Ragjoint Upgrade

[hurst1979olds]

I know the simple upgrade is to go with a Jeep Shaft with a universal. But with certain stuff I like NEW and not old. On my S10 I just cut off the old ragjoint and put a Flaming River universal on. It made a world of difference. Has anyone every done this with a G-Body? What size is the double D, and what is the spline on the steering box?

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/fla-f ... /overview/ This is what it looks like that I put on my truck.

 

[pontiacgp]

flaming river have nice products but overpriced IMHO. Circle track stores will have what you need at a decent price

http://www.smileysracing.com/shopping/p ... i=6711&c=0

and here's a chart that gives you the details of the joints

 

[hurst1979olds]

Ya their stuff is a bit overpriced. But the quality is excellent.

I like the priced on that link. You can buy 2 for the price of a flaming rivers. Considering our shafts need 2 of them.

 

[pontiacgp]

Even the Howe and Sweet couplers are cheaper then the flaming river and they are very good products. We just bought a Sweet column that cost us $800 with accessorizes which we are using on our pro late model

 

[565bbchevy]

I also prefer to go with new and ended up using Borgeson universals and their collapsible steering shaft, when I bought them about 4+ years ago it was about $175 for both joints and the shaft and at that time they were not as pricey as the Flaming River stuff but I see now they are very close in price.
It was also just a matter of fitting the shaft and bolting on the u-joints then I painted everything black, also the joints are smaller in diameter than the Jeep shafts giving me added header clearance and when you make your own you can fit the collapsible section where it best fits the car.
My ragjoint was in excellent condition but I felt a slight play in steering and was about to adjust my gearbox but decided to try a new steering shaft first, needless to say I never had to work on the steering box, I could tell the difference right away.

 

[vanrah]

OK Guys; More great info going into a full brain pushing out more hair. I can see my education in steering is expanding. When I pulled the box out I'm thinking it's 90% of my steering slop. I had over the last twenty plus years been adjusting on the pre-load about a 1/4 turn every other year or 3. You guys have influenced me to believe that the 35 year old (fancy?) rag joint is-could be a major contributer to my slop. Plus the upper coupler-joint (I don't know the name) boot ripped as I was inspecting it. Apparently it had given it's life for my needs & pleasure. The shaft does not appear to be re-build able & seems to be destine for the useless spare parts pile. So adding to my decision dilemma now I have to choose between finding new GM shaft with said (hi-tech?) rag joint so I can return this car to near original 9C1 condition. Or my choice, thank you MC-87-SS for continuing my shaft education, some non standard UP grade like I've been doing for the past 35 years. And yet another option presented by 565bbchevy (thanks) and I like NEW (I know I'm trying to sell a bunch of used parts all bolted together). When did I start thinking about stock vs better? I must be watching too much Barrett Jackson! I'll miss that nifty piece of blue plastic that covers the rag and is trapped between their & the upper coupler. Does anyone know if the GM shaft is still available new & how much? So after I find out the answer to the GM question I will be taking pontiacgp's advice (thank you) and head to my locale circle track store. Chime in guys, say you had my Brown Brick, what parts would you choose? Bob Jr.
PS: At this point I should mention during my Parker Pen years I was a ball lapper (finisher).

 

[pontiacgp]

if you want to keep your car stock you can always modify the shaft you have and find new one with the stock parts to keep. You can always install the stock shaft if you ever need to

 

[vanrah]

Thanks for the input guys. I cut off the rag joint last night, so now I will have to up grade. That's if I want the wheels to turn when I turn the steering wheel! I'm working on a posting an update over on my for sale post. Bob Jr.