Just some food for thought, may work on trucks, since it is the same steering shaft setup.
> > I'd like to take all the slop out of my steering system. According to
> > Mullins Steering gears rag joints are only to dampen vibration and
> > resonant PS noise. They can only join two shafts that are dead
> > straight in line. They sure don't look straight. Doesn't the rag joint
> > allow for a slight angle between the shafts? If not then I guess the
> > shafts can be joined with a straight tube or just a U-joint. The
> > shafts are 3/4" with 30 splines right...or is it 36? I'm looking for a
> > quick and easy way to eliminate the play which is very excessive in my
> > rag joint, preferably by just replacing it with a more rigid piece.
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I have been messing with the steering of the Monte again. I have always
hated the slop provided by the "rag joint" in the steering shaft. I couldn't
come up with a way to replace it, short of buying a complete shaft with
U-joints from an aftermarket company.
The other day, XXXXXX and I were looking in a local junkyard for a shaft
for his '70 Monte Carlo. We walked by an Astro van with the front mostly
removed off of it. Those vehicles use a shaft with two U-joints (one with a
damper built in). I grabbed the shaft for $25 (too much!). I didn't realize
at the time, but I already had a picture of the shaft (from a van) that XXXXXX sent to me. Look here, it is the bottom shaft in the pic:
www.dorianyeager.com/index2.html
Why insist on counting when the ring gear has the tooth counts stamped in?
