GREAT JOB EXPLAINING...I had this vibrating problem-intermittent...was driving me CRAZY. I don’t even eat to say how much money I spent with shops trying to correct this issue. Thanks to you and the information on the tapered blocks - problem solved. SUPER JOB
It's really crazy because most 4wd shops don't understand this. I had previously gone to a local one and asked if their blocks were tapered or flat and they didn't even understand the question.
Thank you brother. I bought lifted leaf spring and the shims on the bottom where the wrong way and my truck vibrated crazy. I swapped them and now its perfect! Thanks!!!!
I’m new to this 4WD stuff but definitely not to optimizing performance. My pinion angle is ridiculous on my Excursion. Many, many 4WD guys have looked at my pinion and said, “That looks right. You’re good.” and it has blown my f-ing mind. To the point I have been doubting everything I ever knew about pinion angle and I’ve built HUNDREDS of 200+ stock cars! How this ONE person has a clear understanding of pinion angle enough to post this video is quite unreal to me! But, thank you for this! To confirmed exactly what I always knew and calling out the 4WD shops for this BS is well deserved for them! They, and anyone who doesn’t know what you show in this video, are dead-@$$ wrong! U-joints are NOT designed to run in a perfectly aligned setup. Period.
Hey thanks for the words man. Yeah I really can't believe the amount of shops and lift places that don't understand the angles. I said it in the video but in case you missed it I called a local shop that specializes in lifts and asked if their lift blocks were flat or tapered and they didn't even understand the question. Frightening.
Good explanation. It's also very important when removing or servicing a driveshaft that it stays in "phase" If you pull out the spline and stick it back wrong you'll get vibrations in all cases because the joint yokes need to match front and back.
I had a small lift on my Tacoma with a carrier bearing. The taper pointed towards the transfer case allowing the axle to be closer to the angle with the transfer case. So a carrier drop is now in order to alleviate the small vibe I get between 20-30 mph. Thanks for playing.
You can have your Transfer case or transmission angle different than the pinon angle if you use a Double Cardan u-joint at the case/trans output. This is necessary when you use a driveshaft with single u-joints and have 10 degs or more angle on your driveshaft to joints. In this case you would want the pinon angle pretty close to zero, maybe neg 2 degs so with load you end up with zero or maybe plus 2 degs. A double Cardon u-joint is just two u-joints in the same joint. The 2 u-joints in the Double Cardan cancel out the vibration. Lots of 4x4's will have a double Cardan in the front drive shaft because its to short the have proper angles and not bind. The shorter the driveshaft is, the more likely you will need a double Cardan u-joint at the case when you lift your truck. I found all this out the hard way.
Thank you for repeating what I said in the video, This is also the reason most lift springs come with the angle shim installed backwards for those using oem driveshafts. The manufacturer is assuming you will use a custom shaft (which most dont)
Great video, liked and subscribed. It helped me understand the cause of vibration in the rear axle when driving. I am in the process of installing a 4inch zone lift kit on my super duty and couldn’t understand the purpose of the shims I received or how to utilize them till I just watched this. Thanks for the video!
Great and awsome explaination, thank you again thank you. I am suffering from such a vibration after lifting my sequoia 2011 up by 2’ and I don’t really know how to get rid of this body vibration during acceleration.
@@buildsomethingstupid1736 thanks for your reply, my Sequoia 2011 doesn’t have leaf spring instead it has coil springs. Therefore, am little confused about how to rectify the same with your concept
Works up to around 4-5 degrees operating angle, then you will get vibration even with identical angles. That is when a double cardan is needed at the transfer case with the slip built into the d/shaft. In that case the pinion does point straight at the transfer case, all the angles are taken care of with the double cardan. You long wheelbase guys are spoiled, double cardan front and rear is standard practice for us little SUV guys (Grand Cherokee) with even a small lift for no vibe running. Dig the Excursion, I was a square body Suburban guy for years until my crew got smaller.
Finally the introduction that gives knowledge at the beginning. I shake my head at other people who do things incorrectly. However, have you thought of changing those Rusty ass UJoints? One other question, any change in angle when springs are loaded?
I changed them, there's a video on that as well. To be 100% sure on any drive angle change under load you would need to load it and recheck however typically there is very little if any change especially on things with stiffer suspension like a 250.
Awesome vid and thanks. Everyone is saying turn the tapered lift block backwards…..what is backwards?? Thin side forward or thick side forward?? I’m guessing thin side forward. Let me know and thanks👍
Depends on your application, if you have a double cardan driveshaft then you want the diff to point at the trans, if you have a standard driveshaft you want the diff to be inline with the plane of the transmission
1986 K5 "Square" with 2" lift blocks to equal the 2" front springs so the vehicle will at least LOOK nice -- and then I get the vibration! I called the company that made the parts and asked them if the tapers were backwards and they said "No, put them in like the drawing". It was backwards and now I have to take it all apart and reverse them. EDIT ---> I had one final threatening communication with the company that made the spacers. They told me if I mentioned their name they'd sue me in court.
Not sure if you have dealt with the new silverados that have the shim at the bottom of the leaf pack that is tied into the leaf pack through the center pin. I have a 2.5 inch tapered block. should I leave the shim and with the tapered block then from this talk?
What is your driveshaft angle? is it 20degrees? more? i had my 47 one ton dodge set up with a slant 6 and 904 Trueflight and 8 1/4 rear, felt no vibration, putting in a 360 la with a 8 3/4 which has the pinion sitting a little lower will be making my driveshaft angle a little steeper, guess ill try your no double cardan joint just keeping transmission yoke and pinion yoke parallel with each other, see how it feels, do you know what kind of rpms the double cardan can handle? thanks for video, just got a digital angle finder, gonna see what angle my driveshaft will be at, keep hearing if there's more than 1o degrees between the yokes and driveshaft the parallel yokes wont cancel each other out, but it looked like your driveshaft was pretty steep
Thank you for.the explanation... I've lifted my 4gen 3 inches.with those Ebay leveling kits, looks great!!! Level the truck perfect however, after that vibrates between 15 and 20 miles ... nothing.crazy but is driving me.nuts i need help, :(
This is great info. I recently installed a 1” block and an add a leaf in my 01 tundra and now im noticing a slight vibration while coasting/decelerating. Should I ditch the blocks and through some tapered blocks in there? Or would a carrier bearing drop work? Thanks for your time!
Typically you need to drop the carrier bearing 1/2 of the lift height. That being said, I doubt you could feel it on a 1 inch lift. Might be a different problem.
Nice information. Would this be the same on just a leveling kit? 2" leveling spacers in front. 2" tapered block in rear to replace the 1¼" block. Now I have a vibration around 72 mph
@@buildsomethingstupid1736 yeah the factory block is flat. It seems like every 2" block I see is tapered now. And they say it's so it doesn't create problems from changing the angle from raising the rear end. I think I'm going to put factory blocks back in and see if I still have vibration at 72 or higher. Thanks.
@@rendiewmit86 Lies! If you have the standard style driveshaft like in my illustration you absolutely have to use a flat block. What is your year make model?
I just had a 3 inch lift installed on my jeep xj. Had to install a t case drop due to some weird grinding sound. After the drop, the grinding sound went away. Now, when I’m driving between 45-65mph, I get this rhythmic pulsating sound that I can feel up under my feet. My leaf springs have a shim built into the pack, opposite direction to how you’re saying it should be. Essentially backwards. I’m wondering if I removed the t case drop and flipped the shim, it would clear up this problem. Is this something you’ve experienced before? I’m worried about tearing up my transfer case.
Omg great video. I have a 2003 Ford F-150 supercrew 4x4, I just did a 5 inch lift kit with 35s, do you think I need those shims too.? And also have you heard about the driveshaft spacers.? Should I used both? O just one of those two.?
I am less familiar with f 150s. I know the newer ones have a center support bearing. If your driveshaft has the center support bearing you usually need to buy a drop to lower the bearing slightly after a lift. If the driveshaft is only 1 section only then you need to make sure the face of the Diff connection and the face of the transmission are at the same angle. I have another video about how to check that with a magnetic Klein angle finder you can check out
Most of the time a drive line vibration is coming from the carrier bearings. Theres a worn bearing can be pinion bearing . I’ve seen carrier housings wore out at the cross . Can be a transfer case bearing . But most of the time it’s a dang bearing ! Can be a u joint but most of the time they will begin to ping when you put truck in gear ! I’ve rolled rear housing up to get the u joint from wearing out and have never experienced a vibration in all my born and putting together ! But i can find that bad bearing with the quickness !
If it didn't vibrate before and it starts vibrating, that could be a bearing. However if it didn't vibrate before and it vibrates after you lift your truck, it's 99% driveline angles
if you have a double cardan then your rear diff should be on plane with your driveshaft, as opposed to the normal 2 ujoint setup in the video where you want it on plane with the transmission.
I have a 2019 GMC Sierra 1500 with a 10inch Mcgauphy lift that vibrates at 60-65 mph. Do you think its vibrating because of the way it sits or the leaf spring was installed or do need a drive line spacer? Thanks!
10" is a lot of lift. if your driveline angle is too steep that alone can cause vibration. If your rear axle and transmission are on the same plane and you still have vibration issues then your driveshaft can be bent or out of balance, also at 10" you may need a spacer if the spline engagement for the shaft is too short(because its lifted but still has stock length driveshaft) there can be play and that play might be what you are feeling as well which will eventually wallow out the splines.
you are one of the only ones that stressed vibration is not about the angle at u joint but it is about having your tranny and pinion parallel so the angle at front u joint is the same as the angle at back
Sub'd to your channel and love your vids... I have an interesting situation here and this may help others too. Sometimes there is pure gold in the comments.. my 2015.5 silverado dually has a 7-9 inch cognito lift. Adjustable by tightening the torsion bar key preload bolt. Mine is set pretty high....ok now is where i think this gets interesting. If you lift the front of your truck 9 inches and the back only 4(with blocks in back), then you have changed the degree of angle at the front of the driveshaft where it meets the output shaft to be a lesser angle than it was stock or barely at all.(I think) Therfore need to put the small end of the tapered block in the front, wich points the pinion more at the transmission.... in your vid if you were to take the little transmission drawing and "tilt" the front up and the back down a touch that's what lifting only the front of a truck does. Or not lifting the back the same amount as the front. So if you tilt the pinion up meaning thin end of lift block forward then that is the correct installation of the tapered block that comes with the kit. It is in the directions to be installed this way and i have verified this with cognito... now, when i watch your vid i could not for the life of me figure out my situation and how it does NOT seem to jive with your drawings (wich i love because it's visually easier to understand).....i lifted my truck and the driveshaft angle did not seem to droop like you showed . So the rear pinion angle pointed up more was the needed remedy!!? Chime in on this bro, you know your stuff. This kicked my a$$ for days. .. thoughts?
Great informative video. I’m looking into getting a 3inch lift on my 2001 4Runner. It’s 2wd, doesn’t have leaf springs, but I keep reading on forums that many people who did a lift on a 2wd got driveline vibrations. Can you give me any info on why this would happen?
Same reason. The angle is probably wrong. If its coil springs then you have an arm that runs from the axle to the frame on either side. In order to lift it properly you would need not only the springs but the rear axle locator arms need to be aftermarket with a different angle OR you need a drop bracket for the front attachment points. Other wise the angle will be wrong.
Hey Brother, hope all is well! I got rid of the blocks just as you and I've had my new pro comp leaf springs in for about 6 months... Everything has been great. Until today... Picked up a vibration from 45 to 75 mph when accelerating.. drive shafts seem fine. Any thoughts?
If you got a vibration all the sudden without making changes to the drive angle then I doubt it's related to anything in this video. Could be wheel weight fell off the rim, could be universal joint, could be the front hubs got stuck on, could be a lot.
depends on vehicle, assuming you have coils then big radius arms... some radius arms are adjustable some aren't, the adjustment would need to be where the arms attach to the diff, There is a company that makes adjustable nuts (like alignment nuts on control arms) for f 250 front axles, maybe you could make some version of this. You may have to get aftermarket arms that are made to correct the angle. Another option would be to fab a drop bracket where the arms attach to the frame. If you lifted say 6".. then you would use a drop bracket to the front of the arms 6" and it would bring you back to factory angles
So I have a f -150 with a 5 inch rear block but it’s tapered I’m having vibration problems. Do you recommend non tapered block ? To eliminate the vibration
Never use tapered blocks unless you have a double cardan driveshaft. Depending on your year f150 you may have a carrier bearing in the middle of your driveshaft if you do, then this needs to be shimmed down as well
My 2011 F350 is in the tire shop right now. They’ve balanced & rotated the tires 3 times and it still vibrates from the rear at 50mph. Worse if I let off the gas at 50mph. It was slightly lifted & had oversized tires so maybe this is the issue.
1) did the vibration start at the same time as the new lift went on? Or was it shaking before 2) how much is slightly lifted 3) how was it lifted springs or blocks 4) are the blocks tapered or flat?
Stock rear driveshaft is fine until about 10" Front needs to be done with a superlift kit. One of my other video shows the front spacer you can get for cheap on amazon. Superlift Front lift 7' lift springs move the center pin forward an inch (needed to clear big tires) which is why u need a front spacer because the shaft will fall out at full droop. I also recommend watching my vid about softening up the suspension, the superlift 7" rides like a rock
Did you have to take the leaf spring pack apart or did you just take the u-bolts off and slide the shims in between the springs & blocks? Also, do you think a 2 degree or so angle difference is worth putting shims on? My lift is only about 2.5" high...
You will have to take the center bolt out of the leafs, take a C clap and squeeze the leafs together before taking the u bolts and Center pin off so the leafs don't separate and than when that's all off knock that Center pin out and put it through the shim and back through the leafs. Make sure the center pin is long enough though with the shim so you can have enough thread to go through the leaf pack. Then just put everything back together.
You can loosen the U bolts then c clamp the spring pack, then loosen the center pin bolt and you can usually tap it around with a hammer so you don't have to fully disassemble (usually)
Thankful for this video, but I need some help if anyone can help me please, I put a 4’ suspension kit and so for the rear I had new leaf springs but my shim originally was really rusty and broke in half when I released the pressure and so my question is if I’m going up 4’ should I stay with the original size of the shim or go bigger?
Hey, I have a 99 350 that I lifted on a 6in and what size block do you use? We have the same style driveline aka once peice. Don’t know if I should do a 3 or 5 degree shim
The only block I have is the factory block, I used lift leaf springs. The springs themselves came with a shim. I have the shim facing backwards (fat end towards the front) This is what works with the springs I have otherwise the diff points up at the transmission which throws the U joints vibration out of sync
With stock leaf springs it should be a flat block. With aftermarket springs you would have to measure the angles and get a block with correct angle. I have a video with a Klein angle gauge showing how to do it
Hey bro did that work for you!? I'm thinking about doing exactly what you did, man if you could get back to me on this God bless you... I hate this shit
@@buildsomethingstupid1736 I swapped my tapered blocks fat towards case and the vibes got worse, FML, 4 inch lift blocks Chevy 4x4 4 inch suspension lift
Whatever direction makes the rear axle on the same plane as the transmission. The angle from the trans to the driveshaft should be equal/opposite to the angle of the driveshaft to the axle,
Hello. How can i fix acceleration vibration from 0 to 20km/h for 2016 ford ranger double cardan? It started after lifting 2inch. Its not big vibration but still anoying. Thank You.
If you have a double cardan you want the diff pointed exactly at your trans... then down 1-2 degrees. if you have vibration on acceleration it means the diff is rotating up too much under load. Install a shim to make your diff point slightly more down towards the ground.
Possibly one of the new tires isn't balanced right or the tire itself may be "bad". Many tires are out of round and many Wheels as well. Id probably jack up each tire individually and spin it by hand and watch to see if its out of round. I've seen some large tires out of round by over 3/8", and 15" rims out by 1/8". No way to stop the vibration if the tire is out of round by that much
I put a 6' lift on my tacoma using tapered rear blocks with no shims,now I have a bad shutter/vibration at around 10 mph..should I turn the blocks around so that the smaller end is facing the rear or install shims? I'm lost on this
If you don't have a double cardan driveshaft, then the blocks should have been flat. If the lift was only a block then you need to switch to a flat block or use a shim that is equal to the block angle to get back to zero. If the rear springs are lift springs or a helper add a leaf as well as the bigger block then the leafs themselves may be a slightly different in angle in general so if you don't have a method to measure accurate angles.. I would try reversing the block first then if you still have vibration shim it back to zero angle. If the vibration is bad at 10mph tho that may more likely be a bad universal joint.
@@jeremymurray9805 I added a 3 inch lift with tapered blocks. Fat end towards the front. I need to drop my carrier piñon now to get the two shafts close to stock. The axle and transfer cases are close but not exact due to the now reverse taper. It would of been way off if the taper was towards the front.
@@jeremymurray9805 when I helped the guy with my install I thought this guy has it ass backwards. But I trusted him and it turns out he is right. Our problem is the two drive shafts. When we lift then those shafts need to get as parallel as possible.
I have changed my carrier bearing, and now I have vibration at 20-25 mph, and 2.5 lift bilstein 1500 on 275 55 20s, what do think the vibration is coming from?
Was the vibration there before the lift?, was the vibration there before the carrier bearing change? did it start as soon as it was lifted? How was it lifted? a 2.5" angled block? or a 2.5" flat block? 20-25mph.... and not present at high speed? I'd bet its a U joint on the driveshaft (i have a video to show changing that)
@@buildsomethingstupid1736 I also believe it is a U joint causing the vibration, I will change them asap, now I have a problem with the steering wheel not returning to center, I'm trying to figure out if the clockspring is the culprit? Idk if having the airbag key off has anything to do with it, I had an alignment done as well. Thanks
Measuring can be tricky because the rear diff doesn't really have a nice flat spot to stick a level. I would say the easiest simplification is to stick a laser pointer on the rear diff and secure it as flat as you can tell parallel to the diff/on the diff. Then see where its pointing. If its pointing at the trans... you're definitely going to get bad vibration. If its pointing straight ahead parallel to the ground you will probably be fine. The goal is the angle from the trans to the driveshaft must be equal and opposite to the angle from the shaft to the rear diff
Hey thanks for info. I just lifted my jeep cherokee 3in and I'm having crazy vibrations that I found is coming from the shaft and it's driving me crazy. My car had 1in drops for TC from previous owner with 2.5in lift. I changed the lift to 3in and kept the TC drops; I used an add a leaf kit. My vibrations were intermittent at different speeds but they were CRAZY BAD (my rear diff was slightly looking downwards) then I slightly changed the drives haft angle making it straight; the vibrations become constant instead of intermittent but they became much milder. I'm not sure what am supposed to do now.. raise the differential even more, drop it, or what exactly. Any advice would be very helpful
What degree shims did you use? I am having this exact issue with my 2003 Ram 3500 6 speed single rear wheel and it seems to have about 3-4 inch lift and it clears 35’s but in the rear it has 2 cut leafs like a small lift block and front has lift spacers but ive realized the last owner never ever went over 60-65 because i drove it and hit 70 blew rear u joint then had shop rebuild all the u joints in drivelines and front axle as well then have drove it since and same vibration still so ive been only going like 60 or so but ive been needing shim for this same exact issue. I have vibration at 70 then 73-75 goes away then comes back at higher speeds and so on its very weird and its worse when i push clutch in at 70 and let off it becomes like a vvvvvv......vvvvvvv.......vvvvvvv noise and its the rear driveline vibrating because it needs shins for the slight amount of lift right now the rear axle is too straight pointed and needs to go slightly up with shims
Every setup is a little different. 3-4" lift usually doesn't make any problems at all. I would 1) ensure that the drivesshaft yokes are aligned properly. When you lift sometimes the splines come out and when people put them back together they get them 1 or 2 splines off center. 2) check the block and make sure it's a flat block if you have a regular drives shaft, if you have a double cardan then you want the rear axle to point straight with the shaft. If the vibration is worse when decel than accel, then if it's a driveline issue you should try adding 2 degree shim fat on the back.
GREAT JOB EXPLAINING...I had this vibrating problem-intermittent...was driving me CRAZY. I don’t even eat to say how much money I spent with shops trying to correct this issue. Thanks to you and the information on the tapered blocks - problem solved. SUPER JOB
It's really crazy because most 4wd shops don't understand this. I had previously gone to a local one and asked if their blocks were tapered or flat and they didn't even understand the question.
….that’s why is always good to do your Homework. You’ll find that you actually know a little more than the service provider
Thank you brother. I bought lifted leaf spring and the shims on the bottom where the wrong way and my truck vibrated crazy. I swapped them and now its perfect! Thanks!!!!
Awesome man!
I’m new to this 4WD stuff but definitely not to optimizing performance. My pinion angle is ridiculous on my Excursion. Many, many 4WD guys have looked at my pinion and said, “That looks right. You’re good.” and it has blown my f-ing mind. To the point I have been doubting everything I ever knew about pinion angle and I’ve built HUNDREDS of 200+ stock cars! How this ONE person has a clear understanding of pinion angle enough to post this video is quite unreal to me! But, thank you for this! To confirmed exactly what I always knew and calling out the 4WD shops for this BS is well deserved for them! They, and anyone who doesn’t know what you show in this video, are dead-@$$ wrong! U-joints are NOT designed to run in a perfectly aligned setup. Period.
Hey thanks for the words man. Yeah I really can't believe the amount of shops and lift places that don't understand the angles. I said it in the video but in case you missed it I called a local shop that specializes in lifts and asked if their lift blocks were flat or tapered and they didn't even understand the question. Frightening.
Good explanation. It's also very important when removing or servicing a driveshaft that it stays in "phase" If you pull out the spline and stick it back wrong you'll get vibrations in all cases because the joint yokes need to match front and back.
Great and thorough explanation, simple and to the point!
duuuude! so glad I watched this before I installed my shims! I guarantee you I would have done it backwards! thank you!
haha everyone does, Most lift kit instructions also show them backwards.
I had a small lift on my Tacoma with a carrier bearing. The taper pointed towards the transfer case allowing the axle to be closer to the angle with the transfer case. So a carrier drop is now in order to alleviate the small vibe I get between 20-30 mph. Thanks for playing.
You can have your Transfer case or transmission angle different than the pinon angle if you use a Double Cardan u-joint at the case/trans output. This is necessary when
you use a driveshaft with single u-joints and have 10 degs or more angle on your driveshaft to joints. In this case you would want the pinon angle pretty close to zero, maybe neg 2 degs
so with load you end up with zero or maybe plus 2 degs. A double Cardon u-joint is just two u-joints in the same joint. The 2 u-joints in the Double Cardan cancel out the vibration.
Lots of 4x4's will have a double Cardan in the front drive shaft because its to short the have proper angles and not bind. The shorter the driveshaft is, the more likely you will need a
double Cardan u-joint at the case when you lift your truck. I found all this out the hard way.
Thank you for repeating what I said in the video, This is also the reason most lift springs come with the angle shim installed backwards for those using oem driveshafts. The manufacturer is assuming you will use a custom shaft (which most dont)
Great video, liked and subscribed. It helped me understand the cause of vibration in the rear axle when driving. I am in the process of installing a 4inch zone lift kit on my super duty and couldn’t understand the purpose of the shims I received or how to utilize them till I just watched this. Thanks for the video!
Glad it helped! Most people and shops automatically install the shims backwards thinking the diff needs to point at the trans.
This the best explanation I ever seen thank you
Thanks I tried
The best vid I ever seen ,thx mate, keep your vids up👌👌
Great and awsome explaination, thank you again thank you. I am suffering from such a vibration after lifting my sequoia 2011 up by 2’ and I don’t really know how to get rid of this body vibration during acceleration.
If it has a leaf spring add an angle shim to the leaf stack. Bring the nose of the diff down a little
@@buildsomethingstupid1736 thanks for your reply, my Sequoia 2011 doesn’t have leaf spring instead it has coil springs. Therefore, am little confused about how to rectify the same with your concept
Works up to around 4-5 degrees operating angle, then you will get vibration even with identical angles. That is when a double cardan is needed at the transfer case with the slip built into the d/shaft. In that case the pinion does point straight at the transfer case, all the angles are taken care of with the double cardan. You long wheelbase guys are spoiled, double cardan front and rear is standard practice for us little SUV guys (Grand Cherokee) with even a small lift for no vibe running. Dig the Excursion, I was a square body Suburban guy for years until my crew got smaller.
Fantastic explanation 👏
Thank you!
Thanks
Finally the introduction that gives knowledge at the beginning.
I shake my head at other people who do things incorrectly.
However, have you thought of changing those Rusty ass UJoints?
One other question, any change in angle when springs are loaded?
I changed them, there's a video on that as well. To be 100% sure on any drive angle change under load you would need to load it and recheck however typically there is very little if any change especially on things with stiffer suspension like a 250.
Awesome vid and thanks. Everyone is saying turn the tapered lift block backwards…..what is backwards?? Thin side forward or thick side forward?? I’m guessing thin side forward. Let me know and thanks👍
Depends on your application, if you have a double cardan driveshaft then you want the diff to point at the trans, if you have a standard driveshaft you want the diff to be inline with the plane of the transmission
1986 K5 "Square" with 2" lift blocks to equal the 2" front springs so the vehicle will at least LOOK nice -- and then I get the vibration! I called the company that made the parts and asked them if the tapers were backwards and they said "No, put them in like the drawing".
It was backwards and now I have to take it all apart and reverse them.
EDIT ---> I had one final threatening communication with the company that made the spacers. They told me if I mentioned their name they'd sue me in court.
Honestly the vast majority of lift companies will just flat out tell you wrong, they have no idea. It's kind if amazing everytime I hear it
If you're using the stock springs then flat blocks are generally what you want.
@@buildsomethingstupid1736 I'll try that this weekend. Thanks.
Not sure if you have dealt with the new silverados that have the shim at the bottom of the leaf pack that is tied into the leaf pack through the center pin. I have a 2.5 inch tapered block. should I leave the shim and with the tapered block then from this talk?
So is it better to adjust it little bit lower (negative angle) to be in line when accelerate? Or better to adjuste in line flat with no load?
Sorry I couldn't understand, how do I know if the shim should face towards the back or front? Is it the same process for 2 shaft driveline? Thanks
What is your driveshaft angle? is it 20degrees? more? i had my 47 one ton dodge set up with a slant 6 and 904 Trueflight and 8 1/4 rear, felt no vibration, putting in a 360 la with a 8 3/4 which has the pinion sitting a little lower will be making my driveshaft angle a little steeper, guess ill try your no double cardan joint just keeping transmission yoke and pinion yoke parallel with each other, see how it feels, do you know what kind of rpms the double cardan can handle? thanks for video, just got a digital angle finder, gonna see what angle my driveshaft will be at, keep hearing if there's more than 1o degrees between the yokes and driveshaft the parallel yokes wont cancel each other out, but it looked like your driveshaft was pretty steep
Thank you for.the explanation... I've lifted my 4gen 3 inches.with those Ebay leveling kits, looks great!!! Level the truck perfect however, after that vibrates between 15 and 20 miles ... nothing.crazy but is driving me.nuts i need help, :(
Works both ways. Lowered and lifted.
This is great info.
I recently installed a 1” block and an add a leaf in my 01 tundra and now im noticing a slight vibration while coasting/decelerating.
Should I ditch the blocks and through some tapered blocks in there? Or would a carrier bearing drop work?
Thanks for your time!
Typically you need to drop the carrier bearing 1/2 of the lift height. That being said, I doubt you could feel it on a 1 inch lift. Might be a different problem.
Nice information.
Would this be the same on just a leveling kit? 2" leveling spacers in front. 2" tapered block in rear to replace the 1¼" block. Now I have a vibration around 72 mph
Yep, it's probably the tapered block messing you up. See if your factory block was flat. If yes your aftermarket block should also be flat
@@buildsomethingstupid1736 yeah the factory block is flat. It seems like every 2" block I see is tapered now. And they say it's so it doesn't create problems from changing the angle from raising the rear end. I think I'm going to put factory blocks back in and see if I still have vibration at 72 or higher.
Thanks.
@@rendiewmit86 Lies! If you have the standard style driveshaft like in my illustration you absolutely have to use a flat block. What is your year make model?
@@buildsomethingstupid1736 2018 F150 4x4
I found that getting that angle straight from the driveshaft to the differential in line actually helped with lower speed vibration.
Then you have a double cardan type. Or you had some other issue you fixes on accident
I have a 3.5 lifted jeep xj it vibrator like crazy after 80km speed ... will this work with me ?
I just had a 3 inch lift installed on my jeep xj. Had to install a t case drop due to some weird grinding sound. After the drop, the grinding sound went away. Now, when I’m driving between 45-65mph, I get this rhythmic pulsating sound that I can feel up under my feet. My leaf springs have a shim built into the pack, opposite direction to how you’re saying it should be. Essentially backwards. I’m wondering if I removed the t case drop and flipped the shim, it would clear up this problem. Is this something you’ve experienced before? I’m worried about tearing up my transfer case.
The vibration is from the two pieace shaft.. single shaft is smooth as silk
Omg great video. I have a 2003 Ford F-150 supercrew 4x4, I just did a 5 inch lift kit with 35s, do you think I need those shims too.? And also have you heard about the driveshaft spacers.? Should I used both? O just one of those two.?
I am less familiar with f 150s. I know the newer ones have a center support bearing. If your driveshaft has the center support bearing you usually need to buy a drop to lower the bearing slightly after a lift. If the driveshaft is only 1 section only then you need to make sure the face of the Diff connection and the face of the transmission are at the same angle. I have another video about how to check that with a magnetic Klein angle finder you can check out
@@buildsomethingstupid1736 thanks for the help
Makes perfect sense! your a genius.
He is right
Even a blind squirrel finds a nut every once in awhile
After 2 inches lift I get vibration when I press my brake it’s very bad and scary
A lift should not cause vibration when braking. If no braking vibration existed until it was lifted I would get it checked out
Most of the time a drive line vibration is coming from the carrier bearings. Theres a worn bearing can be pinion bearing . I’ve seen carrier housings wore out at the cross . Can be a transfer case bearing . But most of the time it’s a dang bearing ! Can be a u joint but most of the time they will begin to ping when you put truck in gear !
I’ve rolled rear housing up to get the u joint from wearing out and have never experienced a vibration in all my born and putting together ! But i can find that bad bearing with the quickness !
If it didn't vibrate before and it starts vibrating, that could be a bearing. However if it didn't vibrate before and it vibrates after you lift your truck, it's 99% driveline angles
Great video! what about the Double cardan on a 1985 Toyota 4runner? how should this be done in reference to geometry. and I don't tow anything.
if you have a double cardan then your rear diff should be on plane with your driveshaft, as opposed to the normal 2 ujoint setup in the video where you want it on plane with the transmission.
@@buildsomethingstupid1736 Thank you !!
So you used shims?
I have a 2019 GMC Sierra 1500 with a 10inch Mcgauphy lift that vibrates at 60-65 mph. Do you think its vibrating because of the way it sits or the leaf spring was installed or do need a drive line spacer? Thanks!
try a driveline spacer if the shims dont do it. If it doesnt come with your kit they usually arent too expensive
10" is a lot of lift. if your driveline angle is too steep that alone can cause vibration. If your rear axle and transmission are on the same plane and you still have vibration issues then your driveshaft can be bent or out of balance, also at 10" you may need a spacer if the spline engagement for the shaft is too short(because its lifted but still has stock length driveshaft) there can be play and that play might be what you are feeling as well which will eventually wallow out the splines.
you are one of the only ones that stressed vibration is not about the angle at u joint but it is about having your tranny and pinion parallel so the angle at front u joint is the same as the angle at back
I have a 6” lift and the truck only vibrates when I go 40 MPH any ideas ? I have a video on my channel of the truck
Only at 40 is weird Id think a bad tire
Must be nice having a one piece driveshaft
Sub'd to your channel and love your vids... I have an interesting situation here and this may help others too. Sometimes there is pure gold in the comments.. my 2015.5 silverado dually has a 7-9 inch cognito lift. Adjustable by tightening the torsion bar key preload bolt. Mine is set pretty high....ok now is where i think this gets interesting. If you lift the front of your truck 9 inches and the back only 4(with blocks in back), then you have changed the degree of angle at the front of the driveshaft where it meets the output shaft to be a lesser angle than it was stock or barely at all.(I think) Therfore need to put the small end of the tapered block in the front, wich points the pinion more at the transmission.... in your vid if you were to take the little transmission drawing and "tilt" the front up and the back down a touch that's what lifting only the front of a truck does. Or not lifting the back the same amount as the front. So if you tilt the pinion up meaning thin end of lift block forward then that is the correct installation of the tapered block that comes with the kit. It is in the directions to be installed this way and i have verified this with cognito... now, when i watch your vid i could not for the life of me figure out my situation and how it does NOT seem to jive with your drawings (wich i love because it's visually easier to understand).....i lifted my truck and the driveshaft angle did not seem to droop like you showed . So the rear pinion angle pointed up more was the needed remedy!!? Chime in on this bro, you know your stuff. This kicked my a$$ for days. .. thoughts?
Great informative video.
I’m looking into getting a 3inch lift on my 2001 4Runner. It’s 2wd, doesn’t have leaf springs, but I keep reading on forums that many people who did a lift on a 2wd got driveline vibrations. Can you give me any info on why this would happen?
Same reason. The angle is probably wrong. If its coil springs then you have an arm that runs from the axle to the frame on either side. In order to lift it properly you would need not only the springs but the rear axle locator arms need to be aftermarket with a different angle OR you need a drop bracket for the front attachment points. Other wise the angle will be wrong.
Hey Brother, hope all is well! I got rid of the blocks just as you and I've had my new pro comp leaf springs in for about 6 months... Everything has been great. Until today... Picked up a vibration from 45 to 75 mph when accelerating.. drive shafts seem fine. Any thoughts?
If you got a vibration all the sudden without making changes to the drive angle then I doubt it's related to anything in this video. Could be wheel weight fell off the rim, could be universal joint, could be the front hubs got stuck on, could be a lot.
@@buildsomethingstupid1736 could also be driveshaft has no grease mid way. Look for a grease nipple and try refilling if it has.
Can this same issue happen when lowering the rear of truck 2 inches I’m having the same issue on a 2015 Chevy suburban?
Yep
I have cupped tires in the back is that the only thing that would he causing my vibration?Usually at 50mph and up
Sounds like your tires to me. Cupped tire make alot of noise. If the rear is cupped then you have some kind of alignment/thrust angle issue.
Excellent explanation
Thanks!
i don’t have leaf springs though. how do i fix my angles?
depends on vehicle, assuming you have coils then big radius arms... some radius arms are adjustable some aren't, the adjustment would need to be where the arms attach to the diff, There is a company that makes adjustable nuts (like alignment nuts on control arms) for f 250 front axles, maybe you could make some version of this. You may have to get aftermarket arms that are made to correct the angle. Another option would be to fab a drop bracket where the arms attach to the frame. If you lifted say 6".. then you would use a drop bracket to the front of the arms 6" and it would bring you back to factory angles
So I have a f -150 with a 5 inch rear block but it’s tapered I’m having vibration problems. Do you recommend non tapered block ? To eliminate the vibration
Never use tapered blocks unless you have a double cardan driveshaft. Depending on your year f150 you may have a carrier bearing in the middle of your driveshaft if you do, then this needs to be shimmed down as well
2018 f 150 v6 2wd eco boost is the truck I have
@@jessealaniz918 I think those do have the 2 piece, you can look under it.
My 2011 F350 is in the tire shop right now. They’ve balanced & rotated the tires 3 times and it still vibrates from the rear at 50mph. Worse if I let off the gas at 50mph. It was slightly lifted & had oversized tires so maybe this is the issue.
1) did the vibration start at the same time as the new lift went on? Or was it shaking before
2) how much is slightly lifted
3) how was it lifted springs or blocks
4) are the blocks tapered or flat?
My measurements are, driveline is 16 degrees
Pinion is 5 degrees. 6inch suspension lift on a 90 f150 help with my angle
Assuming your trans is 16 degrees and your axle is 6 then you need a 10 degree shim.
What about a two-piece driveshaft
just what i needed to know before i buy the 7in super lift kit i called them and they said i dont need a new drive shaft maybe this is why
Stock rear driveshaft is fine until about 10" Front needs to be done with a superlift kit. One of my other video shows the front spacer you can get for cheap on amazon. Superlift Front lift 7' lift springs move the center pin forward an inch (needed to clear big tires) which is why u need a front spacer because the shaft will fall out at full droop. I also recommend watching my vid about softening up the suspension, the superlift 7" rides like a rock
Are the shins strong enough to tolerate off-road abuse ?
Yes they are just solid chunks of metal
Did you have to take the leaf spring pack apart or did you just take the u-bolts off and slide the shims in between the springs & blocks? Also, do you think a 2 degree or so angle difference is worth putting shims on? My lift is only about 2.5" high...
You will have to take the center bolt out of the leafs, take a C clap and squeeze the leafs together before taking the u bolts and Center pin off so the leafs don't separate and than when that's all off knock that Center pin out and put it through the shim and back through the leafs. Make sure the center pin is long enough though with the shim so you can have enough thread to go through the leaf pack. Then just put everything back together.
You can loosen the U bolts then c clamp the spring pack, then loosen the center pin bolt and you can usually tap it around with a hammer so you don't have to fully disassemble (usually)
Thankful for this video, but I need some help if anyone can help me please, I put a 4’ suspension kit and so for the rear I had new leaf springs but my shim originally was really rusty and broke in half when I released the pressure and so my question is if I’m going up 4’ should I stay with the original size of the shim or go bigger?
Each brand of leaf pack is going to be slightly different, I'd buy the Klein angle gauge and use that to find the degree shim you need
Hey, I have a 99 350 that I lifted on a 6in and what size block do you use? We have the same style driveline aka once peice. Don’t know if I should do a 3 or 5 degree shim
The only block I have is the factory block, I used lift leaf springs. The springs themselves came with a shim. I have the shim facing backwards (fat end towards the front) This is what works with the springs I have otherwise the diff points up at the transmission which throws the U joints vibration out of sync
So if I have a tapered block, do you recommend me putting the shorter side towards the back and thicker end towards the t case ?
With stock leaf springs it should be a flat block. With aftermarket springs you would have to measure the angles and get a block with correct angle. I have a video with a Klein angle gauge showing how to do it
Hey bro did that work for you!? I'm thinking about doing exactly what you did, man if you could get back to me on this God bless you... I hate this shit
I am about to swap the block around today if that doesn’t work for me I’ll just get a flat block
@@ericmartinez652 let us know what happens
@@buildsomethingstupid1736 I swapped my tapered blocks fat towards case and the vibes got worse, FML, 4 inch lift blocks Chevy 4x4 4 inch suspension lift
So my rear blocks are backwards taper.. should i flip them to where theyre tapered to the rear or should i get flat blocks?
Its a two piece axle
Ram 3500
Whatever direction makes the rear axle on the same plane as the transmission. The angle from the trans to the driveshaft should be equal/opposite to the angle of the driveshaft to the axle,
Hello. How can i fix acceleration vibration from 0 to 20km/h for 2016 ford ranger double cardan? It started after lifting 2inch. Its not big vibration but still anoying. Thank You.
If you have a double cardan you want the diff pointed exactly at your trans... then down 1-2 degrees. if you have vibration on acceleration it means the diff is rotating up too much under load. Install a shim to make your diff point slightly more down towards the ground.
Hi. I have a stock excursion with slightly oversized tires. Vibration at 70 mph. New front end and new tires. New u joints and hub bearing. Any ideas?
Possibly one of the new tires isn't balanced right or the tire itself may be "bad". Many tires are out of round and many Wheels as well. Id probably jack up each tire individually and spin it by hand and watch to see if its out of round. I've seen some large tires out of round by over 3/8", and 15" rims out by 1/8". No way to stop the vibration if the tire is out of round by that much
Happen to know what your operating angles are?
If you have tapered blocks could you just flip them around? Or would I have to get flat blocks ?
Depends on where your angle is sitting and where it needs to be. But yes that is the fix in some cases
I put a 6' lift on my tacoma using tapered rear blocks with no shims,now I have a bad shutter/vibration at around 10 mph..should I turn the blocks around so that the smaller end is facing the rear or install shims? I'm lost on this
If you don't have a double cardan driveshaft, then the blocks should have been flat. If the lift was only a block then you need to switch to a flat block or use a shim that is equal to the block angle to get back to zero. If the rear springs are lift springs or a helper add a leaf as well as the bigger block then the leafs themselves may be a slightly different in angle in general so if you don't have a method to measure accurate angles.. I would try reversing the block first then if you still have vibration shim it back to zero angle.
If the vibration is bad at 10mph tho that may more likely be a bad universal joint.
@@buildsomethingstupid1736 thanks for the help,guess I'll play around with it and see what happens!
@@jeremymurray9805 I added a 3 inch lift with tapered blocks. Fat end towards the front. I need to drop my carrier piñon now to get the two shafts close to stock. The axle and transfer cases are close but not exact due to the now reverse taper. It would of been way off if the taper was towards the front.
@@shiza237 I got all my vibs to go away..turns out I dropped my carrier bearing too much!! I dropped it 1/2 and that solved my issue!! 🤘
@@jeremymurray9805 when I helped the guy with my install I thought this guy has it ass backwards. But I trusted him and it turns out he is right. Our problem is the two drive shafts. When we lift then those shafts need to get as parallel as possible.
I have changed my carrier bearing, and now I have vibration at 20-25 mph, and 2.5 lift bilstein 1500 on 275 55 20s, what do think the vibration is coming from?
Was the vibration there before the lift?, was the vibration there before the carrier bearing change? did it start as soon as it was lifted? How was it lifted? a 2.5" angled block? or a 2.5" flat block? 20-25mph.... and not present at high speed? I'd bet its a U joint on the driveshaft (i have a video to show changing that)
@@buildsomethingstupid1736 I also believe it is a U joint causing the vibration, I will change them asap, now I have a problem with the steering wheel not returning to center, I'm trying to figure out if the clockspring is the culprit? Idk if having the airbag key off has anything to do with it, I had an alignment done as well. Thanks
2.5 Bilstien 5100 leveling kit, 275 55 20, no blocks! No spacers
So you can measure right to make sure their both straight right
Measuring can be tricky because the rear diff doesn't really have a nice flat spot to stick a level. I would say the easiest simplification is to stick a laser pointer on the rear diff and secure it as flat as you can tell parallel to the diff/on the diff. Then see where its pointing. If its pointing at the trans... you're definitely going to get bad vibration. If its pointing straight ahead parallel to the ground you will probably be fine. The goal is the angle from the trans to the driveshaft must be equal and opposite to the angle from the shaft to the rear diff
Hey thanks for info. I just lifted my jeep cherokee 3in and I'm having crazy vibrations that I found is coming from the shaft and it's driving me crazy. My car had 1in drops for TC from previous owner with 2.5in lift. I changed the lift to 3in and kept the TC drops; I used an add a leaf kit. My vibrations were intermittent at different speeds but they were CRAZY BAD (my rear diff was slightly looking downwards) then I slightly changed the drives haft angle making it straight; the vibrations become constant instead of intermittent but they became much milder. I'm not sure what am supposed to do now.. raise the differential even more, drop it, or what exactly. Any advice would be very helpful
What degree shims did you use? I am having this exact issue with my 2003 Ram 3500 6 speed single rear wheel and it seems to have about 3-4 inch lift and it clears 35’s but in the rear it has 2 cut leafs like a small lift block and front has lift spacers but ive realized the last owner never ever went over 60-65 because i drove it and hit 70 blew rear u joint then had shop rebuild all the u joints in drivelines and front axle as well then have drove it since and same vibration still so ive been only going like 60 or so but ive been needing shim for this same exact issue. I have vibration at 70 then 73-75 goes away then comes back at higher speeds and so on its very weird and its worse when i push clutch in at 70 and let off it becomes like a vvvvvv......vvvvvvv.......vvvvvvv noise and its the rear driveline vibrating because it needs shins for the slight amount of lift right now the rear axle is too straight pointed and needs to go slightly up with shims
Every setup is a little different. 3-4" lift usually doesn't make any problems at all. I would 1) ensure that the drivesshaft yokes are aligned properly. When you lift sometimes the splines come out and when people put them back together they get them 1 or 2 splines off center. 2) check the block and make sure it's a flat block if you have a regular drives shaft, if you have a double cardan then you want the rear axle to point straight with the shaft. If the vibration is worse when decel than accel, then if it's a driveline issue you should try adding 2 degree shim fat on the back.
I've got a double u-joint on the transmission end that eases the angle. Haven't had any problems. Knock on wood
Yep thats a double cardan joint! In that set up the driveshaft should go "straight" into the rear axle.
@@buildsomethingstupid1736 yup. It does
Meow thank you GBU
May you provide me with your email I have some questions if you don’t mind
Well damn wth thanks
its very counter intuitive.
And then came the double cardan joint, and the world burned.😢
Lol
@@buildsomethingstupid1736 where did you order your axle shims from?