91ls1t56

Hello I am dissatisfied with the spohn lsx swap package I purchased. I have a few clearance issues with the engine and I have decided to eliminate the 1" set back. I am also redesigning and building a new crossmember to accept dual exhaust. I just installed a brand new moser 9".because of the 9" design the yoke sits off center.Now since I am going to relocate everything should I put the front of the engine in center,but offset the tail shaft to put the crank,tranny,driveshaft,pinion all in a strait line or just center the engine,tranny completely and leave the driveshaft angle alone?

Project 3.4 Camaro

Everything should be in a straight line, if the DS is out of angle you will get bad vibrations, not to mention can break things that way.

91ls1t56

By the nature of it's design the 9" pinion is off center,did Ford put engines in crooked or strait but off center on 9" equipped vehicles to compensate?

Project 3.4 Camaro

Key word is by design. Unless there is absolutely no way to keep things lined up the way they are factory, I wouldn't do it.

Pocket

iTrader: (24)

Engine mounts i wouldnt mess with. Crossmember, definitely rebuild to suite. Keep in mind 3rd gens have a pass bias for engine orientation from the factory

PNYKILR

stock motor sits roughly 1 1/4 to the pass side. you need everything to be inline to avoid vibrations. Is your pinion in the same location as the old diff?
If its not ,square up the engine with the diff and that will eliminate vibrations. you want your pinion to be the same angle on each u-joint to balance it out. If your engine and diff are too far from being inline you will have premature u joint failure. perfect set up would be engine and pinion on diff in line with engine aimed above pinion yoke slightly. 2 degrees ish. its a big job to do this right and if moving engine over to center you will have trany tunnel issues.

xpndbl3

iTrader: (5)

1" setback mounts put a gen 3 motor into the same position as a gen 1 motor. That's how they're designed to sit in the chassis. Obviously the 9" is offset as well, but no reason to try to move the motor over to compensate. No vibrations here over 140mph.

91ls1t56

Excellent feedback,everyone. Xpndbl3 you are running the same unit with great success,just bolt in and go? Did you shorten your driveshaft? I assume you have the 1" setbacks.I allways thought keeping your drivetrain in line was the golden rule,some responses agree with that and say I will eat U-joints. I fully intend to move my engine forward to solve other clearance issues. This is the time to find out if I should modify the engine orientation. I am building a 3 in 1 type of vehicle road course,street,drag. It will never accell at the road course or drag strip because it is a street car just swap a few parts,tires,gears and it will be a capable vehicle at either type of event or on the street. It just wont be dedicated to one type of activity. Thanks again for all the great feedback

91ls1t56

String tells all. I found center with some string and it tells me that per the spohn setup the engine is center,strait and true. The rear end is centered at ride height,pan hard bar appears to be level,so any suspension movement up or down will move the pinion even more to the passenger side. At ride height pinion is 1 1/2" off center. I do not have a stock car for cross reference.

ghettocruiser

iTrader: (4)

8.8's are slightly offset as well. Cant recall the amount, but one tube is longer than the other. Pinion is centered in the pumpkin...the whole center section is offset.

Ive never seen any issues installing them in Jeeps where the rear axles were centered from the factory. Yes...these jeeps arent going 140+ mph. However, Ive never had any issues with vibes or busting parts.

Also...as for the suspension cycling and moving side to side...how much are you planning on the rear axles moving up and down?? The panhard bar is set up level, so that the side to side (arc) movement is minimal during normal suspension cycling. Cruising down the road, soaking up normal little bumps...its not moving that much. A lot of us are running stiffer suspension and have our rear dialed in even more than factory, so the movement is even less.

Replace all the U-joints so you dont have any issues with the new angles and set your pinion angle up good and you should have no problems.

J.