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I looked at that same axle on ebay, doesnt it have like a 2 inch offset. What does that do as far as driveline angles. I understand the pinion angle thing but does the offset cause problems?

what kind of problems are you thinking? strength?

in a straight swap it would decrease the angle. straighter is better. depends on what you are doing I guess. you might have to shorten the shaft. clearance at the crossmembers might also become an issue if you are going real low.

what are your thinking of putting it in?

I am doing lots of mods including stretching the wheelbase, 4 link suspension, air bags, replacing the current open/closed driveshaft, trans, the whole bit. Most likely I will end up with the driveline closer to straight moving to an upward angle. opposite of stock. I am not completely sure yet because I might actually end up moving the trans and motor higher in the frame or maybe dropping the body down on the frame. I have to wait and see what my clearances are after I have the roof chopped and then again after I convert the front suspension to IFS.

cheers

i think we are talking about different things . Pinion angle is the angle the yoke is pointed up or down but im wondering about the yoke moved 2 inches to one side of the carrier which would cause a weird angle in relationship to the engine/tranny (if centered in the frame). The axle u picked up might have the yoke centered in the carrier but i have seen them moved off center. hope u understand what im trying to find out. basically a left/right angle not an up/down angle.

ok now I got ya. I have not heard of that. I wonder if I am in for a rude awakening... LOL!

It is absolutely off-center vertically compared to some rear ends but horizontally? I will measure tonight and get back to you...

ok I re-measured. you are right... it is 2" over!

I have been scouring the internet looking for more info on this. Some people say its no big deal. Still researching it though.

Angled horizontally is no big deal, since the axle pinion and the transmission output shafts are parallel to each other. The 4wd Willys trucks and wagons used to come that way from the factory, the transfer case had offset output but the axle was not. The CJ series had an offset pumpkin because the rear driveshaft was only 16" long. Just make sure that the pinion and transmission shafts are parallel both horizontally and vertically and don't exceed an angle of about 10 degrees at the u-joint and you will be just fine.

oh thanks for posting 4OnTheFloor!

I was getting scared there! several other people I have talked to said an offset is nothing to worry about and common with a lot of swaps.

Personally I still like the idea of centering and since I am probably moving motor and trans up I might just end up re-center on the rear end which as someone else pointed out will provide more room for the steering anyway.

some articles and other posts on the subject:

http://www.hotrodders.com/cgibin/ubb/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic&f=16&t=000298

http://www.roddingroundtable.com/tech/articles/driveline.html

http://www.hotrodders.com/cgibin/ubb/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic&f=16&t=001241