CELEBRATING 20 YEARS!

I have seen a couple ads on ebay for a intermediate shaft upgrade from a jeep, not sure what year? Eliminates the rag joint and the top sleeve. Does any one know what year these are from and are they any good. Do a search on ebay for g body and you will find them

Not sure what you see on Ebay, but I went with a flaming river collapsable shaft with stainless u-joints on top and bottom. Never have to worry about a loose feel from the intermediate shaft again, thats for sure.

http://i17.ebayimg.com/02/i/000/d4/ed/9182_1.JPG

here it is

heres a video of the install

http://www.tuneyfish.com/video_player.php?vid=220

all right guys if you want something done do it yourself here's the answer

"A steering shaft from a 1996 era Jeep Grand Cherokee will bolt into a G-body. The Jeep shaft has u-joints in the shaft rather than rag joints, which will reduce slop."

I also saw these on Ebay & was interested myself. Looks like a good upgrade, I'll have to see if there's any Jeeps at the local yard. Keep us updated if you get one & how it works out.

eliminating the rag joint will probably give you all kinds of squirm in the wheel going down the road. not to mention the vibration

any feedback from anyone running the flaming river setup

also found this on a blazer forum
So anyway. The shaft is a perfect fit. My steering wheel is the straightest it's ever been, and plenty of space between the manifolds and the shaft. I breathe a sigh of relief.





So Grappler and I take it out for a test drive and beat on it pretty hard. As I said, the steering wheel is straight, responsiveness and tightness is incredible (especially w/ my ZQ8 steering box). The truck practically drives itself now! I don't have to swing the steering wheel back and fourth to keep the damn thing straight anymore! YAY! Several miles and tons of turns and curves later, I'm quite happy.

On my way home, I start thinking. GM put the rag joint in, in part for vibration dampning. Hmmm. We really didn't run it through a test for that. What can I do? Well, this being Pennsylvania, the Pothole capital of the world, and being in Pittsburgh, the cobblestone capital of the world, I figured a little more testing was in order.

First I head down some side streets where I know there are some bad potholes. Pretty good, but very hard to tell if there is any vibration when your truck is rocking back and fourth on the pothole slolam (sic?) I needed something else. I head for Squirrel Hill. (Those of you who live around here know what that area is like) I drove 2 miles worth of cobblestone streets. Not one iota of vibration through the steering column. It was a very smooth (albeit noisy) ride. I'm happy...

But wait! There's more!

I figured a speed test was in order. A lot of vibration can happen at higher speeds. Had to do it. I hit I-279. It's me, the road, the truck and a Venti coffee w/ a shot. (I picked up Starbucks). 50, 60, 80, 96 MPH.....Smooth as glass! I finish my coffee and go home.


So in conclusion, for an average $25.00 or less and 2 hours of your time, you can have this mod and eliminate that damn steering slop causing rag joint and be happy! Just please be aware, this is a PERMANANT modification. Once you cut that stem off the steering shaft you are committed. It's not a hard mod. On a 1-10 difficulty level, I would rate it a 5. If you do do it, you will love it and wonder why you didn't do it sooner. If you decide not to do it, you can remain jealous of those that have and continue to complain about your steering slop.

and this update
Update
It's now 1-1/2 years later, no issues to date with the steering or handling.

you know what I think I talked myself into it. I'm in the process of rebuilding so once i get it all together and on the road i will let you all know.

I would really be interested if with a set of lo-pro's it would work just as good.
Mine is in need of replacement; heat from the headers, oil spills, etc, has eaten away at it.
Good post!

Hmm...so, is this steering shaft collapsible in case of an accident? I don't feel like getting speared through the chest.

If so, then this seems pretty cool!

Well, the one from Flaming River is collapsible, and the other one from the auction has the collapsible sleeve design too, so they both should work just the same.

zz4 is right if you watch the videa above it states that is collapsible

TPI Monte SS, Steve, was telling me about the Jeep shaft swap several months ago. It sounds like a good swap especially if the price is right. All factory shafts are collaspable these days and it appears the Jeep shaft is no exception. My only isses with a used one is how many miles and how much water/heat has the donor seen. Sounds like it not a drop in swap because of the need to shorten the steering column shaft, which isn't hard to do but is a permanent modification.

My Astro van has a much shorter shaft which uses a u-joint at both ends. This setup is needed on the Astro because of the sharp angle necessary to go from the column down to the box. Driving this Astro for three years now I can say you don't miss the rag joint.

I rebuilt my stock intermediate shaft in 2000 using a new bottom 1/2 and R&R'ed upper 1/2. Wasn't aware of the Flaming River or Borgeson available u-joint shafts at the time. The only negative of these two company's shafts is you have to assemble them using the setscrews at the joints, they explicitly say no welding. The Jeep shaft is most likely a welded unit which I would prefer over the setscrews used by the aftermarket.

Next time I'm in the u-pull I'll find a Jeep and see how I like the construction of their shaft.
Bob

I know they said the ZJ ('93-'98) Grand Cherokees are a good donor for the shaft, but they share a lot of steering components with the smaller Cherokee (XJ). I'll measure the steering shaft on my '01 Cherokee Sport tomorrow if the weather cooperates and report back if it'll work as a donor. I also found this thread over on ROP - http://www.oldspower.com/vb/showthread.php?p=370166 with some good pics and info about doing the ZJ steering shaft swap too. There is no cutting or welding necessary, the only reason they mention cutting of the steering shaft in the link copied from the S-series forum is because the 2nd-gen S-truck ('94-up) has a longer piece coming out from the firewall and needs to be shortened to allow sufficient room for the shaft to collapse. It's not an issue with the G-body.

I have to say, I could not be happier without a rag joint. Vibration? Not really, and though it was a long time between factory parts and my mods, I think there is about -zero- difference in vibration transmittance. Steering is rock solid and a pleasure!

Sweet, I'll have to get one of those shafts! My boot on the upper joint is all ripped up anyway.

BTW, the 2nd gen S10's are 94+

Thanks Bernie, I updated my post to reflect that. I'm going to be on the hunt for one of those ZJ steering shafts as well!

Curious, any idea how these would hold up with a manual steering setup?

I think im going to have to grab one to try out next time im at the u-pull. Mine is all ate up.

Looked at the one in a cherokee at the yard and it looks similar. Wasn't sure which one to look for. All the jeep terminology XJ ZJ JJ sounds like an episode of the jeffersons. Those letters mean nothing outside the Jeep community. It's either a cherokee or a grand cherokee etc for non jeep people.

I take it was are looking for the grand cherokee one. Jeeps are rare in the yards here and this was a 00 which is rare to see something that new in the yard...

Anyway eyeballing the cherokee one it looks pretty long. Will have to hope for a grand cherokee next trip.

As for the vibration issue. Why would it be an issue. FWD cars all use u-joints like that and astros do which use the same front suspension and the jeeps use them. Doesn't seem to be any vibration issues with them.

Hey man, no problem

I've got one and the damn thing is driving me up a wall.

Ok guys Im going to have to put the warning stamp on this upgrade. I just got back from the yard and brought home a shaft from a 96 grand cherokee. The splines fit fine but the upper U joint does not fit. It seems too small. Also I noticed while I was at the yard that some jeeps all from 92-98 have different shafts. The one I picked up has a 7/16 bolt for the splines just like the monte has now some of the other jeeps had a 13mm bolt at both ends. The splines "looked" different I can not say for sure, but I went with what the video posted above said and went with the 7/16 bolt shaft and it does not "bolt right in" kinda pissed off I just spent 2 hours a 1/4 tank of gas $23 and I still dont have a friggin shaft!

Rob, I know this probably won't work for your situation, but there is always www.flamingriver.com

Rob, I'm sorry you were the guinea pig. Did the shaft have 7/16 at the bottom and 9/16th or 5/8th up top also would it work up side down?? I would of beat you to this but had to play dad today instead of a mechanic (shady tree)

Ok guys now that ive had some time to look at it the top U joint just might work, it is a VERY tight fit at least in my case. Tomorrow morning I will hopefully get it in. The top bolt was a 7/16ths head also. Ill take pics tomorrow and report back.

If all else fails I just might be calling up the guys at flaming river and opening up my wallet haha.

Rob

Please do keep us informed.
I just bought one off ebay. Is it possible you just need to open(pry) out the clamp a little?