Measuring Two-Piece Propeller Shaft Working Angles

This procedure is essentially the same as for the one-piece propeller shafts. You must, however, consider the third angle.




1. Place the inclinometer on the propeller shaft bearing cap.




2. Center the bubble in the sight glass.
3. Record the measurement. The bearing cap must be straight up and down in order to obtain an accurate measurement.
4. Enter the measurements on your diagram.
5. Rotate the propeller shaft 90 degrees and place the inclinometer on the transmission output yoke bearing cap. The bearing cap must be straight up and down in order to obtain an accurate measurement.
6. Center the bubble in the sight glass.
7. Record the measurement.
8. Subtract the smaller reading from the larger reading in order to obtain the front U-joint working angle.
The front angle is considered the odd U-joint because this angle does not have another joint to provide cancellation. The rear working angle and the middle working angle act as a pair of U-joints in order to cancel each other out, as in the 1-piece propeller shaft systems. Because of this condition,maintain the working angle of the odd U-joint at 1/2 degree or less.




Keep the working angle of this odd joint to a minimum so that there are not any great fluctuations in speed that need to be canceled out. The front joint is used as the odd joint because the front joint angle does not change with suspension bounce, rebound, or axle wind up. For this reason,think of the front propeller shaft of a 2-piece system as an extension of the transmission output shaft.