Picked up a junk yard Dana 44 with a limited slip out of a 89 MJ with metric ton package for my 87 XJ. Need to figure out where to mount the spring perches and shock mounts that I will be tranfering from a bent Dana 35. Lateral position is staight forward enough, but does anybody know how to get the angles correct so pinion angle will be within spec. Is there a reference point some where on the axle assembly to get correct angles for the spring perches and shock mounts? Also, does anybody know what a metric ton is?
A metric ton comes out to be about 2240 pounds (a metric ton is 1000kg, at 2.24-ish pounds to the kilo.)
Easy way to get pinion angle right is to just set the perches on the axle, support the frame (you don't want anything to slip, right?) and jockey the pinion up and down until it's pointed correctly. What's correct?
1) Single Cardan at pinion, single Cardan at transfer case. The transfer case output axis and the rear axle pinion axis should be parallel to each other and parallel to the static ground line.
2) Single Cardan at pinion, double Cardan at transfer case. The transfer case output axis should be parallel to the static ground line, and the rear axle pinion axis should point directly at the centering ball (or as close to it as possible) in the double Cardan joint at the transfer case output.
Either setup should give proper phasing for the Cardan joints in the driveshaft (the first has the Cardan joints working at opposite angles to even each other out, and the second has the pinion-end Cardan acting effectively at zero degrees while the double Cardan joint cancels itself out.)
Note that driveline angles should be figured and set up with the suspension
loaded per normal - else your angles will be off when you set it down and start driving.
