Drive line angle

[Ozzie]

I am at the point to weld my pads back on to the new rear axel on my 1964 chevy 1/2 short bed truck with coils springs what is the stock drive line angle for the rear end. The frame is level in the center of the truck at this time. Some one out their has done this before please let me know the angle 4 degrees ? Thanks Ozzie

 

[bk65]

If you've altered the height of the truck you might want to adjust it a little. The angle should match the angle of the engine/tranny. If you drew a line out of the tranny tailshaft and another line out of the pinion, they should be parallel and both U-Joints should be at the same angle. A frequent mistake is to point the pinion at the tailshaft, that's a no-no. I see articles all the time on this in Classic Trucks, etc., maybe someone has a copy they could scan or knows where one is on a website.

Good luck.

 

[GreatNorthWoods]

About 2 degrees is ideal (provided that the engine and trans angle is stock). Match the engine/trans angle but don't go more than 3 degrees. If the engine/trans angle is more than 3 degrees, it needs to be corrected. I have heard of going 4-5 degrees, but you will likely encounter excessive vibration and premature wear on u-joints with that much angle.