I'm trying to learn how to find and adjust the pinion angle for the rearend. I've been reading different things saying that it depends on the driveshaft you have, just measure the angle of the driveshaft to the ground. Does anyone here know 1. How to measure pinion angle on the 05 Mustang
2. Best location to purchase an angle finder
I've been searching the internet and am just coming across different opinions and such. I appreciate your knowledge!
David

 

take a look at this....

Pinion Angle

 

you can buy angle finders at lowes, home depot, sears etc. i went through what your going through right now last year with my solid axle 03 cobra. im keeping my mouth shut cause i don't know if i did everything 100% corredect and don't want to give you a bum scoop. i also have a brand new angle finder still in the packaging if you need one, let me know and we'll work something out. good luck!

 

the instructions that came with my steeda upper control arm has 05 stang specifics for setting the pinion angle, ill type them up for ya tonight when i get home

its different because we have a 2 piece driveshaft.

 

I'm glad you brought this up David. I would like to learn how to do this as well.

 

that never even crossed my mind, sorry about that :bang: either way it's a good read/reference just to understand what it is.

 

05GT-I look forward to that write-up. I appreciate you taking the time to do so. I just find it senseless to pay someone to install my LCA relocation brackets (1 bolt/and a little welding). The reason for paying someone to do it was simply the pinion angle. I don't know how to do it. I WILL learn this. This will allow me to mess around with it to find the best setup. I'm going to start out at -2.5 degrees. I'm currently at -1.5 degrees which I believe gets into the positive at launch. The first thing I've learned about pinion angles is that everyone has different opinions about the degrees to which they should be set. I've talked with some different guys with 05's and -2.5 is about the average. I'll need to play around with it...pinion angle that is.

 

Before driving your car is is necessary to check the pinion angle. If you adjusted the length as specified in step 5, you will be very close to the optimum angle. to complete the procedure the car muste be sitting on the tires, on a level surface. This can be achieved by placing the jackstands under the axle tubes and front control arms, or better, on elevated ramps or a car lift. Joust the suspension before taking your measurements

11.) Use an analog protractor or digital inclinometer to measure the angle of the front driveshaft. Measure the angle of the pinion flange. subtract the pinon flange angle from the front driveshaft to find the net pinion angle "this procedure is only applicable to the S197 Mustang with the factory 2 piece driveshaft". Best angles range from 2deg to 5 deg down


adjust the new upper trailing arm center sleve to lenghen or shorten the arm as necessary to correct the pinion angle, (on the steeda arm one degree of pinion angle = 1.65 turns)

once you have achieved the desired pinion angle, tighten the jam nuts securely against the adj sleeeve.

remeasure the net pinion angle to insure you have achieved your desired setting and adjuist if necessary



take a short test drive and re inspect the installation before resuming normal driving, if you experience a bibration that was not present before the installation you probably have the pinion angle set incorrectly.



the factory upper arm is roughly 8.48" or 215.4mm

8.36" or 212.4mm will get you close



thank you, drive thru!

 

i put the non adjustable BMR LCA's on my car and it was a inch or so shorter than the stock lcas. Is shorter better than adjusting to make it lenthier. Which way would get a better pinion angle. I am driving my car with it, and it id not vibrating or anything. Just looking out for the future..

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(169stang @ May 31, 2005, 8:35 AM) Quoted post</div><div class='quotemain'>
I'm trying to learn how to find and adjust the pinion angle for the rearend. I've been reading different things saying that it depends on the driveshaft you have, just measure the angle of the driveshaft to the ground. Does anyone here know 1. How to measure pinion angle on the 05 Mustang
2. Best location to purchase an angle finder
I've been searching the internet and am just coming across different opinions and such. I appreciate your knowledge!
David
[/b][/quote]
Hi David,
I thought I posted the pinion angle pdf somewhere before when we were discussing this.
I'll try to find it.

Here it is again.[attachmentid=45485][attachmentid=45489]

 

quick question(s) -

as rear two joints are CV (the ones that 'bend' during suspension travel),pinion angle shouldnt affect vibration one way or the other should it???

on the other hand, the single front ujoint, and its angle to the carrier bearing I would thing could or should cause vibration- dual u joints cancel out velocity changes(except in center shaft section), and u-joints by design typically REQUIRE some angle in operation to prevent fretting corrosion of inactive roller bearings...every time I tink about the mustang driveshaft, it makes me scratch my head...2 ujoints woulda been cheaper by far, and I think would likely be less prone to either vibration or premature failure than the single joint at the tranny.

mine 'works' fine, but I almost want to change it because I think it looks like a silly overengineered piece, and not as good as a simpler one.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(ford4v429 @ February 19, 2006, 2:31 PM) Quoted post</div><div class='quotemain'>
quick question(s) -

as rear two joints are CV (the ones that 'bend' during suspension travel),pinion angle shouldnt affect vibration one way or the other should it???

on the other hand, the single front ujoint, and its angle to the carrier bearing I would thing could or should cause vibration- dual u joints cancel out velocity changes(except in center shaft section), and u-joints by design typically REQUIRE some angle in operation to prevent fretting corrosion of inactive roller bearings...every time I tink about the mustang driveshaft, it makes me scratch my head...2 ujoints woulda been cheaper by far, and I think would likely be less prone to either vibration or premature failure than the single joint at the tranny.

mine 'works' fine, but I almost want to change it because I think it looks like a silly overengineered piece, and not as good as a simpler one.
[/b][/quote]
I had a 5 ton International truck which had a 2piece axle. I put over 500,000 miles on it without any problems. My 5 ton GMC with a single piece driveshaft kept eating u-joints even after complete balancing. After replacing it with a 2pc shaft all my problems went away.

Granted the applications are completely different but I would think the benefits for a road going stang are the same. I agree that for a racecar the weight difference is a more important issue.

 

I just found the factory driveshaft angle specs.
[attachmentid=45490]
[attachmentid=45491]

 

The shorter shafts of a two piece drive shaft have a higher natural frequency (period) of vibration than a longer one. I believe this is the only reason designers do this.

If you are really fanatic about getting the drive shaft angle right, you need to spend some time on the chassis dyno where you can make adjustments and objective measurements and observations.

I really appreciaded the attachments you guys posted here. Good info for the tech file.

Darren

The shorter LCA will likely reduce the pinion angle ... but a 1" or so shorter sounds like a lot!! For piece of mind, you need to get a handle on the actual driveline angle to the pinion. Sweet talk your local tire or oil change shop to let you lift you car up on thier ramp type hoist (or drive over one of those open oil change pits) and take some measurements. These magnetic base type indicators work very well ... even Sears has them.

 

i guess im just have to change them out to adjustables....hopefully driving around with the ones i have now wont be so harsh..