I am making my trans mount.Got a straight line to the diff. but the motor is an inch and a half out of level from front to back.I put a level on one valve cover from front to back.Is this to much angle?Thanks for any help Craig.
Engine angle is fine, but you cannot run a straight line to your diff. Easiest thing is to do a search. Pinion angle has been catalogued many times with great info.
I like to set them up with the intake manifold on and if you can get the vehicle at the rake it will be at during ride height then set a level on the carb base and level it out.
I usually go off of the intake.Put a level on the carb base.The engines are designed with a slight inclination.
I believe generally you'll want ~ 3 degrees of angle at each u-joint coupling, with the trans output and the rear pinion parallel, but offset enough to create the 3 degrees. That way the u-joints remain lubed.
You can't? Damn I knew I was in trouble. The biggest thing is the pinion and the yoke plains need to be parallel. IF it just so happens that there is no angle so be it.
No intake yet.Would i level carb with angled base plates?What angle should be on drive line?Does it make any difference moving the trans up or down to get proper angle?
Most of the time if you set the engine with the carb mounting surface level, the engine will have a little bit of an angle to it. You can set this with the transmission mount. Once you get the set then you measure the angle of the output shaft, yoke, end of transmission. Usually it a few degrees down. The simple thing is the then set the pinion angle to be parallel to this. Not to hard, and there have been a ton of threads on this before. Might be able to find some more detail.
Centerline of the engine and trans needs to be parallel to the centerline of the car, left to right. If the pinion is offset, as many are, you would install the powertrain at and angle trying to point directly at the diff. 1. set frame at ride height AND attitude. If you want 3* nose down, you must do it now. This means you should already know the wheel & tire combo and axle locations. 2. Place the powertrain in the chassis with adequate ground clearance, parallel with the vehicle centerline. If using a carb, level the carb mounting surface. This is usually with the trans pointing down at 3 degrees. 3. rotate axle so that pinion axis and drivetrain axis are parallel, both left/right & up/down. With the drive shaft installed, u-joint angles should be equal, but opposite, so that they cancel each other out. Minimum angle is .5*, Max is about 3* static. Review the range of motion in the suspension to see if the u-joint angles become excessive at the extents of travel. IF the car rides so low that the pinion yoke is higher than the transmission yoke, you will need to level the drivetrain by raising the trans mount and rotate the pinion down to achieve equal angles on both u-joints within the stated range or you risk maxing out the shaft and breaking it. IF the pinion is just lower than the trans, and not offset to either side of the trans yoke, you risk a zero angle state while cruising. This is where the suspension moves in and out of a sweet spot where no angle exists on the u-joints because the drivetrain and pinion come into near perfect alignment. This WILL create vibrations and lead to shaft failure. The pinion and drivetrain should be separated laterally to prevent this. Lateral off-set allows angle to remain left/right even when angle up/down goes to zero. Go here for more: http://www.iedls.com/guide.html
Like they said. Go by the carb base at ride height. And inch and a half is way too much unless your nose is dropped big time. Good Luck.
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