4xfour

2001 supercab 4x4. I have a trailmaster 4" suspension lift installed by previous owner. Knuckle and all appropriate relocation hardware up front and just add a leaf in the rear (with stock 2" block". The rear was about 1 1/2 inches lower than the front of the truck (i guess thats the way the prvios owner wanted it) I decided to put in some 4" blocks to level it out. Went to back the truck out of driveway and now hear a clunking sound on and off as i go in reverse or forward in my driveway, also hear sort of a rubbing sound. (sorry for the vague description but i tried to move it as little as possible up and down my driveway about 50 feet) No idea what it could be because everything was in perfect order prior to block installation.

Any insight would be appreciated as i am afraid to move the truck now.
thanks

4xfour

also worth noting that there is no play in either end of the drive shaft. I previously had a shackle lift that installed which only gave me one inch added height and i removed it and re-installed the stock shackle because it was not enough to level the truck. There were no problems when the shackle was used with the added 1", but now at 2" i have this problem...

these are the blocks i installed:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/221292714470...84.m1423.l2649

From what i read, i installed the block with the higher part of the block toward the rear of the vehicle.

nbrowser

Ah the good old angled blocks...not good, they change the axle angle so much so that it's out of alignment with the output of the trans hence making strange noises in the driveline. Sure they make claims that they will maintain alignment but in most cases they do not. My suggestion would be to get those out of the truck sooner rather than later and search out straight blocks.

4xfour

I always thought the angled blocks are the better alternative because they would correct the angle of the driveshaft. i angled the blocks so the skinnier part was facing towards the front of the truck.

Here are some pictures...

Triton-SAS

Idk even know if that would be enough lift to noticeable change the pinion angle enough to throw it out of alignment. Magnet angle finders work great in this situation to double check what the angles are on both outputs. Everyone has their opinion but I think 4 inch blocks look terrible. New springs or a shackle flip would be a better alternative.

4xfour

The rear of the truck already has an add-a-leaf because there are 5 springs. The truck already had the stock 2" blocks back there and ran fine, so the extra 2" doesnt seem like it should have thrown anything off... I have installed a shackle that lifts the rear of the truck before and took it out because it only raised the rear of the truck 1", so the front was still higher than the rear. Never heard of flipping the shackle... I need at least
1 3/4" raised in the rear.

Still stuck on what to do here,
Any more help is greatly appreciated.

biglee88

Looking at your pictures it's probably either pinion angle or your u joints did u check them with the truck in neutral wit he brake set

Triton-SAS

Based on the pictures is not the u joint but the angle itself that is wrong. The rear pinion and driveshaft cannot have the same angle unless accompanied by a cv joint but even then a 1 to 2 degree difference is still needed to allow the u joint to rotate slightly as the driveshaft spins. Look at the output in the t case verses the pinion on the axle they should have opposing angles. Obviously is the rear of the driveshaft flows in a straight line with the pinion and the other end doesn't follow in the same line you have opposing angles that don't match up and would cause the U joints to rotate at different speeds. Which makes them bind and would shake the truck. One way would be to shim the axle so the pinion points down or install a cv joint. I run cvs on both front and rear driveshafts. Rear was because the driveshaft I'm using already had on one it.

Triton-SAS

If your using angled lift blocks just for experimenting try rotating the blocks around once to see if your driveshaft angles match up better. If not got back to standard 2 inch blocks. Get an angle finder otherwise to check the exact angles of the pinion and t case output.

4xfour

So you are saying that the rear pinion raised up when i put the blocks in and now the driveshaft and the pinion have the same angle. The driveshaft coming out of the t-case is at an angle, but that obviously doesnt rotate down so there is an angle there where the driveshaft comes out. Because of this there is binding.

The only remedy is that i use shims in my leafpack to rotate the pumpkin back down or install a cv joint where the driveshaft meets the pinion to allow it to angle upward instead of the whole pumpkin assemblt rotating up with the driveshaft after the installation of the blocks.

I looked up the shims and there are so many at different angles, i wouldnt even know where to begin and the installation of a cv joint is probably out of my capabilities (which one would i even buy?)

I cant believe all these problems are coming form two extra inches...