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| Joined: | 07-12-2013 |
| Location: | San Francisco, California USA |
| Posts: | 124 |
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I have changed the steering shaft on mine so I hope I can offer some help; I don't know if this is the most common way but it worked for me and was relatively painless.
Loosen and remove the bolts on both U-joints: the one up near the fire wall, and the one at the bottom just above the steering rack. Be sure to remove them as the splined shaft that they affix to has a groove in it and the joints will not slide off the splines if the bolts are still there.
Next, loosen the two bolts holding the steering rack to the K-frame. I don't think it needs to be removed completely, but loose enough to move it forward and give some space to work with (I removed my rack completely - no other reason than I wanted to inspect it but it's not necessary).
Now with that rack loose, slide the loosened U-joints off of the splined shaft on both ends. IIRC one of mine moved right away but the other needed some persuasion by putting a large flat blade screwdriver in the joint where it pinches the shaft and spreading it a bit with a twisting motion. You should be able to pull it straight out of the front of the car through the headers.
The upper joint is an integral part of the shaft; I got mine from the club store refurbished with exchange for about $200+/-. Delta also has them. The bottom joint is separate and I believe is about $60. There is also a bushing on the shaft at the firewall that could be causing problems as well and should be dealt with while this is all apart. I didn't do mine at the time so I cannot advise but I hear it is not difficult.
I've experienced both brake failure and steering failure (as a kid driving jalopies) and if I had to choose I'd rather lose the brakes-steering is too important!)
Best of luck and let us know how it goes.
Clinton