Dana 30 pinion angle

Eddie Greenlee

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Hey, would y’all remind me how the Stock Dana 30 front axle pinion angle and Front transfer case pinion angle Should be Relative to each other. I’m pretty sure my pinion needs to be up about 4 deg. I have a 4” suspension lift. Thanks
 
Hey, would y’all remind me how the Stock Dana 30 front axle pinion angle and Front transfer case pinion angle Should be Relative to each other. I’m pretty sure my pinion needs to be up about 4 deg. I have a 4” suspension lift. Thanks
What is your current pinion/ds angle? 1 degree high is ideal but not always practical.
 
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Axle Pinion angle is about 5.5. Not sure about Transfer case pinion angle because I can’t get an angle finder up in there
 
No need to measure its actual angle. Of the caster angle and pinion angles, the one that takes precedence is the pinion angle and how it meets the driveshaft.

While this is showing the rear axle, this is exactly how your front axle should be set up too since the front driveshaft has a double-cardan (aka CV) joint at the end closest to the transfer case.
cv_angle.gif



Getting the caster angle dialed in is pretty much create as much caster angle as you can until the front driveshaft u-joints start complaining by vibrating, then back off on the angle until the vibrations completely stop.
 
1 degree low is for the rear pinion angle in relation to the rear driveshaft angle.
Thanks for correcting that. Fixed...

The front pinion is very forgiving when it comes to pinion angle. For example I'm about 6 low 9.5/15 and I don't have any vibrations. Follow Jerry's advice and you'll be golden.
 
It doesn't matter, like @Alex01 said, the angle between the driveshaft and Dana 30 is what you need to worry about.
Awesome
No need to measure its actual angle. Of the caster angle and pinion angles, the one that takes precedence is the pinion angle and how it meets the driveshaft.

While this is showing the rear axle, this is exactly how your front axle should be set up too since the front driveshaft has a double-cardan (aka CV) joint at the end closest to the transfer case.View attachment 175736


Getting the caster angle dialed in is pretty much create as much caster angle as you can until the front driveshaft u-joints start complaining by vibrating, then back off on the angle until the vibrations completely stop.
my drive shaft I’d sitting at 10 degrees.
my pinion ( measured on top of housing above the pinion) is 5 degrees.
 
So looks like I need to adjust my lower control arms!? Till my pinion angle and drive shaft angle match ???
 
Rotating the control arms could get tricky . I have double adjustable CAs So I guess I should use a monkey wrench and maybe put a dot or two of paint so I can keep up with rotation ?
 
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Rotating the control arms could get tricky . I have double adjustable CAs So I guess I should use a monkey wrench and maybe put a dot or two of paint so I can keep up with rotation ?
Dab of paint is a great idea, I did the same on the savvy midarm arms. One of the reasons I loved my MC arms was because I would use the hexagonal sides as reference points while adjusting.
 
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Not sure about the Currie/Savvy arms but MC arms are a 1/16" per one rotation. When I adjust, I just make sure I rotate each arm the same number of revolutions. My arms are still square.
 
I use some 1" diameter magnets on the u-joints then set the angle finder on the magnets. It works pretty well reading the differential or drive shaft angles depending on what you're looking for. You just nip the edge of the magnets to clear the u-joint clips. My front shaft if off by about 1.5 degrees but my caster is still in spec and I have no vibration issues.