Lower Intermediate Steering Shaft

[TechNova]

There have been confirmed reports that the coupler sitting right next to your header is 'glued' in place and that glue melts from the heat of headers and you lose all steering unexpectedly and with no prior warning.

Please if you value your life, take that off and put the stock unit back in there!

Can you provide more info or documentation? I have seen a lot of articles about the Jeep shaft and know they aren't to be used on the later style like 98 up but have seen nothing like you posted. It is a double D so there should be no rotational issues

 

[RichLo]

Can you provide more info or documentation? I have seen a lot of articles about the Jeep shaft and know they aren't to be used on the later style like 98 up but have seen nothing like you posted. It is a double D so there should be no rotational issues

This post is on another Board from out friend here #someotherguy

https://www.chevytalk.org/fusionbb/showtopic.php?tid/319491/

There are more reports on the big thread regarding the jeep shaft on this site also but that thread is 40 something pages long, I would suggest reading through it.

 

[BOWHNT]

If you look at the top coupler, you will see two long ribs about 1/2" wide running the length of the coupler on opposite sides.
Over time these ribs will get spread out or widened from forces of the pucks inside.
If you put the ribs, (while still fully assembled), in a vise and clamp them down just a little, (squeezing them to make them a little narrower), it will remove any slop in the coupler.
Between replacing the rag joint and resizing the upper coupler ribs, you will have zero steering wheel play.

An old guy that owned a front end / alignment shop showed me this trick about 20 years ago and I've done a dozen times or so with good results...

Well, dang it, I still don't get your description of the ribs on the top coupler. I'm very interested though. Any way you can find a pic and point to it?

 

[Stillruns]

I'll get a pic in the morning when it's light out

 

[SpencerSr]

Hi SpencerSr, I have a 1992 C1500, do you know if this will fit my truck or what do I need to measure to get one like that?

Far as I know it's the same, that's the same part I've used on 2000, 1998, 1997, 1995

 

[Leonidman63]

Far as I know it's the same, that's the same part I've used on 2000, 1998, 1997, 1995

Excellent, thank you very much!!!

 

[Insert Quarter]

I bought one of these and used the caps to switch the two ends. It was similar to doing a u-joint on a drive shaft. Taking it apart, the caps are thin metal deformed where the stake marks are, so cleaned up the yokes with a file and re-staked the new caps in with an old chisel

https://www.ebay.com/itm/04649123AD...e=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649

 

[Insert Quarter]

The above U-joint was for the Dorman 425-274 steering shaft, found one on sale way cheaper than the Cherokee shaft so i figured I'd give it a try.

https://www.dormanproducts.com/p-92864-425-274.aspx

If I had to do it again I'd probably just buy two universal coupler joints and the bar stock and make one. It was a bit of work to swap the ends, plus the 425-274 is a little long so I had to cut a bit off for it to fit. Here's a couple pics.

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[454cid]

If I had to do it again I'd probably just buy two universal coupler joints and the bar stock and make one. It was a bit of work to swap the ends, plus the 425-274 is a little long so I had to cut a bit off for it to fit.

Do you mean a solid shaft that wouldn't collapse?

What upper control arms are those? They look like 4wd uppers.

 

[Insert Quarter]

"Do you mean a solid shaft that wouldn't collapse?"

When I was looking in to it originally, before I came across the Dorman one, I was thinking along the lines of a hollow D-shaft/solid D-shaft combo like what comes originally on the truck.

"What upper control arms are those? They look like 4wd uppers."

They're the stock controls arms, I replaced the bushings and ball joint, but they would be similar to part#'s ACDELCO 45D1248 & ACDELCO 45D1247. To the best of my knowledge they came on the C-series 1-ton and heavy 3/4 ton trucks.