Pinion angle and shock mounts on Ex 8.8

[85_Ranger4x4]

Is the pinion angle standard at 6 degrees? It is mentioned in the swap article for Rangers. At first I thought it must be different for different cab/bed configurations but people swap axles between trucks without giving it a second thought so if it is different, to me it seems it must not be enough to be important. I just want to check before I weld the perches on.

Also, I got to thinking about shock mounts to go on the axle. I know a lot of people don't like how they hang below the axle stock. Only reason I can come up with as to why they did that is so it would pull down on the center of the axle when it hits a bump rather than twist it (if it was mounted on the front or back depending on side)

I don't really wheel it much (right now anyway) but I do want to do it right the first time. Which setup is better for a mostly street driven truck, will it be drastically different with them on the sides should I stay with the stock style setup?

 

[Mac]

Someone else at "the" other site had a question about angles and such so I saved this from my 2000 Ranger manual. Looks like 6 degs is good for most bodys and wheel bases. Basic thing is to get the trans/pinion fairly close to the same angle but "close" is a relative term. Faster the rev's of driveshaft, the closer they should be. Hope this helps a bit
Dave

 

[Combs Customs]

The only reason people put dont like the shock mount hanging below the axle is do to gong 4wheeling. If it hangs down, it has potential to grab a rock and hang you up on it.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

Someone else at "the" other site had a question about angles and such so I saved this from my 2000 Ranger manual. Looks like 6 degs is good for most bodys and wheel bases. Basic thing is to get the trans/pinion fairly close to the same angle but "close" is a relative term. Faster the rev's of driveshaft, the closer they should be. Hope this helps a bit
Dave

Even though that is all 2wd they are all practically 6 degrees, just like what Jim said with his 4x4 in the article, so 6 must be the golden number.

The only reason people put dont like the shock mount hanging below the axle is do to gong 4wheeling. If it hangs down, it has potential to grab a rock and hang you up on it.

Yeah, if it wasn't a serious difference in handling I would go ahead and mount them this way. I don't like the looks of them hanging down, and I would have two less freaky parts to keep track of. With this I am also swapping in Explorer springs, and roughly with the shock mounts centered on the axle it should be really close to the same length as stock. The only rock the truck sees is crushed limestone on gravel roads, otherwise it is various kinds of mud.

 

[AllanD]

The angle of the spring mounts is standardized because PART of the pinion angle coes from the arch of the springs... but springs sag....

Ever wonder why people get axle hop and "pinion flutter" problems?

TWO WORDS: "Traction Bars"


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[martin]

With the shock mounts below the axle it allows for the use of longer shocks, hence more articulation.