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Eliminate rag joint and slop: Modified XJ steering shaft

DieselWarrior

DieselWarrior

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This is a youtube video from my Project: DieselWarrior, it details the modification of an XJ/Jeep Cherokee intermediate steering shaft to replace the mid section of the stock GM shaft, thus adding dual U-Joints and totally eliminating the rag joint.

The results are so impressive, I had to share.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y26tFeofUfA


Pros:
-Steering box does not need to be removed
-Steering box does not need to be modified
-Steering column does *not* need to be modified
-Stock steering components are left totally stock

Cons:
-Requires welder and grinder
-Requires knowledge of welding
-Requires knowledge of metalwork

Results:
-Results are immediate! Steering is much more responsive, wandering and slop is virtually eliminated, since the rag joint is removed tactical feedback though the steering wheel is greatly improved.

Any questions, feel free to ask.

Andrew
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Um, yeah. I'm gonna need you to go ahead and come in on Saturday. And then I'm gonna need you to go ahead and come in on Sunday too.

Nice vid, informative. My XJ shaft was a direct bolt on, no cutting/grinding/welding what so ever. :dunno:
 
496truck said:
My XJ shaft was a direct bolt on, no cutting/grinding/welding what so ever. :dunno:
Click to expand...

Do you happen to remember what year XJ yours came from? Knowing the year ranges might save me some trouble as I've heard from some that only the '94 and newer was a direct bolt in, but our local yards only seem to have '80's versions.
 
I got one off an:
88
93
94

As long as it's not a GRAND cherokee, however, I think I've seen one that would have worked. This is of course only a direct bolt on for the newer style K5 (post 80 or something like that) if it's older you will need to modify other things. Hopefully someone can add to that or correct my years.
 
nice vid.. pretty old news tho, heck, we have professional xj shaft salesman hawking them in the for sale section... :haha:

mine's out of a 91 cherokee.....
 
I think the video looks good. The only thing that worries me, is your weld isn't just holding a spline or a double d from sliding apart (meaning the weld isn't usually there to take the rotational force, but only to hold the shafts that do, from seperating). However, your weld is holding the sheetmetal clamp to the shaft, so if the weld brakes, you have no steering left.

Usually if the weld brakes, the steering will still work, as long as the shafts don't slide apart.
 
ryoken said:
nice vid.. pretty old news tho, heck, we have professional xj shaft salesman hawking them in the for sale section... :haha:

mine's out of a 91 cherokee.....
Click to expand...

Is this the actual method for making the XJ shaft fit? OR do the newer models bolt on? I was under the impression they were a bolt on mod. I bought mine from "our vendor."
 
BoondocK5 said:
Is this the actual method for making the XJ shaft fit? OR do the newer models bolt on? I was under the impression they were a bolt on mod. I bought mine from "our vendor."
Click to expand...

YMMV (Your Milage May Vary)

On mine, I could not get the steering box side of the XJ shaft to mate, so I had to graft the GM section.

I could not get the top part that goes to the steering column to mate, so I had to graft the GM section.

Depending on your truck, and your shaft.. you may or may not need to do any number of things.

I had planned on grafting ends to start with, so no modifications would need to be done to the truck, zero.

At the least, most if not all the adaptations require the steering column shaft to be GROUND MORE SQUARE for the XJ shaft to mate.

My system takes a little more effort, but fitment is guaranteed! :waytogo:

HTH,
Andrew
 
K85 Octane said:
As long as it's not a GRAND cherokee
Click to expand...
My method is a variation of what everyone else has been doing, but in the aspect that the ENDS from the GM shafts are grafted onto the Cherokee shaft, it CAN be from either a Cherokee or a Grand Cherokee. Thought Id update that tidbit.

Andrew
 
To sum it up in words:

-Unbolt the stock shaft

-The ends of the GM shaft are cut off

-The ends of the Cherokee shaft are cut off

-The GM ends are welded onto the Cherokee shaft

-Reinstall the newly modified shaft


The video give all the details between here and there that make the difference, but above is a summary.

You do NOT just weld the GM ends onto the end of the Cherokee shaft. (That would be weetodded)



One last thing, if you dont weld good enough, that you trust your life to your welds, go here:
http://www.borgeson.com/xcart/product.php?productid=1451&cat=34&page=




.
 
To answer someones previous question, mine came out of a 90something XJ. I don't remember the year as I looked at a few of them, oldest being a 92 which is about as old as you can get in the yards around here. It appeared the 92 94 96 all looked the same, I just grabbed the one that was least rusty with a good u-joint. This was a year ago, so I don't remember every detail of the XJs in the yard.
 
BoondocK5 said:
Is this the actual method for making the XJ shaft fit? OR do the newer models bolt on? I was under the impression they were a bolt on mod. I bought mine from "our vendor."
Click to expand...

Newer Chevy boxes it bolts on to, the older boxes have a bigger spline count. Yours is the right year as long as the box is the og box. I had to weld the chevy end on mine cuz my box is a 76 box.
 
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