Steering shaft slop

[ElliotV]

Not really sure if this is the right spot to post I am new here but I recently picked up a 1990 GMC k1500 with a 5.7 4spd and it has some weird steering wheel slop going back and forth. I can see it moving in and out at this joint but I am wondering if there is something loose in the column? Wondering if anyone has seen this before if it is something else

 

[Drunkcanuk]

Not really sure if this is the right spot to post I am new here but I recently picked up a 1990 GMC k1500 with a 5.7 4spd and it has some weird steering wheel slop going back and forth. I can see it moving in and out at this joint but I am wondering if there is something loose in the column? Wondering if anyone has seen this before if it is something else

Most likely the rag joint.

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[Canadian Rust Bucket]

The steering shaft is in a couple pieces and designed to telescope if you drive into a wall so you don't get impaled. How that works, if I remember correctly, is a curved metal shim creating friction between the small square tube centred in your picture and the larger diameter tube below it.
You can see in your picture a bit of really shiny metal right at the bottom of the shaft. If you are experiencing play in and out, I'd start looking there. Could be your shim is gone, along with the protective boot, and now your shaft is telescoping during normal operation.
Side to side slop, and like @Drunkcanuk said, probably your rag joint down by the steering box.

 

[movietvet]

Welcome to the forum from Oregon. A video would have been better but is likely related to what @Drunkcanuk and @Canadian Rust Bucket said.

 

[ElliotV]

The steering shaft is in a couple pieces and designed to telescope if you drive into a wall so you don't get impaled. How that works, if I remember correctly, is a curved metal shim creating friction between the small square tube centred in your picture and the larger diameter tube below it.
You can see in your picture a bit of really shiny metal right at the bottom of the shaft. If you are experiencing play in and out, I'd start looking there. Could be your shim is gone, along with the protective boot, and now your shaft is telescoping during normal operation.
Side to side slop, and like @Drunkcanuk said, probably your rag joint down by the steering box.

The movement is in the shaft from the steering wheel to the joint in the picture that shiny part seems to be where it has been moving.

 

[Canadian Rust Bucket]

The movement is in the shaft from the steering wheel to the joint in the picture that shiny part seems to be where it has been moving.

Try undoing the bolt at the top and the rag joint at the bottom, remove the two shafts from the truck, and explore how they connect. On mine I had to replace the shim and I packed some bearing grease into the larger shaft to make it easier to install.
This also gives you the opportunity to check the rag joint for wear and potentially replace it with a u joint. I used the Cunningham machine lower shaft + joint.

 

[xXxPARAGONxXx]

Not really sure if this is the right spot to post I am new here but I recently picked up a 1990 GMC k1500 with a 5.7 4spd and it has some weird steering wheel slop going back and forth. I can see it moving in and out at this joint but I am wondering if there is something loose in the column? Wondering if anyone has seen this before if it is something else

There are two joints that create slop in the steering. One is the rag joint; the other is that joint. There is no longer an OEM replacement, so you will need to source an aftermarket shaft like Borgeson.

You can read starting here for more about that joint:

xXxPARAGONxXx’s 1999 Chevrolet K2500 Crew Cab

It's an AAM driveshaft, but I think (not sure) that AAM [sometimes] or GM(?) used Spicer slip yokes and stub shafts on its driveshafts. Oh, I thought it was a Dana/spicer since I saw that's who made that rubber piece earlier in the thread and the other sticker looked foreign to me. The only...

www.gmt400.com

 

[GrimsterGMC]

Not really sure if this is the right spot to post I am new here but I recently picked up a 1990 GMC k1500 with a 5.7 4spd and it has some weird steering wheel slop going back and forth. I can see it moving in and out at this joint but I am wondering if there is something loose in the column? Wondering if anyone has seen this before if it is something else

I had the same issue with my '88 and ended up replacing it with the Cunningham shaft which got rid of the rag joint at the same time. They weren't a very robust design in the first place so surprising they have lasted this long. The only thing I noticed afterwards was that the rag joint actually stops the power steering pump noise traveling up the solid steering shaft and being heard in the cab, but the steering is way better for it.

 

[ElliotV]

I had the same issue with my '88 and ended up replacing it with the Cunningham shaft which got rid of the rag joint at the same time. They weren't a very robust design in the first place so surprising they have lasted this long. The only thing I noticed afterwards was that the rag joint actually stops the power steering pump noise traveling up the solid steering shaft and being heard in the cab, but the steering is way better for it.

Well supposedly the truck only has 122k on it according to the dash. It was supposedly a truck a guy bought to use on his farm which makes sense for the mileage if it just stayed on a farm. So that could be why it lasted this long and would also explain why it runs so well with a few minor issues like the apparently infamous output yoke clunk and some miscellaneous stuff that can be chalked up to old truck stuff like rotted hoses and whatnot.

 

[DennisT]

I also replaced my rag joint with the Cunningham Machine U-Joint. One of the best things I've done for my 1996 K1500. With other parts in good shape, mine steers like new now.