The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Driveline Torque Tube to Transmission Mis-Aligned

Hello,

I am working on a 1950 Chevrolet 3100 and I am having an issue with misalignment between the torque tube and transmission. The ball and therefore u-joint is about 3/16" inch towards one of the frame rails from center. The ball on the end of the torque tube just catches the inside of the mating ball socket on the transmission. I can force the ball into the socket but I am concerned about increased wear and leaking fluid with it forced to one side.

Is this offset close enough to be ok?

I checked the frame for straightness and it looked very close by tape measure corner to corner.
The transmission u-joint is in the center of the frame.

I have installed new rear leaf springs on both sides.
I have installed all new bushings.
I bought new rubber washers that go on each end of the rear rubber pivot mounts and they were very loose so I installed thicker rubber washers on each side to make them tighter. Should the pivot be able to move side to side on the mounting bolt? The thicker washers I installed are snug and the pivot seems to be in the center of the mount on each side. I think these just keep water out.
I jumped around in the bed and the springs appear to move freely on each side.
One leaf spring eye to eye is about 1/4" longer than the other which may account for a very small portion of the issue. I added some weight to that side to try and equal them out and it didn't seem to make much of different and the end of the torque tube.

Should I button it up and see if the new leaf springs, bushings, etc wear in and see if it goes back towards center?

You might try loosening the U bolts at the springs and see if it comes over.

I had to do what Dave describes on my Suburban. It has worked/driven fine.

Thanks for the suggestion Dave. I did try jacking it up by the frame and loosening the u bolts. I then aligned the torque tube. When I tightened the u bolts it started to move the torque tube out of alignment some. When I put the weight back on the wheels it moved even more.

I will try and do some more measuring to see if it's at an angle or shifted.

Since the torque tube moves a certain amount maybe if you over correct to compensate for that movement it will end up being in line. Worth a shot??

I'd be inspecting the frame for damage and also take a look at the motor mounts. Best of luck

A 1/4" over the length of a 5 foot torque tube adds up.
You could drill the centering hole larger in the Spring Seat to give you a little adjustment room with the off set leaf spring bolt.
Other than that the rear motor mounts might be off a little.
I don't think you want the ball housing binding on the torque tube, it should line-up fairly close.

I personally would not worry about what you are describing. If you jack up one side of the rear axle, you will see that the torque tube moves to one side. That is because the geometry of the springs and shackles. The center of the spring will move as the spring lengthens and the shackle swings. When it is all together, this is not possible because it is constrained. I have used this technique on my 38 Master which is very similar.

I swapped the springs, shackles, and spring pivot mounts from one side to the other and the torque tube mis-alignment was the same and stayed to the same side. This makes me think either the torque tube is bent of the frame is bent. Neither is a good situation.

[s][/s]The rear motor mounts have some slop..........loosen frame/crossmember mounting bolts and move the back of the motor slightly in the needed direction. That with the rear end spring ubolt mount movement is often enough to gets things lined up.

Get you a plumb bob, a clean, smooth, level floor, chalk and check to see if the frame is bent. The procedure should be in the Factory Shop Manual.