inches as well as lowering the rear hanger 1.5 inches. That would net you a 1.5 inch lift. But if you do just the shackle side you can pretty much count on half the amount of lift.Originally posted by paintballaddict_6
That's how I always figured it anyway... If you're buying the lift from somewhere and they say it lifts it 1.5", then it probably does. But the shackles are probably going to be around 3" longer than the stock ones in order to do so.My FeedbackComment
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That makes sense, I guess. I figured shackle lifts only lifted the shackle, not the shackle and the hanger at the other end of the spring.Comment
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