I recently bought my 2000 Z with 1.25" lowering springs already installed. At 80mph or so, I'm getting what I'm near certain is driveline vibration.

I read through the FAQ's and did some searching and I'm still left with questions.

Is an adjustable torque arm all that's needed to adjust the pinion angle, and, since I don't have a lift to get under the car, nor do I have a digital guage, are there any shops anyone knows of in the Phoenix area that could help me out with this? How tough is a torque arm to install (accesibility)?

I had a '95 Tbird before this car, and replacing the driveshaft on that thing was an all day job that involved unbolting the diff, lowering the transmission, and gas tank, and removing the exhaust....I hope not to have to go through that again. I know I don't need to pull the DS on the Camaro to measure pinion angle, but have no idea what's involved in replacing the torque arm. I'm used to my 4x4's that I can fit under

I might be able to do this myself. I assume the car has to be on level ground and also be level when off the ground? Some pointers are appreciated.

 

yes, all you need is an adjustable TA. I had the same vibrations and an adj TA took away most of it and then a new driveshaft took care of the rest.

I was able to do it with the car on jack stands and by measuring my crank and pinion angles while the car was NOT in the air to get me some baseline angles and to figure out how much I had to adjust my pinion. It was tough to get the pinion angle, but I have long skinny arms and that coupled with a magnetic angle finder I was able to pull it off. Then I put the whole thing in the air with the suspension LOADED and measured/adjusted my angles from there always keeping in mind the base angles as a comparison. Doing it this way I was able to get my driveline angle within a half degree or so.

The TA install isn't that bad at all, but you do need the car in the air, obviously. The driveshaft is a piece of cake to take in and out.

 

Thanks.

Any links to different ones available? Not sure where to start. (probably need to search more, I guess).

Is any one arm better than the others? Trying to stay on a budget.

 

Here's a link to one...

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/82-02...spagenameZWD1V

Thoughts?

Is this an add on part, or a replacement to a non-adjustable piece (sorry, the car is so damned low I can't get under it well to study it.

 

What did you use for a final angle? Mine seems to like being at about 0 degrees...

As for keeping the suspension loaded, I like using four ramps...I have a long AC hydraulics jack, so all I have to do is lift the rear up, sit it on the ramps, and then lift the front up and sit it on the ramps. Works quite well...you don't get all the clearance in the world, but it is enough to move around and do what you need to do.

 

that's just a normal non-adjustable one that replaces your stock non-adjustable. UMI makes decent stuff, just find an adjustable one. I have a Spohn adjustable and it works fine for me.

I also have mine set as close to 0° as possible with using a analog angle finder.

I also used ramps for the front but used jack stands for the rear.

 

when you measure this, does the car have to be perfectly level with measurements taken in relation to the ground, or is there a reference point under the car you can measure angle from?

 

http://buickperformance.com/Pinion.htm

the angle is the angle between your tranny output shaft (or crankshaft) and your pinion. You can have the car at any angle you want just that the suspension HAS to be loaded.

 

Beautiful. I"ve read through some explanations, and that one was hands down the best.

The writeup said you need adjustable control arms though, and others here said all I'd need is an adjustable torque arm. (?)

I assume it could be done either way?

 

nah, you need adj control arms if you want to change your instant center (for traction purposes only). You need an adj TA in order to change your pinion angle.

 

Just need the pinion angle adjustment to make the high speed vibe go away.

Feels like I'm driving on rumble strips at 90+

 

yep, that will help with it if your pinion angle in indeed off. I just took mine out and took her up to 130 with none of the super vibes I had with the stock shaft. It does seem like some pavements are prone to some sort of -very- small "vibration like" feel, but this is hard to feel and only apparent on some pavements. I drove on a freshly paved asphalt highway and I didn't feel anything at all up to 100mph.