Pinion Angles

Correct pinion angle is very important to the drivability of the vehicle. Incorrect pinion angle will cause a vibration in the driveline that is not only annoying, but will also do damage to your differential and transfer case pinion bearings.

The goal is to have your pinion faces at the same angle parallel to each other.

To work this out correctly measure the angle of the output shaft face of the transfer case and then the input shaft face of the on the differential, removing the driveshaft may make this job easier.

Once you have your two measurements you subtract the transfer case measurement from the differential measurement, this will give you an indication of the degree of correction required.

 

As an example if you were to measure the transfer and got 86 degrees and measured the differential and got a measurement of 92 degrees your angle would be minus 6 degrees

E.g. 86-92= -6

For a rear differential this would mean the axel would need to be rolled forward 6 degrees.

If you have a digital angle gauge then you simply need to zero the gauge on one side then measure the other side with the gauge facing the same way and this will give you the degree measurement required.

Depending on the vehicle and the suspension setup the method for correcting pinion angle differs.

For the front of most 4x4s the pinion angle will be dictated by the castor required, but usually correcting castor angle will bring the pinion angle back to alignment anyway.

On the rear of the vehicle the pinion is the most important to get correct.

If the vehicle is fitted with leaf springs then the pinion angle can be fixed with castor wedges, these are available in 1, 2 & 3 degree.

In a coil sprung vehicle there are more options available to change the pinion angle.

For the Nissan Patrol we make and lower control arms in various lengths and also adjustable to get the perfect correction.

On the Nissan wagons we do not recommend the use of longer lower arms, as we the arms flex up they can come into contact with the rear of the guard, this is the same with the 80/100 series Landcruiser.

With the wagon we would recommend the use of upper adjustable arms, or if you have a long range fuel tank fitted we do make a bent upper arm to clear the tank.

For the Patrol ute's you can use either the upper or lower control arms to correct the pinion angle, most people do prefer the longer lower arms as these will return the wheel base to close to standard.

To find out more info about our control arms click on the link in the tech pages.