LUVTruck.com

I was going to try to explain this better before, but didn't have a lot of time. Glad you found the info though. Basically, as a u joint that is't lined up straight with the shaft turns, it speeds up and slows down as it flexes. If the angles at both ends are equal and opposite, the two speed changes cancel each other out. You will also have similar problems if the shaft is twisted or the ends not put on lined up. They have to be in phase or things try to bind up.

What angle you have does not matter in this respect, just that they match. Now for the sake of strength you want the angles at both ends as close as possible. The alternative is to get a driveline made with CV joints, so named because the are Constant Velocity. There is no speed change as they rotate when at an angle.

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95 Isuzu Trooper Daily Driver
86 Isuzu Trooper reliable backup
77 LUV 2wd stock beltway blaster (resting)
79 4x4 LUV project: 2.6L, 5spd, 31s (eventually)

MEPR: Man, my 4x4 makes all other LUVs look good

thanks 800xl.. thats what i was tring to say but didnt do very well at it... a week ago i had no idea what pinion angle was... see is this a great site or what

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My old but now gone Luv...

I actually learned about u-joint phase and angles working on the farm growing up. There are two joints on a PTO shaft for farm machinery and you can really tell when you get the angle off from one end to the other. Took me quite a while to connect the same concept to drivelines. From what I've heard a degree or two won't make a noticable difference, but I suppose it contributes to wear. Shoot, when you accelerate you get a change in pinion angle from flex in the springs so it seems like it would take being off by a fair bit to create a shimmy.

Just another tidbit, my experience with pinion bearings going out or getting too loose has been that they make a droning noise but don't really vibrate. You get a noise that changes between accelerating, decelerating, and under no load and you might have a clunk when changing direction. It does not sound like what you are getting, which is at least one plus.

Hope you get it pinned down and get good vibes back soon.

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95 Isuzu Trooper Daily Driver
86 Isuzu Trooper reliable backup
77 LUV 2wd stock beltway blaster (resting)
79 4x4 LUV project: 2.6L, 5spd, 31s (eventually)

MEPR: Man, my 4x4 makes all other LUVs look good

well replaced the u-joints and was great for a day then back and worse then ever ... dropped the drive shaft and checked the pinion well it shakes so i need new pinion bearings so my question is is it better to replace then or just throw in another pumpkin, third member

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My old but now gone Luv...

I've had pretty good luck with just tightening up the pinion nut and taking the shake out. Find yourself a big socket, I recall it being about 1 1/4" or so. The pre-load is supposed to be about 80ft/lbs, so that is where I just torque it up to. If you can do it with the tires on the ground (or ramps) it should not be to hard to get it tight.

On my 76 it used to loosen up about once a year, my 77 has done it once about 100k ago and has been fine since. If nothing else it will hold you until you can get it fixed. Re-doing the bearings looks like a big chore to me so I've avoided it, I would swap in a whole third or even a whole axle.

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95 Isuzu Trooper Daily Driver
86 Isuzu Trooper reliable backup
77 LUV 2wd stock beltway blaster (resting)
79 4x4 LUV project: 2.6L, 5spd, 31s (eventually)

MEPR: Man, my 4x4 makes all other LUVs look good

thanks ill try that

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My old but now gone Luv...

well it was loos but it didnt work ... replaced the front bearing and better but not great so i think i need a rearend for the truck

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My old but now gone Luv...

I guess I either missed it or I just dont know...
Is this the stock rear end or a different one?

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stock

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My old but now gone Luv...

well I had a rear end for pinkskys truck sitting here so I decided to pull the pinion or carrier and put it in mine anyway long story short my old one has to long bolt on the bottom and here attaches just with the 10 nuts, all look the same and splines are the same so is it just a different ratio or just a design change? Bolts in fine

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My old but now gone Luv...

i cant find a gasket for the pinion what can i use

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My old but now gone Luv...

The pinion yoke has a seal that you can buy locally, and if the housing needs a gasket and you can't find one - then you will have to buy a sheet of suitable gasket material and use the old use-a-small-ball-peen-hammer-to-make-a-gasket method.

i tried making one but the keep ripping... found one today for 3.95... and few other cool stuff , thanks for the help.. allso found the shims i needed

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My old but now gone Luv...

silicon works too

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72 luv v-8 owned since 16!
240" rear engine dragster
traded the circle track cars for a blown 496 chevy
[color=#FF8000]
29 dodge 4 dr sedan (project)
84 ranger 2wd "tuff truck" with 350 sbc

Ok fixed used copper silicone and replace the dif carrier and add 4 deg shims.... No vibration now but my emergency brake is not working so ill need to adjust it but alls good thanks for the help everyone

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My old but now gone Luv...

Good to hear that Cat.

We can't have you parking that purdy little truck of yours and not driving it...that just wouldn't be right.

i know... i was bummed because i couldn't drive it yesterday... got use to driving it every day now

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My old but now gone Luv...

Sorry for reviving an old post, but...

How long did it take you to change the pinion bearings, if you remember? The four bolts on the back end of my driveline came loose and ruined the U-joints just over a year ago, so I replaced them, and a vibrating noise almost exactly like the one that you've described starts up at around 45mph lately. Being that my LUV is my only vehicle, I can't really make a run to the parts store after I'm into it, so what parts did you need? I remember that a pinion seal is necessary. How many bearings are there?

I suppose what I'm asking is: will this have to wait til spring when I can ride my motorcycle instead?

Thanks for all the great information in this topic... never knew about pinion angles before.

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1980 4X4 LUV daily driver, as stock as can be.

Mine was vibrating when I took my foot of the gas, and it was the drive shaft bearing. now it doesn't vibrate anymore. could be mud in the tires.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nYJEyToSRtE

Well, it's definitely the pinion bearings. A while back (just about a year+1/2) I had the bolts vibrate loose at the back of the driveline, and I even lost one of them. So, being that they didn't have lock washers, I put some on. It happened again, and I put blue (serviceable) lock tite on them, and they haven't come loose since. But, I didn't notice at the time that the pinion had too much movement. I've noticed that now. I'll put a dial indicator to it to make sure. Does anyone know what the allowable play is?

lol... mud in your tires. Had that happen with ice once...

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1980 4X4 LUV daily driver, as stock as can be.