Do you have any frame braces? I installed jounce braces last year and they really changed how the car feels.
G-Body upgraded intermediate steering shaft
- Thread starter jimsmonte80
- Start date
Do you have any frame braces? I installed jounce braces last year and they really changed how the car feels.
So far I have the fender to rad support braces, F41 jounce bars, Grand Prix bar, radiator cross bars and the F41 sway bar up front. Rear seat has the added braces behind it as well, I dont know for certain if thats because I have a T Top, because its an 88 and they were just dumping the last of things into the cars on the assembly line, or for another reason entirely. Soon to add UMI braces to the rear and Blazer rear sway bar. Still looking for the firewall to radiator support Monte Carlo bars as well. I installed all of this before the car was really roadworthy so I dont remember how it drove before adding those braces and rebuilding the front suspension and steering.
I'm fine w/the rag-joint coupling the steering to the box. I've also had them in pretty bad shape due to fluid/oil soaking issue, so I've just used the replacement parts store 'HELP' section stuff to correct things.
That being said, I did this on my dually (same basic GM set-up) only to have the replacement part split in two after very few miles of use. The 'safety-shield' or guard that clamps over it was the only thing connecting the steering when it happened. I can't say w/certainty if it was manufacturing construction or the material, but the issue had me questioning aftermarket replacement stuff quality vs what was used years ago. To be fair when the failure occurred, I was yanking on the steering wheel to turn the wheels while the truck was off (needed better hammer access @ the heat-soaked starter).
I still feel despite the weight difference that the material should have held so I swapped to the Jeep stuff @ that point.
That being said, I did this on my dually (same basic GM set-up) only to have the replacement part split in two after very few miles of use. The 'safety-shield' or guard that clamps over it was the only thing connecting the steering when it happened. I can't say w/certainty if it was manufacturing construction or the material, but the issue had me questioning aftermarket replacement stuff quality vs what was used years ago. To be fair when the failure occurred, I was yanking on the steering wheel to turn the wheels while the truck was off (needed better hammer access @ the heat-soaked starter).
I still feel despite the weight difference that the material should have held so I swapped to the Jeep stuff @ that point.
I've seen rag joints that were dry, brittle, and cracked to the point they were loose and hard due to shrinkage. I've seen rag joints that were saturated in oil and God knows what else, turning them gooey over time. Both can be dangerous and neither is suited for spirited driving, but I feel that a new, quality rag joint is probably fine for most people.
"New/ quality" "Probably" and "Most people" are important terms here. If I'm buying "new" items then I'm definitely upgrading. How do you upgrade a bolted in piece of tire? Eliminate it. "Probably" has ended poorly for me on numerous occasions where it seemed I was the first and only person to experience a particular problem. I can't count on "probably". And most importantly, I'm 180° out from "most people". If I can imagine a way to change something to improve it then I feel it's worth it. Sometimes that improvement comes down to vanity- "This will look cool and I'm the only person that has it" is good enough on occasion. Other times it's performance related, or even just to see if I can. I won't settle for the old rag because I like to utilize things that I can "set & forget", and I'm no fan of performing the same job twice. This goes double when new parts fail.
Of course nobody is perfect, accidents happen, and some things slip by QC so we need to keep our expectations in check. I expect to return half of the parts I get from a place like O'Reilly's or AutoZone. I confidently expect the Jeep or Astro shaft to withstand much more of whatever I decide to throw at it, and if I don't abuse it then there's no way it doesn't outlive even the best rag joint ever made. You can be gentle with a rag joint and it's still going to expire like old food some day. The simple fact that a Jeep shaft won't go bad on its own without me beating on it is a huge selling point to me.
I'll be installing the Jeep steering box and pump since that is an improvement on its own. I need to swap my column because it was the recipient of a "Chicago Punch": the guts are visible, and everything that isn't missing is loose. I've eliminated the column shift as well. Since I'm replacing that many parts I'd be a massive fool to not upgrade to the Jeep or Astro shaft unless performing a concours restoration.
Modifications that are good by themselves are often part of a bigger system that would benefit from multiple upgrades working harmoniously. Better intermediate shafts, tighter gear boxes, bumpsteer eliminators, and tall ball joints will all work together to vastly improve the steering. Their existence is reason enough for me to upgrade to them.
At the end of the day that's how I justify spending money just to add to the list of things I've modified for the sake of having a bad-*ss G Body. I may or may not need a Jeep steering shaft, but I'm damn sure gonna have one.
"New/ quality" "Probably" and "Most people" are important terms here. If I'm buying "new" items then I'm definitely upgrading. How do you upgrade a bolted in piece of tire? Eliminate it. "Probably" has ended poorly for me on numerous occasions where it seemed I was the first and only person to experience a particular problem. I can't count on "probably". And most importantly, I'm 180° out from "most people". If I can imagine a way to change something to improve it then I feel it's worth it. Sometimes that improvement comes down to vanity- "This will look cool and I'm the only person that has it" is good enough on occasion. Other times it's performance related, or even just to see if I can. I won't settle for the old rag because I like to utilize things that I can "set & forget", and I'm no fan of performing the same job twice. This goes double when new parts fail.
Of course nobody is perfect, accidents happen, and some things slip by QC so we need to keep our expectations in check. I expect to return half of the parts I get from a place like O'Reilly's or AutoZone. I confidently expect the Jeep or Astro shaft to withstand much more of whatever I decide to throw at it, and if I don't abuse it then there's no way it doesn't outlive even the best rag joint ever made. You can be gentle with a rag joint and it's still going to expire like old food some day. The simple fact that a Jeep shaft won't go bad on its own without me beating on it is a huge selling point to me.
I'll be installing the Jeep steering box and pump since that is an improvement on its own. I need to swap my column because it was the recipient of a "Chicago Punch": the guts are visible, and everything that isn't missing is loose. I've eliminated the column shift as well. Since I'm replacing that many parts I'd be a massive fool to not upgrade to the Jeep or Astro shaft unless performing a concours restoration.
Modifications that are good by themselves are often part of a bigger system that would benefit from multiple upgrades working harmoniously. Better intermediate shafts, tighter gear boxes, bumpsteer eliminators, and tall ball joints will all work together to vastly improve the steering. Their existence is reason enough for me to upgrade to them.
At the end of the day that's how I justify spending money just to add to the list of things I've modified for the sake of having a bad-*ss G Body. I may or may not need a Jeep steering shaft, but I'm damn sure gonna have one.
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