Lowered ls4's please read!!!
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From: WEST PALM BEACH FL
Lowered ls4's please read!!! So anyone that has a lowered ls4 with a modded trans are u have any shuttering issues when making turns i was told because the car is lower by almost 2in that i need 3/4 to 1in longer axles what are you guys opinion on that????
Most GM tripods (inboard joints) normally have 1" to 1 1/2" of allowable movement (in/out) to accommodate suspension compression and rebound. Ideally you try to center the rollers so there is +/- 1/2" to 3/4" of movement in both directions.
They are designed to allow free movement through the stock range of motion, full droop to resting on the bump stops. So if you lowered your car w/o changing the height of the bump stops, then there should not be any issue. If you moved your bump stop, then you can measure how much the inner tripod rollers will move based on axle shaft length and amount of drop.
Assume the axle shaft (not the entire CV shaft length) is 12" long, a 2 inch drop will pull the rollers in the tripod about 0.17" further out from the transmission. If the tripods were already centered, this should be well within the acceptable range of motion of the tripods. Shorter axles will pull out slightly more, longer axles slightly less.
So no, you don't need 3/4" to 1" longer axles for a 2" drop. In fact if you tried to install them, I would guess you would break a tripod cup, tripod roller or damage the transmission. If you wanted to do anything to correct it, install a 1/8" to 3/16" spacer between the CV housing and the wheel bearing - this will re-center the tripod rollers to where they would be at stock ride height. But then at full droop, the rollers would be pushed inboard 0.17" further.
CV and tripod axles are designed to run with some angle between the two joints. This angle allows the rollers and ***** to move around in the grease and spread out the wear zone as they wear (helps extend life).
Many people have ran them up to 15+ degrees w/o issue. With a 12" axle and 2" drop the angle is 9.5 degrees.
If you have pulsing while turning, the outer CV joint could be worn or binding or you could have a something else up... but I highly doubt it is a length issue.
They are designed to allow free movement through the stock range of motion, full droop to resting on the bump stops. So if you lowered your car w/o changing the height of the bump stops, then there should not be any issue. If you moved your bump stop, then you can measure how much the inner tripod rollers will move based on axle shaft length and amount of drop.
Assume the axle shaft (not the entire CV shaft length) is 12" long, a 2 inch drop will pull the rollers in the tripod about 0.17" further out from the transmission. If the tripods were already centered, this should be well within the acceptable range of motion of the tripods. Shorter axles will pull out slightly more, longer axles slightly less.
So no, you don't need 3/4" to 1" longer axles for a 2" drop. In fact if you tried to install them, I would guess you would break a tripod cup, tripod roller or damage the transmission. If you wanted to do anything to correct it, install a 1/8" to 3/16" spacer between the CV housing and the wheel bearing - this will re-center the tripod rollers to where they would be at stock ride height. But then at full droop, the rollers would be pushed inboard 0.17" further.
CV and tripod axles are designed to run with some angle between the two joints. This angle allows the rollers and ***** to move around in the grease and spread out the wear zone as they wear (helps extend life).
Many people have ran them up to 15+ degrees w/o issue. With a 12" axle and 2" drop the angle is 9.5 degrees.
If you have pulsing while turning, the outer CV joint could be worn or binding or you could have a something else up... but I highly doubt it is a length issue.
Last edited by fieroguru; May 10, 2014 at 08:24 AM.
Thread Starter
TECH Enthusiast
Joined: Dec 2012
Posts: 696
Likes: 0
From: WEST PALM BEACH FL
Most GM tripods (inboard joints) normally have 1" to 1 1/2" of allowable movement (in/out) to accommodate suspension compression and rebound. Ideally you try to center the rollers so there is +/- 1/2" to 3/4" of movement in both directions.
They are designed to allow free movement through the stock range of motion, full droop to resting on the bump stops. So if you lowered your car w/o changing the height of the bump stops, then there should not be any issue. If you moved your bump stop, then you can measure how much the inner tripod rollers will move based on axle shaft length and amount of drop.
Assume the axle shaft (not the entire CV shaft length) is 12" long, a 2 inch drop will pull the rollers in the tripod about 0.17" further out from the transmission. If the tripods were already centered, this should be well within the acceptable range of motion of the tripods. Shorter axles will pull out slightly more, longer axles slightly less.
So no, you don't need 3/4" to 1" longer axles for a 2" drop. In fact if you tried to install them, I would guess you would break a tripod cup, tripod roller or damage the transmission. If you wanted to do anything to correct it, install a 1/8" to 3/16" spacer between the CV housing and the wheel bearing - this will re-center the tripod rollers to where they would be at stock ride height. But then at full droop, the rollers would be pushed inboard 0.17" further.
CV and tripod axles are designed to run with some angle between the two joints. This angle allows the rollers and ***** to move around in the grease and spread out the wear zone as they wear (helps extend life).
Many people have ran them up to 15+ degrees w/o issue. With a 12" axle and 2" drop the angle is 9.5 degrees.
If you have pulsing while turning, the outer CV joint could be worn or binding or you could have a something else up... but I highly doubt it is a length issue.
They are designed to allow free movement through the stock range of motion, full droop to resting on the bump stops. So if you lowered your car w/o changing the height of the bump stops, then there should not be any issue. If you moved your bump stop, then you can measure how much the inner tripod rollers will move based on axle shaft length and amount of drop.
Assume the axle shaft (not the entire CV shaft length) is 12" long, a 2 inch drop will pull the rollers in the tripod about 0.17" further out from the transmission. If the tripods were already centered, this should be well within the acceptable range of motion of the tripods. Shorter axles will pull out slightly more, longer axles slightly less.
So no, you don't need 3/4" to 1" longer axles for a 2" drop. In fact if you tried to install them, I would guess you would break a tripod cup, tripod roller or damage the transmission. If you wanted to do anything to correct it, install a 1/8" to 3/16" spacer between the CV housing and the wheel bearing - this will re-center the tripod rollers to where they would be at stock ride height. But then at full droop, the rollers would be pushed inboard 0.17" further.
CV and tripod axles are designed to run with some angle between the two joints. This angle allows the rollers and ***** to move around in the grease and spread out the wear zone as they wear (helps extend life).
Many people have ran them up to 15+ degrees w/o issue. With a 12" axle and 2" drop the angle is 9.5 degrees.
If you have pulsing while turning, the outer CV joint could be worn or binding or you could have a something else up... but I highly doubt it is a length issue.
