yeah, its concerning for sure. A hot engine bay or turning the wheel hard with bound up tires would be my guesses for failure, but maybe this just had a bad molding for some reason? Need less to say, Im not super stoked about the fact that there is nothing but molded rubber holding the shaft together.
CK5
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Xj steering shaft
- Thread starter Kain
- Start date
rampage
3/4 ton status
The area circled has a pin going through it, so unless the pin popped out then I don’t see how it could separate.
Wow that's pretty crazy. Even if that collar was abused and worn out I'm amazed there was enough movement to pull it apart. 
Isn't there a pin that runs through the whole collar and shaft? That's so when the rubber fails you get a clunky intermediate shaft and not a loss of steering. That pin probably went AWOL on this unit.
I do not have a pin. Maybe there are differences, but Im pretty sure the pics of other shafts I have seen do not have a pic there.
i cant post pics. I can email to someone if they want to post them for me.
i cant post pics. I can email to someone if they want to post them for me.
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rampage
3/4 ton status
Or upload it to your Google account and link from there.
sorry guys, Im techno-disadvantaged. I dont have a google account, nor can I figure out how to upload media here.
can go here to see pics, sorry if Im not allowed to post other sites
www.gmsquarebody.com
can go here to see pics, sorry if Im not allowed to post other sites
RETRO-Mod: Jeep intermediate steering shaft
I'm twenty seven pages deep into this thread trying to figure out the purpose. Correct me if I'm wrong, but all this mod does is eliminates/reduces the slack in the steering by replacing easily wearing out "rag joint" with a Jeep shaft that has some integrated rubber dampener integrated in the...
www.gmsquarebody.com
rampage
3/4 ton status
Google accounts are free and you can Google how to upload a pic to your account. And then we can show you how to link it here. It’s not hard to do any of that. This site is all about learning if you’re willing.
… or you could become a paying member to make it much easier.
The steering shaft from an early 2000's G-van also fits. It's double u-joint. I have a 2002 in my '90 K5.
That looks like the same crap jeep shaft I have. More slop in it than the 30 year old rag joint it replaced.
Yes you may be right, but these are things I should know, so I am using Guinea pigs to find out 
I’ve had a XJ shaft in my ‘91 for a while now. I’d have to look and see if it has the pin. I’ve been on countless off road trails and lots of road miles, zero issue.
Mine was pretty tight when I pulled it out of an xj in the pull n pay yard. Cleaned it up, heated it up to compress it enough to fit and fogged it with some paint.
With nothing more than street miles on it I can only assume the rubber isolator was probably compromised during its tour of duty in the jeep. I don’t see a problem in getting another one, though springing for a fresh aftermarket replacement might give better peace of mind over another used one.
Mine was pretty tight when I pulled it out of an xj in the pull n pay yard. Cleaned it up, heated it up to compress it enough to fit and fogged it with some paint.
With nothing more than street miles on it I can only assume the rubber isolator was probably compromised during its tour of duty in the jeep. I don’t see a problem in getting another one, though springing for a fresh aftermarket replacement might give better peace of mind over another used one.
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I just looked at mine this evening in the M1028. It has a pin holding the steering column u joint to the slip shaft with the rubber bushing in the center. I purchased mine new, so no issues with that bushing.
Ok, so I’ve come across 2 different isolator bodies while XJ diving. Both will work. One is a can, like the picture, and one is a can with “ears”. Even if the rubber fails, the ears catch and will give you steering. Super sloppy, but working.
The can style doesn’t have a failsafe. I honestly don’t remember pins but maybe. Since I was selling some of these, I just welded the two halves together. The can with ears was much easier to weld than trying to jump the rubber.
The can style doesn’t have a failsafe. I honestly don’t remember pins but maybe. Since I was selling some of these, I just welded the two halves together. The can with ears was much easier to weld than trying to jump the rubber.
Here's examples of both the "pin" and the "ear" style. It's standard fare for molded rubber parts like transmission mount and isolators to have steel through them. It only touches one side unless the rubber fails and the steel is the fail-safe.
Let me point out that just because somebody found a steering shaft in an XJ doesn't mean that shaft was original to that vehicle. It's also possible somebody modified it in the past. I can't see somebody cutting the ears off, but it's conceivable someone drove the pin out trying to disassemble the thing or change the length (or eliminate their ex!). Could the pin rust or fall out? Bolting used parts on a vehicle (especially where safety critical) is an inherent risk, so we all have to be careful.
I'm glad to hear @plugugly and family weren't hurt.
Let me point out that just because somebody found a steering shaft in an XJ doesn't mean that shaft was original to that vehicle. It's also possible somebody modified it in the past. I can't see somebody cutting the ears off, but it's conceivable someone drove the pin out trying to disassemble the thing or change the length (or eliminate their ex!). Could the pin rust or fall out? Bolting used parts on a vehicle (especially where safety critical) is an inherent risk, so we all have to be careful.
I'm glad to hear @plugugly and family weren't hurt.
I found this one that appears to be what you are talking about. It seems the isolator is on the gear box side however, is that what you have?
same as this
More Information for DORMAN 425159
www.rockauto.com
From what I can tell, a 90ish shaft from jeep is 23" long and the van is 25.75. Did you have any issues with the extra length?
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