Am I measuring wrong?

Hello again tacoma world, it's been asked a bazillion times...

I need help with some driveline angles, and to know if I'm measuring wrong.

I've been told I need to match the pinion angle to the front half of the shaft, mine are pretty dang close but I still have terrible vibes. The angle of the rear part of the shaft after the cardan seems extreme to me.

I have a CB drop already and didn't seem to do anything. I'm bit lost/confused on the math to find the correct shim.

All help is much appreciated

 

I am going through this process as well. Have you compared the working angle of the cardian joint to the working angle of the pinion? That seems to be what should be honed in on. You want your pinion and cardian joint as close as possible, not the pinion and front section.

To find the working angle of the cardian joint, measure the front DS section and then the rear. The difference between the two will be the working angle.

Move to the second section and pinion and do the same to find the working angle of that joint.

Compare the two numbers and see if it’s any different than what you have been coming up with so far.

 

Should I remove the CB drop and measure it like that?

 

I would assume those angles are fine and your vibes are coming from something else.

 

Wasnt this bad until after lift, brand new driveline, wheel bearings, all 4 shocks, and leafs. Also rebalanced tires at work

 

... That's a lot of things that could go wrong...

 

I've checked torque on everything, all is well. I highly doubt any of the items I've replaced are playing such a significant part in this vibration.

 

Wheels/tires usually have a significant effect. If you have the ability, put a different set of wheels/tires and drive at the speeds that produce the vibrations and compare.

 

I can 100 % assure you it's not not tire related

 

I would leave it for now. Every time I’ve dealt with DS vibes I’ve had to play different aspects to get it in line.

Since you’re 4wd, have you checked your driver side diff bearing?

 

Yes, replaced with a solid sleeve but I believe the front diff bearing internally are failing

 

I have been so far down this rabbit hole that this thread gives me PTSD.

Did you by chance replace your rear brake shoes and drums while doing all the work?

 

No I have not, I've heard that the drums can also be an issue. I will look into that as well, I know the vibes are more driveline related since at low speeds like 25 and lower if I'm on the gas lightly I have a bad vibration

 

Fair- I can see that you already have an after market drive shaft... are you sure it's phased correctly? Did it come as two pieces that you had to connect, or one piece already phased? Do you have a local drive line shop that check the balance on it? I second that the angles are likely not a problem- they just aren't as critical as it seems, and you gotta think about how much the axle housing rotates while driving to understand that angles work within a decent range rather than a strict one or two degree tolerance.

If you're 4wd, take the rear DS out and do a little driving in 4wd (now front wheel drive). It feels super weird so go easy.

Here is my old thread where I obsessed over the angles:
Driveline angles - sanity check | Tacoma World

 

When I went through mechanis training many decades ago we were told 3* max... this site just confirms what I learned many moons ago

https://4xshaft.com/blogs/general-t...5c-8GEnHn0-r9VUViERk4RmP7TL_tkGUaAoxDEALw_wcB