xj steering shaft problem-help!!!

[twoslo4five0]

alright i got my xj steering shaft...dont know the year of the truck...i got the plastic band around the outside removed and i see no way to drill out some pins or anything wtf....its too long to just fit in now...also will it bolt up to my 87 box...i have read the tech article but there is so many posts and people with diffrent stuff its just confusing...help please pics any thing would help...

 

[twoslo4five0]

i think its spussoed to compress but i cant seem to get it to though...

 

[k20]

thats the same shaft I have, havent gotten it installed yet, but I remember one of the posts in that thread saying that one style of shaft was filled with plastic, it didnt have pins, but basically an inner plastic sleeve.

 

[twoslo4five0]

so what do you have to do to get them to seperate???im thinking about putting it in the press...

 

[sandawgk5]

Mine was just like that and there is nothing inside it. I moved the joint to the side and hit the shaft with a hammer and it will collapse. They like to stick after sitting at the same length for a couple of years. Once mine was loose I got it to move easier. It was still hard but it would move.

Oh it will also slip right on your 87 box. The steering wheel end will need a clearance notch put in it to clear the clamp bolt for the top though.

Ira

 

[twoslo4five0]

dude me and my roomate just samcked that thing with a sledgehammer and it didnt move...i dunno i dont tink im gonna be able to get this on to move....i dont have a torch,but i do have a fire burning...im getting some ideas...

 

[sandawgk5]

dude me and my roomate just samcked that thing with a sledgehammer and it didnt move...i dunno i dont tink im gonna be able to get this on to move....i dont have a torch,but i do have a fire burning...im getting some ideas...

Did you put one end on the ground and then hit the other end or did you hold it in your hand? You need to put one end on the ground and hit it hard.

Not calling you out just trying to help

Ira

 

[twoslo4five0]

Did you put one end on the ground and then hit the other end or did you hold it in your hand? You need to put one end on the ground and hit it hard.

Not calling you out just trying to help

Ira

yes it was on the ground...i gotta soaking again in lube...hopefully that will help...did they ever make ones that didnt collapse???

 

[twoslo4five0]

yes it was on the ground...i gotta soaking again in lube...hopefully that will help...did they ever make ones that didnt collapse???

im also worried about breaking off one of the ears on the shaft...

 

[twoslo4five0]

this is like the jeep i got it off...

 

[ct85k10]

Keep looking there shoud be a a hole with plastic in it on the outer shaft that you need to drill out or melt out you wouldnt think a little plastic would keep it from moving but it will i beat the heck out of the stock one and it wouldnt budge till i drilled the plastic out

 

[4X4HIGH]

All of the shafts collapse. If you look very carefully you will see two plastic pins that are about 1/8" or smaller that go through the shafts, you need to drill those out if you can't get it to move by hitting it.

 

[4X4HIGH]

Keep looking there shoud be a a hole with plastic in it on the outer shaft that you need to drill out or melt out you wouldnt think a little plastic would keep it from moving but it will i beat the heck out of the stock one and it wouldnt budge till i drilled the plastic out

Yep, gotta love the hot poured plastic retention on the GM drivelines. Those bastards are hard to break free. I use my 40 ton press at work for doing those though.

 

[twoslo4five0]

alright appreciate the help fellas...its dark now im just gonna attack it again tomm...i will keep yall posted on the progress...

 

[makovai]

I have now made 3 of them....2 for friends. I never drilled anything. I just take a rosebud torch, heat it, melt all the plastic and pull them apart. Then i deburr it really well, grease the $h*t out of it and slide them back together. 10 minute job. If you have a torch.

 

[twoslo4five0]

well i just got it all done and installed (didnt work yesterday too cold) and my shaft had no plastic pins in it it was just froze up...i put it in a press and it went right down....im glad i replaced it when i pulled the rag joint some power steering fluid had gotten to it from a leak i had and it just fell apart in my hands...glad i wasnt driving down the road and that happened....anyway it seems to inprove the steering alot but the real test is with the trailer on and load behind it...well see how it does then...