Steering shaft boot

[hailoffire]

I have searched the forum for an answer on this but havent been able to find anything. Sorry if this is a stupid question. The boot on my steering shaft is cracked and I want to replace it. LMC has the whole steering shaft for over $300...is there a part number for just the boot?

 

[BOWTIE_TEXAN]

Junkyard it man. Way cheaper

 

[SCOTTYINWV]

Might as well hunt down a xj steering shaft am swap it in

 

[hailoffire]

yeah the XJ looks like the way to go. Steering is pretty good not much slop...I just hate looking under the hood and seeing that split boot. Much appreciated guys.

 

[sewlow]

I kinda destroyed mine taking it off when I tried the Jeep shaft in my '97. The Jeep shaft didn't work, so I had to replace the original. Without the boot. Been like that for over a year. No problems without it.

 

[gndd1997]

I kinda destroyed mine taking it off when I tried the Jeep shaft in my '97. The Jeep shaft didn't work, so I had to replace the original. Without the boot. Been like that for over a year. No problems without it.

sewlow, sorry for dragging up an old thread, but I was reading through the older posts about your XJ steering shaft replacement from around 2012 and you said it did wonders for your steering, but now I see this! What happened??? Why doesn't the shaft work any more? I was so much looking forward to doing this to my 1997 K2500...I changed the rag joint, which helped, but I need less slop, please tell me in detail why the conversion didn't work for you. Also, do you know how to pop the plastic rotator 'bearing' on the upper shaft boot (the one that seals at the fire wall) back over the upper shaft ring without having to disassemble the upper shaft joint (at base of inside steering column)? When I replaced the rag joint a few months ago, the upper shaft boot came off the fire wall the after I pushed it back on, every time I turned the wheel I heard an annoying grinding noise (not loud or metallic, more plastic on plastic). I unbolted the upper slip join (outside firewall) and took off the boot to clean and lube it and I saw inside a plastic rotator 'bearing' at the small end, so I cleaned it up and lubed it and reassembled it and noticed also a molded or welded ring on the upper shaft that should fit inside the groove of the rotator 'bearing' but I can't figure out how to get the darned thing to 'slip' over the ring and stop that annoying 'grinding' sound!!! Any help would be greatly appreciated!!!

 

[sewlow]

When I took the truck to the alignment shop, I dropped it off in the front of the building & the tech jumped in & drove it to the back. Maybe 75 yards. I didn't tell him about the XJ shaft.
He didn't pull it onto the rack. Just to the overhead, popped the hood, took a look, then told me he couldn't do the alignment 'cause of the shaft. They couldn't touch the truck. Liability stuff.
Uhmmm...Why?
Because '96, '97 & '98's ('95's?) have a 3rd universal between the interior of the firewall & the column mounts. This causes the shaft to go over center & has the possibility of binding & affecting the steering, & may actually stick or lock in one spot. Especially with larger, heavier tires & wheels.
He demonstrated this by grabbing the shaft & moving it up & down, side to side. By a lot!
I some other old (OLD!) thread about this we discussed the addition of a shaft-through steady bearing mounted on the firewall or a brace or 2 such as hot rods use when they require several universals to snake around headers & suspension. Don't think any member ever tried either, or if they did, it wasn't posted that I recall.
Much as I wanted to run the XJ, I had to take it out.
Borgeson makes a rag joint eliminator, but iirc, it's basically another universal. Could be wrong on that. If it is, that's adding another to the 3 that already mess with the use of the XJ!
I like the idea of a solid rag joint.
I like the idea of a rack & pinion even more!

 

[gndd1997]

Thanks for the quick reply...any thoughts/suggestions on the upper/firewall shaft boot? Been searching the forums and not a single thread...kinda figured someone else would have had the same thing happen as I did while messing with the steering shaft!

 

[gndd1997]

Also, what about eliminating the upper joint (outside fire wall) and just have the u-joint at the steering box and a straight shaft attached outside fire wall? Or is it the rag joint that prevents the over center and possible binding? I'm just trying to wrap my head around the whole thing...changing out the rag joint was a pain in the rear and, although significantly better, I'm still not satisfied with the slop in the system.

 

[sewlow]

Never had that prob. I'll look at mine tomorrow.