I was going to install lca relocation brackets on my regal today. I raised the car with all weight on tires (front) and rear end. I figure I should measure drive line angles as is before taking anything apart. Not happy with what I find. Back when I did this swap I knew nothing about maintaining proper angles. Now that I look at it, not sure what I can do/move to fix it. Basically everything is opposite of how it should be.(see attachment) Question is, even though everything is backwards, isn't the important geometry that the trans and rear are parallel at cruise AND that there is sufficient angle to the ds to maintain enough needle bearing movement in the u joints? Thanks,
That doesn't look that bad to me. Most people recommend -1 degree pinion angle compared to the transmission. You appear to be +.8, which is not that bad. You could get adjustable upper or lower control arms and lower your pinion angle some, but I don't think you're off by enough to really notice much.
All you want is for the trans tailshaft and the pinion to be parallel, so don't worry too much about the driveshaft unless it is also perfectly parallel with the trans and pinion. That won't work but it is also rarely the case. I went through the same thing with mine. Be careful how you measure the transmission. I've got a 200-4R and the pan surface is not parallel with the main shaft, which was throwing me off until I found that out.
Encouraging words gentlemen, I thought the pinion had to be below the ds so that axle wrap on acceleration would bring things in line. Don't need adjustable arms to adjust, could do that with the lca relocation brackets. Thanks guys,
Ok Larry, So plugging my numbers into that formula (changing my -2.5 to a +2.5) I have -.8 and need to drop the nose of the rear 1.2 degrees to get -2 agree? PS. This is completely different than a very well written explanation from southside machine. What does a guy do with two compelling, intelligent yet contradictory arguments? Makes my brain hurt!
Well, I would imagine that the heavier the vehicle, the more torque available, and the better the traction, the more the pinion will come up under power, so the street angle might be different than a race only.
Ok, so I read some more tech from various sites. Seems ssm is the only one worried about lining the pinion and ds up under wot. I pick your reference to follow. Only worry is that my pinion to ds angle will be pretty low not rolling the needle bearings as much as i'd like. Thanks Larry. Thanks Bill & 64lark
