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Beaverton or Portland suspension shop recommendations?

Discussion in 'North West' started by Fletcher37, Apr 27, 2020.

  1. Apr 27, 2020 at 11:27 AM
    #1
    Fletcher37

    Fletcher37 [OP] Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Aug 28, 2019
    Member:
    #303607
    Messages:
    412
    PNW
    Hey dudes,
    I installed an Ironman Foam Cell Pro kit with the constant load (heavy duty) leaf pack on my '19 TRDOR SB. Put in their carrier bear drop kit too. Probably got 3" lift at front and a little more than 3" at the rear (without the weight of tent and camp gear.)

    When all was done, my pinion angle was tilted slightly downward (pointing down at the front). I also had a pretty good rumble strip vibration at low speeds and kinda ran rough at highway speeds. Driveline angles were a mess, I figured.

    Had a local truck outfitter do the front alignment, swap to ECGS bearings, put in diff drop to help the CV axle angle and place leaf spring shims to help with the rumble-strip vibration I had at low speeds. They put in a 6 degree shim on each side which sounds like a big change (I read should be maybe a 3-4 degree shim in most cases.)

    That helped the rumble strip vibe a bit but it's still there from 5-10 mph. The front alignment wasn't done all that great: my steering wheel was tilted to L when driving straight and the truck listed to the R.

    So I ended up at Les Schwab this AM for a re-do... They aligned it a bit better. Fixed the listing, some poor toe in and straightened the steering wheel. I asked them to check my driveline angles and advise. They check angles but had no idea what they were doing. They didn't notice it had two shafts and only checked the transfer case angle, pinion angle and "shaft". Numbers meant nonsense. I asked if the driveline was good. They told me it all depends on the "manufacturer of the lift kit, blah blah blah." Okay. Except I'm asking about U joints and the driveline angles. It's not dependent on the manufacturer. Driveline u joints work best within a specified range.

    My own measurements using a straight edge and a digital angle finder at home show operating angles of:
    3.4* between the transfer case and the first shaft
    3.1* between the first shaft and the second shaft
    0.8* between the second shaft and the pinion gear angle (which is now tilted way up with the 6* shim... now I'm worried about lack of oil on the pinion gears.)

    The actual angles of the various components if I "zero" the angle finder on the transfer case shaft=
    transfer case shaft= 0*
    first shaft= 3.4*
    second shaft= 6.5*
    pinon angle= 5.7*

    So, all this to say, I need a suspension shop that knows drivelines and can tell me if I'm okay to drive as is, or if I need to make some adjustments. Ideally, I want to get rid of the rumble strip vibe between 5-10 mph.
     
  2. Apr 27, 2020 at 11:34 AM
    #2
    Fletcher37

    Fletcher37 [OP] Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Aug 28, 2019
    Member:
    #303607
    Messages:
    412
    PNW
    Photos just to make the post more interesting:

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]
     
    Big tall dave likes this.
  3. Apr 27, 2020 at 1:38 PM
    #3
    daleclough

    daleclough Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jan 14, 2009
    Member:
    #12586
    Messages:
    221
    Gender:
    Male
    Portland, OR
    Vehicle:
    18 TRD Off Road Double-Cab Short Bed
    None... yet
    Reach out to Automotive Outfitters in the NE and ask for Drew Davis. He's your hook-up.
     
  4. Apr 27, 2020 at 2:04 PM
    #4
    Fletcher37

    Fletcher37 [OP] Well-Known Member

    Joined:
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    PNW
    Is there more than one location? All I can find is a SE Foster location.
     
  5. Apr 27, 2020 at 2:27 PM
    #5
    daleclough

    daleclough Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jan 14, 2009
    Member:
    #12586
    Messages:
    221
    Gender:
    Male
    Portland, OR
    Vehicle:
    18 TRD Off Road Double-Cab Short Bed
    None... yet
    Sorry, SE is the location.
     
  6. Apr 27, 2020 at 4:21 PM
    #6
    Rebirtha

    Rebirtha Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Oct 15, 2018
    Member:
    #269452
    Messages:
    123
    Gender:
    Male
    First Name:
    Lance
    PDX
    Vehicle:
    2015 TRD OR DCSB
    Go out to Mach 1 in Hillsboro . They can help you out
     
    Fletcher37[OP] likes this.
  7. Apr 28, 2020 at 2:10 PM
    #7
    Fletcher37

    Fletcher37 [OP] Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Aug 28, 2019
    Member:
    #303607
    Messages:
    412
    PNW
    Was at Automotive Outfitters this AM. Got some of the issues sorted out. 6 degree shim was removed and some adjustment to the carrier bear drop. Got rid of the 5-10 mph rumble. They repeated the front alignment for better numbers and caster. The pinion is also not pointing sky high anymore.

    Now I've got a vibration ~20 mph or so that they say is related to a bent driveshaft. I had jack stands as a precaution holding up the driveshaft when I put in the original carrier bearing drop kit, but nothing to have warped the rear part of the two piece shaft. No rock crawling trips on this truck. Just offroad camping on tame stuff. Hopefully they're wrong.

    Rides a bit better but feels like I got knobby mud tires at 20-30 mph. I'm not buying a new shaft yet. The whole point of getting the driveline angles sorted was preventative maintenance to avoid wearing out my driveshaft u-joints and pinion.

    Anyway, good group of guys there. I recommend too.
     

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