Intermediate Steering Shaft Upgrade

[leathermaneod]

Hi all,

I replaced my intermediate steering shaft about 2000 miles ago because it had a lot of play in the upper joint (rag joint I believe) and it did not slide freely. I replaced it with a OEM Doorman one from Rock Auto. Anyway, it has already developed the same amount of play after 2000 miles as the original had after 250k miles. I will not pay $270 for a stupid Borgsen shaft because thats just crazy. So, I was thinking about ways to make this thing better and I came up with drilling out the rivets and replacing them with bolts so that I can 

actually tighten up that joint. 

What are your thoughts? Good idea or bad? Will it be a safety issue? Better ideas?

 

[CTcummins24V]

Ebay, OEM Mopar shaft, $130. I had the dorman for a very short time and had the same exact thing. 

[leathermaneod]

But the OEM is the exact same design....do you think using bolts in place of the rivets to tighten it up would be unsafe?

[JAG1]

Use Nylon lock nuts and go fine thread not course thread. Maybe stainless steel?

I would call the company and see what they think.

[leathermaneod]

Thanks for the suggestion. Just Out of curiosity, why fine thread vs course? I was planning on some grade 8 bolts as well just incase. I would think they would be stronger than those rivets....

I thought about trying to get another from rock auto through their warranty, but I think this is just a design problem....

[leathermaneod]

Well I tried this out today. Pretty disappointed over all. It was a lot harder than I expected and doesn't seem to have helped much if at all with the little bit of play I have left, though with the bolts I was able to get the play out of the joint :-( I'm also not sure if I feel safe with this shaft anymore as the one side of the upper u joint intermittently tightens up and doesn't move as freely. Not really tight and nothing I noticed while driving, just moving it by hand. Just makes me wonder if I compromised it at all. Anyway I guess this wasn't such a good idea. 

[JAG1]

I suggested fine thread because it is a little better about not going loose from vibrations. Not as much taper or Barber shop sign effect.

 

You can do something about this... don't give up hope. My firt gen has had a John Deere universal joint on the steering shaft for 300 k miles. Has it's own zirk. You can have it re revited or  make sure bolts are the right diameter without the threads on the upper part of the shank.

BTW, the U joint from John Deere is a mower deck drive shaft U joint. Small enough to be the right size.

[leathermaneod]

I'm just not sure that that joint is the problem. I was able to get it completely tight with the bolts as I have them in the picture above. There is no more play in it. But my very small dead zone is still there, though it may have gotten very slightly smaller. I'm probably just asking too much and expecting perfection out of a 15 year old vehicle lol

Just realized I must have forgot to post the picture?? Lol anyway here it is

Edited August 10, 2016 by leathermaneod

[TFaoro]

I have never driven a new 2nd gen, but I bet they weren't perfectly tight from the factory!

[leathermaneod]

1 minute ago, TFaoro said:

I have never driven a new 2nd gen, but I bet they weren't perfectly tight from the factory!

My thoughts exactly 

[JAG1]

My second gen when it only had about 30,000 miles got a DSS steering stabilizer. Not because it was loose steering or any play.... I wanted one because it stops the steering box shaft play from wearing out the bearing. My steering was like new and the DSS still made it better.

[leathermaneod]

I have one of those sitting in my garage. It used to be on the truck, but I took it off to replace the gear box. The sector shaft nut threads disintegrated as we tried to re install it. I'm now in the process of trying to get a replacement nut so I can put it back on. Unfortunately that process is made more difficult by the fact that I do not know who made this particular brace. I tried a nut from Vulcan, but the shaft is too short. 

Where did you get your brace?

Edited August 10, 2016 by leathermaneod

[dripley]

When mine was new I never could figure why the cops were not pulling me over to see if I was drunk. Constant steering input was needed to keep it going straight unless you were on a major highway. It still wandered but many times I could just let go of the wheel and it would track straight as a string. The steering was the only thing i did not like about the truck. It drives better now than when new. I do have very little play in the wheel and much less steering input is required as compared to new. I do have steering brace. While it did help some, it was not the fix all as it was claimed.

[JAG1]

I bought it from Source Automotive in Clackamas, Oregon. At the time they had sold over 2400 of them across the country.

 

Their number is 503 654 9004

Dripley I'm going to park the 16 foot chicken at night by your truck so it scares the living bejeebies out of you.

[leathermaneod]

Thanks for your input guys. Right now I have DAP checking to see if they can get just the nut from BD and if it is long enough. Otherwise I may be giving source automotive a call. Actually though, I just had an idea! Maybe I can just put the bearing on top of the steering brace, rather than have it hanging from the bottom! I feel like I may have seen that somewhere before. That should make the nut from Vulcan plenty long. I'll have to give that a try.

[dripley]

1 hour ago, JAG1 said:

I bought it from Source Automotive in Clackamas, Oregon. At the time they had sold over 2400 of them across the country.

 

Their number is 503 654 9004

Dripley I'm going to park the 16 foot chicken at night by your truck so it scares the living bejeebies out of you.

 

Bring it on. Cluck cluck. I can handle the chicken.

[JAG1]

Can't win around here