Front Pinion Angle

TATER

Getting the Wheeling Fever

Finally getting everything together on the 84 4Runner. Its been almost 2 years.
Dropped hanger and longer shackles. I dont remember the measurements for the hanger.A quick ride around the neighborhood reveiled a little frontend wobble.

Can anyone tell me what the factory pinion angle is? That info may help diagnose the reason for wobble.

Re: Front Pinion Angle [Re: TATER] #769424 12/04/06 04:36 PM

Joined: Jan 2000

Posts: 12,153

r.c.brown@ieee.org
TruckEditor@tlca.org
Project: 4Crawler
4Crawler OffRoad - 4x4Wire discount code

Web Wheeler

See:
- http://www.4crawler.com/4x4/ForSale/Shims.shtml#FAQ1

Re: Front Pinion Angle [Re: 4Crawler] #769425 12/05/06 03:43 AM

Joined: Nov 2003

Posts: 99

TATER

Getting the Wheeling Fever

Pinion flange is @ 6 degrees. T-case flange is @ 6 degrees.

Problem being they arent parallel. It seems as if the dropped hanger is dropped too far.

Does a 12 degree shim sound too far fetched ?

Re: Front Pinion Angle [Re: TATER] #769426 12/05/06 03:46 AM

Joined: Jan 2000

Posts: 12,153

r.c.brown@ieee.org
TruckEditor@tlca.org
Project: 4Crawler
4Crawler OffRoad - 4x4Wire discount code

Web Wheeler

Quote

Pinion flange is @ 6 degrees. T-case flange is @ 6 degrees.

Problem being they arent parallel. It seems as if the dropped hanger is dropped too far.

Does a 12 degree shim sound too far fetched ?

Up front you basically forget the pinion angle, caster angle is what affects steering. Shim to correct that if needed. For pinion+caster angle correction, cut and rotate the steering knuckles. On a CV shaft, flanges are not parallel, see the section of the web page (above) about CV shaft angles. Or simple check is that the hanger drop height should be no more than the added shackle length to keep the angles near stock.

Last edited by 4Crawler; 12/05/06 03:48 AM.

Re: Front Pinion Angle [Re: 4Crawler] #769427 12/05/06 03:55 AM

Joined: Nov 2003

Posts: 99

TATER

Getting the Wheeling Fever

With the angle finder on the steeing arm(the part that bolts to the knuckle)I'm getting 4 degrees.

Going by the stock caster values found on the above link, I would need roughly 5 degree shim. Does that sound right?

Re: Front Pinion Angle [Re: TATER] #769428 12/05/06 04:24 AM

Joined: Jan 2000

Posts: 12,153

r.c.brown@ieee.org
TruckEditor@tlca.org
Project: 4Crawler
4Crawler OffRoad - 4x4Wire discount code

Web Wheeler

Depends on which way the angle is off. If the caster is tipped +4 degrees, then ~2 degrees would get you back to +2. If tipped back (-4) degrees, then you would need around 6 degrees on the shim. I find my steering works well and the angle of the spring perch is set at 6 degrees (up in front). Easy to measure off the bottom of the passenger side perch (under the axle).

Last edited by 4Crawler; 12/05/06 05:29 AM.

Re: Front Pinion Angle [Re: 4Crawler] #769429 12/05/06 05:03 AM

Joined: Nov 2003

Posts: 99

TATER

Getting the Wheeling Fever

I currently have 4.5 degrees @ the bottom "spring mount",front pointing up. This would mean a 10.5 shim.

If I'm not mistaken, caster is supposed to angle upper part toward the back. For the sake of argument if the pinion is rotated up to get the 6 degrees you mentioned, that would put the pinion flange @ 12 degrees and that seems odd. I'm not implying it would be wrong, It seems strange.

I think I will try to eyeball some 84-85 trucks locally.

\Thanks Roger.

Re: Front Pinion Angle [Re: TATER] #769430 12/05/06 05:32 AM

Joined: Jan 2000

Posts: 12,153