eaglescout526 Posted September 18, 2021 Share Posted September 18, 2021 So I did a search and came across a few topics, some wanted, some wanting to know where to buy and some as to what to do. and the newest was I think a couple years ago or so but I want to get a general idea as to what yall think we (as our MJs age and the less serviced parts need to be addressed)should do. Should we get them serviced or should we bite the bullet and just simply replace aging parts as the newest XJ is now 20 years of antiquity and even if its low miles, who knows how long it has been sitting or if its better or worse than new. Honest opinions and ideas welcome. I think its time to replace mine as I go through another steering debacle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
watchamakalit Posted September 18, 2021 Share Posted September 18, 2021 I feel it really depends on the intended purpose of the truck. My daily will get replacement part. For a show truck that might be a different story. But either case I wouldnt just start randomly servicing/ replacing things that don't need it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy in Pa Posted September 18, 2021 Share Posted September 18, 2021 As I see it, if there is looseness or play in the small u-joint in your steering shaft, replace the shaft with new. Its a pretty critical piece of hardware. I say this as one who has never had a steering shaft with slop indicating the small u-joint was worn out. I did put a Flaming River aftermarket steering shaft in my MJ when I rebuilt though, because someone gave it to me. The factory shaft was loose, but the little joint was tight and technically did not have any play. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eaglescout526 Posted September 18, 2021 Author Share Posted September 18, 2021 I did read in one of the older posts that the factory power steering shaft has some sort of rubber vibration dampener in it, I suspect mine being the original is probably long worn out as with the u-joints. Seems like going new is a good idea. That being said has anyone tried out any other shafts like a ZJ or a GM one for some beef? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Minuit Posted September 18, 2021 Share Posted September 18, 2021 The XJ shaft is actually used as an upgrade in some other vehicle. The exact one eludes me now, but I think it's used to eliminate a rag joint. The XJ shaft I'm thinking of has u-joints at both ends and an injected plastic crash structure which breaks to allow the shaft to collapse. Mine had the tiniest little bit of play in one of the u-joints that could be felt but not seen. I replaced it with the Crown part when I installed my ZJ steering box (which itself is going to have to come out again at some point) and it's providing good service. Be warned, the shaft does not collapse easily - it's only intended to collapse under crash forces. This makes it a major PITA to install. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eaglescout526 Posted January 30, 2022 Author Share Posted January 30, 2022 Back in this. I attempted to replace mine today with a used one in a bit better shape than mine. Well needless to say I put in the new one and came up shorter. Like a couple centimeters short. Now has anyone ever replaced their shaft and run into this issue? I am thinking I need to remove the steering wheel and hammer the shaft in the column down to give more length for the steering shaft to give more bite on both the box and column shaft. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MiNi Beast Posted January 31, 2022 Share Posted January 31, 2022 I have had this same issue. Was said to hammer it a bit as suppose to be some adjustments in the lentgh, by i just ended up separating the rubber bushing at the top and jacked it all up. But it allowed me to lengthen the shaft to connect it. Which i then just drilled a hole through shaft at bushing to pin the two together. Worked. But i always thought about it when driving so i had swapped it out for a different one that bolted right in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eaglescout526 Posted January 31, 2022 Author Share Posted January 31, 2022 I think I’ll take a stab at seeing if I can send the steering column down a little bit and see if the steering shaft gets a better bite on the box this evening. If I can send it then that’ll confirm the column shaft moved on me. I’ll report back what I find. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdog Posted January 31, 2022 Share Posted January 31, 2022 Are you replacing the column part or the intermediate shaft between the column and the box? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eaglescout526 Posted January 31, 2022 Author Share Posted January 31, 2022 12 minutes ago, jdog said: Are you replacing the column part or the intermediate shaft between the column and the box? The shaft between the column and box. That’s the only place I can think of where any remaining slop is in the steering. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdog Posted January 31, 2022 Share Posted January 31, 2022 That shaft does move inside itself, probably stuck, lube it and give it a few wacks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MiNi Beast Posted January 31, 2022 Share Posted January 31, 2022 Lite taps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
75sv1 Posted January 31, 2022 Share Posted January 31, 2022 I could only find a TJ steering shaft on the Flaming Rivers site. I do have a Boreguson to install at some point. The steering on my '00 is fairly tight. Maybe the MJ or my '01, when I get it built and running. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eaglescout526 Posted February 2, 2022 Author Share Posted February 2, 2022 Word of the wise. The shaft in the column is not directly connected to the shaft on the other side of the firewall. That is all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdog Posted February 2, 2022 Share Posted February 2, 2022 Huh? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AZJeff Posted February 2, 2022 Share Posted February 2, 2022 On 1/31/2022 at 8:58 AM, eaglescout526 said: I think I’ll take a stab at seeing if I can send the steering column down a little bit and see if the steering shaft gets a better bite on the box this evening. If I can send it then that’ll confirm the column shaft moved on me. I’ll report back what I find. Where is the suspected slop in the steering column? Is it on the coupling that attaches to the input shaft on the actual steering box? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eaglescout526 Posted February 2, 2022 Author Share Posted February 2, 2022 I am actually gonna stop messing with it and live with the slight slop. I’m not sure where it is at. I can only suspect the steering shaft itself or the shaft in the column if it has any joints but other than that it’s not worth fiddling with anymore. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdog Posted February 2, 2022 Share Posted February 2, 2022 How much slop are we talking about? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eaglescout526 Posted February 2, 2022 Author Share Posted February 2, 2022 29 minutes ago, jdog said: How much slop are we talking about? Enough to bother me but probably within acceptable tolerance from the factory. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdog Posted February 2, 2022 Share Posted February 2, 2022 You gotta remember these things had some slop as they are a steering box and not a rack Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eaglescout526 Posted February 2, 2022 Author Share Posted February 2, 2022 I figured as much but when looking at the exploded parts diagram I figured there wasn’t many place for there to be slop and could have a tighter steering which I do after replacing all the steering parts and having a ZJ box rebuilt. I’m just gonna leave it alone. It ain’t broke, not much more room for improvement, so I’ll quit touching it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gogmorgo Posted February 2, 2022 Share Posted February 2, 2022 The steering gear needs a small amount of slop to function. There’s a torsion spring between the input and the worm shaft so there will always be a bit of a delay between turning the wheel and the worm shaft starting to move. The valves are on the input side, which allows them to open so you’ll have assist when the gearbox starts moving, otherwise you’d be steering manually to initiate the assist and fighting the assist to stop steering or steer back the other direction. So it’s not going to be possible to ever have zero slop from the input of the steering box to the sector shaft, even if you adjusted the sector shaft backlash to zero. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eaglescout526 Posted February 2, 2022 Author Share Posted February 2, 2022 That’s good info. I didn’t know that. I guess what bothered me the most was that the steering wheel never returned to full center after making a turn and I assumed it was due to slop. But knowing this tidbit helps me understand the steering system more and will tell me to quit fiddling with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Minuit Posted February 2, 2022 Share Posted February 2, 2022 17 hours ago, eaglescout526 said: Word of the wise. The shaft in the column is not directly connected to the shaft on the other side of the firewall. That is all. It should be if the column has not been involved in a wreck or otherwise jostled. The shaft in the steering column is actually two pieces, once again connected with an injected plastic crash structure to allow the column to collapse in a wreck instead of skewering the driver. If this crash structure has broken, there will be slop in the column itself. This is the reason why you'll very often see warnings to handle a dismounted steering column very carefully. Hammering on this shaft could very well break the crash structure. I have a NOS one for a tilt column in my attic that I could take a picture of to show you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eaglescout526 Posted February 2, 2022 Author Share Posted February 2, 2022 Luckily I didn’t actually hammer the column shaft. I pushed it and it ended up going down into the column. That was not what I call a fun first time diving into the column. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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