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Anyone try the STS Machining Lift Kit?

VolvoScout said:
Measurements were taken as follows….
Car driven onto level concrete (within reason)
Drive shaft aligned so that the yokes were lined up as specified in the green book (photo below)
Measurements taken at bottom cap of front shaft u-joint, bottom cap of mid u-joint and bottom cap of rear diff yoke with digital angle finder.

Cannot raise the transmission any more.
I had a shim in there, but the shifter cage was making contact with the tunnel, so I removed the shim.
Would adding another shim(s) to the front engine mounts help?

I’ll lower the rear end another 0.25” and see what that does later this week.
Apart from that, what else can I do to point the front of the pinion further down?
The BNE adjustable torque rods do not go any shorter than the OE rods, so they won’t help in this case.

View attachment 34350
Click to expand...
Unfortunately that’s not the correct way to measure the angles.

You want to measure the centerline axis of one shaft to another one. This starts with the transmission main shaft axis, and ends with the pinion gear axis.

The way you’re doing it misses the transmission angle (though you sort of have it from a previous measurement). I’d 100% do this correct and accurately, then adjust from there. With a 240 with rubber bushings, you’ll usually want to nose the pinion down slightly for smooth operation at full throttle… but it can rattle and vibrate on decel.

Driveshaft Set-Up and Measuring

Mark Williams Enterprises is an industry leading manufacturer of drag race axles, drive shafts, brakes, modular rears, rear end housings, thirdmembers, and chassis components.
www.markwilliams.com www.markwilliams.com
 
culberro said:
Unfortunately that’s not the correct way to measure the angles.

You want to measure the centerline axis of one shaft to another one. This starts with the transmission main shaft axis, and ends with the pinion gear axis.

The way you’re doing it misses the transmission angle (though you sort of have it from a previous measurement). I’d 100% do this correct and accurately, then adjust from there. With a 240 with rubber bushings, you’ll usually want to nose the pinion down slightly for smooth operation at full throttle… but it can rattle and vibrate on decel.

Driveshaft Set-Up and Measuring

Mark Williams Enterprises is an industry leading manufacturer of drag race axles, drive shafts, brakes, modular rears, rear end housings, thirdmembers, and chassis components.
www.markwilliams.com www.markwilliams.com
Click to expand...

"A simple method that can be employed to ensure that the trans output shaft and pinion are parallel is to place a digital angle finder on a machined surface of the engine block (i.e. oil pan rail etc.). Using a floor jack, raise the front or rear of the car as needed to bring the angle finder to zero”. Isn’t this the equivalent of parking on a level surface?

"Then place the angle finder on the face of the pinion yoke. If this angle is anything but zero, the pinion angle must be adjusted to bring it to zero.” Isn’t this measurement equivalent to measuring on the cap? Also, I thought a reading of 0 degrees would lead to premature u-joint wear due to inability to properly grease the inside needle bearings while in operation.

Besides lowering the rear lift a bit more, what else can I do to lower the pinion angle?
 
VolvoScout said:
"A simple method that can be employed to ensure that the trans output shaft and pinion are parallel is to place a digital angle finder on a machined surface of the engine block (i.e. oil pan rail etc.). Using a floor jack, raise the front or rear of the car as needed to bring the angle finder to zero”. Isn’t this the equivalent of parking on a level surface?

"Then place the angle finder on the face of the pinion yoke. If this angle is anything but zero, the pinion angle must be adjusted to bring it to zero.” Isn’t this measurement equivalent to measuring on the cap? Also, I thought a reading of 0 degrees would lead to premature u-joint wear due to inability to properly grease the inside needle bearings while in operation.

Besides lowering the rear lift a bit more, what else can I do to lower the pinion angle?
Click to expand...

I may have misread what you typed, but it seemed like you were only reading the angle of the u-joint relative to the ground.

You can use the u-joint cap as the measurement mount, but you have to make sure it's super clean and you don't have anything sitting on the circlip. I prefer to use the trans or pinion flange and the shaft itself. Less error induced on those surfaces.
 
Removed the rear lift (BNE adj spring perch) and replaced them with the stock perches.
Overload springs remain, lifting 0.75”
Current pinion angle measurement at the pinion cap is 5.6 degrees.
Above 55mph vibration still present.
 
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I went ahead and removed the lift from the wagon.
No significant change in angles and vibration still present…
Guess it wasn’t the lift.

I’m going to take the BNE adjustable torque tods to a machinist and have them shortened.
Any idea how much should be “chopped off?” (i.e. 0.5”, 0.75”, 1”)
 
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Did you ever verify that you were measuring the angles correctly?
spicerparts.com

Spicer Driveline Operating Angle Calculator

Measure the angles of each component in your drivetrain, then use the Spicer Driveline Operating Angle Calculator to find the operating angle of each u-joint in your drivetrain.
spicerparts.com spicerparts.com

Click the "show diagrams" button, and move the slider for a 2pc shaft.
 
My lifted wagon doesn't have any issues with drive line vibration. Maybe ask @Xeroni what he did. My guess is the STS adjustable trailing arms help a lot.
 
I’m now thinking my drivetrain issues are stemming from a combination of the engine swap with the shims on the passenger engine mount (to prevent turbo oil return line from contacting the power steering rack) and the overload springs.
 
Had the BNE torque rods shortened 0.5” and installed them at a length of 15.5”
Also rotated the carrier bearing around 180 degrees so that the extra rubber that I had on top of the bushing is now on the bottom.
Drivetrain angles are pretty close now (2.4 degrees at transmission, 2.8 degrees at carrier and 3.3 degrees at pinion)

The vibration "feel in the seat” has changed in nature….now it feels more like a rumble strip (slower vibration vs the fast paced vibration from before)

Can be felt at 35mph and up in Overdrive (5th gear)
Other gears, the rumble is less pronounced

Hum/rumble only seems present when loading the drivetrain (foot on the gas pedal while accelerating or decelerating).
Hum/rumble goes away for the most part with clutch pedal depressed.

The heim torque rods are definitely transmitting more noise and vibration, but still pinion related?
 
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VolvoScout said:
Had the BNE torque rods shortened 0.5” and installed them at a length of 15.5”
Also rotated the carrier bearing around 180 degrees so that the extra rubber that I had on top of the bushing is now on the bottom.
Drivetrain angles are pretty close now (2.4 degrees at transmission, 2.8 degrees at carrier and 3.3 degrees at pinion)

The vibration "feel in the seat” has changed in nature….now it feels more like a rumble strip (slower vibration vs the fast paced vibration from before)

Can be felt at 35mph and up in Overdrive (5th gear)
Other gears, the rumble is less pronounced

Hum/rumble only seems present when loading the drivetrain (foot on the gas pedal while accelerating or decelerating).
Hum/rumble goes away for the most part with clutch pedal depressed.

The heim torque rods are definitely transmitting more noise and vibration, but still pinion related?
Click to expand...

I'm 99.999999% certain you're not measuring the u-joint angles correctly. The trans to first shaft angle seems really large, usually it's like 1deg or less.

If you are, you need to get that pinion nosed WAY down. My guess is that you need to nose it up slightly.
 
Anyone have any input on the STS kit? I'm debating pulling the trigger. Car will be used on gravel roads and driven across the country this summer. Didn't seem we came to a conclusion of the kit being good or bad on here....on paper it seems good but I don't want a headache in the middle of Nebraska 2000 miles from home
 
P/S, we built our Overlander (3") lift back when BDW was selling them. The kit was amazingly well made, 30,000 miles on it now.
 
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