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Jeep steering shaft swap, 1st gen--data

13K views 6 replies 4 participants last post by  ogoz23 
#1 ·
After reading around a bit I decided to try the jeep steering shaft swap for my 85 S-15 2.8L automatic column shift. Also my steering column is out so the swap is opportunistic.

I captured a shaft from a 93 Cherokee at the junk yard. At home I removed my stock shaft and measured the both (with a tape measure, so these numbers are not all too precise). The stock shaft installed length was 19", and it collapses to a minimum of 15 1/2". The Cherokee shaft had an installed length of 20", collapses to a minimum of 16 3/8", and stretches to a maximum of 21 1/2".

I was thinking about cutting it down, so I heated the wider portion of the Jeep shaft, as suggested by this thread
http://www.s10forum.com/forum/f178/first-generation-rag-joint-cure-196484/

Some plastic inside the shaft melted and I was able to pull the two parts apart. The wider portion measured 12 3/4" long and the narrower, 12 1/2" (for a total of 25 1/4"). Thus, if I were to cut one inch off each end, I would achieve a minimum collapse of 15 3/8", and at a 19" installed length, would have a little more than 2 inches overlap.


93 Jeep Cherokee steering shaft by crice63, on Flickr

However, I don't have a sufficiently large cutting tool, so I decided that the extra 7/8" of uncollapsible length would probably not represent an undue additional danger in a head-on collision. The two portions fit together smoothly--no rocking or shifting once they are together, despite the missing plastic guide, so I decided to put it on without modification.

The splines on the steering box seemed to accept it with no problem. I did need to grind down a very small portion of the column shaft so the bolt could go through, as shown in this photo--dremel tool worked fine for this.
http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u219/MC87SS/Jeep Shafts/IMAG0560-1.jpg

When I install my steering wheel I will see if it is upside down or not--if so, I'll just remove the upper portion of the shaft, rotate it 180, and reinstall. When the truck is back on the road I will report on the steering quality.

If anyone has comments on the safety issues involved here, it would be great to hear them.
 
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#3 ·
Just got it back on the road and drove around a little. Turning is slightly more responsive. Checked bolts at both ends of shaft, everything looks good. One minor issue: I also put on a new steering wheel, a stock leather one from a Tahoe. It is not exactly aligned--it looks like its about one spline off to the left. Don't know if its the wheel or the shaft, will try to figure it out.
 
#4 ·
There's a few different lenghs on these. I have seen shorter shafts that are vented (collapse easily by hand), that have a small soft plastic cover, They collapse to about 16" and fully extend to about 20". These dont come apart.
The older ones are longer and have to be heated or pressed to free.
 
#6 ·
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