mine started clunking and now it clunks horrible. how hard is it to install one of these? they are $40 on ebay

 

I plan on doing this myself. This was the best video I could find on how to do it.

 

not hard depending on how much rust you have on the gear side joint. Will need a alignment after unless you want to trial and error top joint alignment.
steering shaft.pdf

 

Why would you need an alignment? The tie rod ends never came off... The shaft on the steering gear has flat spots on it. As long as the steering is straight when you take it off and put it back together the same way there is no need for an alignment.

 

one 13mm bolt that can be accessed from the drivers wheel well.

Then get under the car with a screw driver or extension and a hammer and beat it off (upward) ahem... lubricant might help here.

Then inside the car, same 13mm bolt and pry the shaft off the column.

Reverse process to install.

I would recommend an oem replacement instead of an "ebay" one. The dorman ones can be found for around $90 on Ebay.

 

nice,

seems pretty easy expect maybe some hassle under the dash with space constraint.

the clunking is obnoxious and has gotten really bad

 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/GM-OEM-Stee...wAAOSw8Pda2qjM

https://www.ebay.com/itm/New-Interme...EAAOSwZA1abpn1

 

if the wheel is locked after the key is out will that be enough to lock the wheel in place when the shaft is removed?

 

Its kinda hard to get the wheel to lock in the correct orientation for removing the bolt. I would suggest removing the bolts and then locking the wheel if that makes you more comfortable.

 

you don't have to as long as you can get it back lined up since the top joint to the column doesn't have a set location like the gear does. ive had to move a spline or two before to get it just right and have had some that just would not line up.

 

I agree on the doorman unit. Unless you want to chance having to do it again. The doorman shaft is also a upgraded unit. Install is how others have said. Factory ones can be froze in there pretty tight. I never seized mine when putting it back together and have had it off since with little effort.
Don't wait too long, I actually broke one that was getting sloppy, and you lose your steering when that happens!

 

haha i was wondering i bought a new one will be here in a week or so

 

Thankfully when I lost one in my Cherokee I was at a stoplight trying to turn, and it didn't. Blew the clock spring assembly also. Went home and checked my truck and 1 of the bearing cups was rotted off of it too so it was on its way out.

 

its your steering column

 

werent you working on an upgrade for these? I remember you swapping something to make it tighter.

 

yes, its been pushed off. I have access to injection molding business so I gotta figure out which is gonna be a the best route. Harder plastic or a metal gear.

 

Do you have pictures on how to take one apart? Id like to visualize where the play is.

 

First time I separated my shaft from the steering rack I had a hell of a time getting it to break loose. A lot of cussing and questioning if I was actually doing it right.

 

Skip the part about taking the pivot bolt out and take the snap ring off with the lower column in the car. Once the torque sensor is out you can see the motor and shaft gears. If you decide to take it apart I recc lifting the front end and be cautious with the sensor, it breaks easily and if it has to be replaced it has to be recalibrated very specifically using a tech 2.
Column.pdf

 

For the record, I replaced my failed OE with a Dorman unit and it's the biggest piece of ****. It's not been but maybe 5-6K miles and it's failing already.

 

Seriously? That sucks, mine has probably got 10k miles on it. Maybe I should take a look at it. Steering still feels tight.

 

well i went to do this today and right when i took the wheel off i could see that the sway bar end links i put on, the nut backed off. i put some blue loctite on it and its back to normal so i'll just put the steering shaft on the shelf.

 

At least you found it. That's nice

 

i should've checked before i bought it but i dont have time to do much and it'll probably need it eventually i plan on keeping the car for a long time as a driver. it gets driven a lot everyday

 

Glad you found the problem. I changed my sway bar end links. Still clunk. Changed my intermediate shaft still slight clunk. Down to steering column, or the rack itself.

I saw a video of someone putting a wrench right on the input shaft to the rack and and move it back and forth and could identify the clunk. Wish I would have done that to know if it is the column or rack. I think mine is the rack as it does not sound like it is from inside the cabin at all. I even checked the sway bar bushings and those look good and solid.