XJ Steering Shaft Upgrade (88-94 Trucks) 95+instructions on page 31

[ChrisAU]

Ordered one of these last night for my '94 without thinking about my BL...glad to hear it should work!

 

[bluex]

Ordered one of these last night for my '94 without thinking about my BL...glad to hear it should work!

It will, we put one on my buddies 89 because the stock one wasn't lining up very well. It fit just fine an works good

 

[Alaskaburb]

My first post.

I just completed this swap on our 93 suburban cabin rig. Thanks to all who have posted previously. It was as straight forward as it gets. Went to PnP after lunch and had it installed within an hour.

While I was heating and separating the two shafts the top rubber joint began to separate. I was easily able to reseat it and it appears to be functioning well. Have there been any concerns with this joint or reported failures? I have seen threads on welding it but if its a safety concern Ill just order the Borgeson replacement. Any thoughts??

 

[kkirwan71]

Would I have to get my truck aligned after doing this?


Sent my 3/4 ton iPhone

 

[ChrisAU]

Would I have to get my truck aligned after doing this?


Sent my 3/4 ton iPhone

No, although you may not be able to get your steering wheel perfectly straight without an alignment. The bottom of the shaft will only go on the steering box one way; then, with the top half of the shaft separated you have two options, 180* apart, to attach the shaft to steering wheel shaft. An alignment specifically to straighten the steering wheel in this case were yours a bit off would simply turn the tie rod adjusters the same amount on each side. IF your truck was perfectly aligned to being with, and then for some reason this shaft left you with the wheel off a bit, you would in theory lose some turning radius in one direction and gain some in the other direction with an alignment to straighten the wheel.

Bottom line, no, you do not need an alignment after doing this.

 

[Sparg93]

Any of you guys just use the Flaming River u-joint? Can you confirm the part number and your experience with it?

 

[iverSUN]

So I'm looking to do this, as well as install a fresh 6" lift on all four corners. Aside from your standard lift, what other things should I look at getting? Like steering stabilizer shocks, or stuff like that? I'm a bit of a newb here (when it comes to mechanical/vehciles), so forgive me. Thanks!

 

[camoburban]

Iversun it helps to know what year and model vehicle you have. There are some differences in years and models

 

[iverSUN]

Iversun it helps to know what year and model vehicle you have. There are some differences in years and models

Whoops! Good point. My truck is here: http://www.gmt400.com/forum/showthr...s-my-truck-and-I-m-going-to-want-your-help-)/

With that being said: I have a 1994 Chevy K1500, Extended Cab.

 

[someotherguy]

Back in 2011 I did the somewhat popular Jeep steering shaft swap in my '94 C2500LD, to replace the original shaft that had some slop in the upper joint. As many of you know the Jeep shaft has a semi-fixed joint at the top with an integral rubber damper of sorts, and a U-joint at the gearbox instead of a rag joint.

The shaft I installed was used but appeared to be in excellent shape. Now, it has failed. The rubber insert at the top has become loose in its housing and "squeaks" left to right during turning, with nearly 1/2" of play, only stopped by the design of the housing which appears to be a safety feature in case the rubber fails.

The failure -may- have been accelerated by exposure to heat. I sold this truck a few years ago to a friend that installed headers, and they sit closer to the joint as well as radiate more heat than the original manifolds.

(The pics make the distance from header to joint appear much closer than it really is; from looking at it in person you may not think it was close enough to be a problem.)

Gap to the left in pic -

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And to the right -

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So while your mileage may vary, my experience says - do NOT do the Jeep shaft conversion in your GMT400 truck. It sits too close to the exhaust. Insulation of some kind MIGHT help...might not; while it's unlikely to catastrophically fail due to the design, it's going to wind up giving you noticeable play in the steering.

Richard