Aligning a drive shaft

[Salty87]

Any pointers on aligning a drive shaft?

I had to buy a new shaft and coupler, I'm pretty sure I can get it all back together but I'm not so sure about lining it all back up.

A feeler guage and .03' gap is about all I know.

This is an '87 Saltare w/454.

Thanks,
Kevin

[fitz]

found some info,hope ttis helps. this is from my 90" engine owners manual, for all chevrolet and ford based engines"

it states as follows; the engine must be aligned to the prop shaft within .003" [.076mm] or less when measured between the mating surfaces of the transmission coupling flange and the prop shaft coupling flang to obtain correct alignment insert a feeler gauge between the coupling mating faces and adjust engine position as required to place the mating surfaces parallel to each other within .003"[.076mm]

this clearance must be maintained at all times and at all positions of the coupling. to complete alignment turn the shaft coupling 180 degrees from the starting point after the engine and shaft are aligned to within .003"[.076mm]
test for proper clearance if out re-adjust engine to proper clearance retest by turning coupling 90 degrees at a time and testing to ensure alignment at all points through 360 degrees

the engine mounts are adjustable to raise or lower the engine and also right or left adjust mounts as follows;
front is adjusted by loosening the upper locknut on the mount stud and trunion locking stud nuts and tapping on the nuts to loosen the studs on the trunion the mount can the be raised or lowered by screwing the lower nut up or down to the desired position and side to side by prying on the block
CAUTION: side to side adjustment must be limited to a maximum 1 and 3/4: extetion of the trunion from the mount bracket . excessive extention can cause bending of the trunion or mount failure

rear mount adjustment is made by loosening the stud locknut and turning the stud in the desired direction for vertical adjustment and by loosening and tapping the locknut studs to free the rear trunions and adjust in the same manner as the front for side to side adjustment.
CAUTION: be certain to lock the locknuts on the adjusting and lock studs when adjustment is complete. hope this helps!

[Salty87]

thanks Fitz, I was off by a good bit. all that trunion stuff is a bit confusing, i imagine it'll make more sense when i try to actually do it.

is there any reason to expect the alignment to be off? i know i don't want to risk my new shaft, but the last set-up really just fell apart when the key slot failed....no major damage, mechanical failure.

i guess i'll find out, ive got my fingers crossed.

if anyone has more tips, keep 'em coming.

thanks