Tight Steering Joint
Thread Starter
On The Tree
Joined: Nov 2017
Posts: 157
Likes: 9
From: Oshawa, ON
Tight Steering Joint I'm having issues with my steering u-joint between the steering column and rack, and not really sure if I'm doing something wrong, or just have bad parts. The original steering joint in my 1997 had the rubber "rag" joint, which was getting very sloppy, so the car would wander all over the road. After doing some reading I found that the 98-02 steering joints don't have the rubber rag joint, but were otherwise the same (other than angle of the ends to each other).
So being that GM doesn't sell parts for these old cars anymore, and I couldn't find a new aftermarket replacement, I bought a used 98-02 steering joint on eBay. When it got here I held it up side by side with my old one, and sure enough it's identical length and everything, just no rubber joint in the middle (and the angles of the ends being off, but I didn't care because I was replacing my steering wheel at the same time). I checked it out and everything seemed to feel how I thought it should, with the U-joints on both ends moving free but not sloppy.
After installing, now my steering has gone from too loose to too tight and binding. Every quarter turn or so of my steering wheel the bottom U-joint seems to bind a bit. When I went in for an alignment the local shop pointed out the lower u-joint was tightest and sprayed some lube on it, which helps for a short time until it wears/burns off. I also saw the top joint where it connects to the steering column has a slot where it can slide up or down about half an inch. I tried it both fully in one direction and then the other, and not much difference.
Anyone have any tips or ideas? Did I just get a junk used part? I'm kind of worried to buy another one and still not fix the issue, but at the same time I don't get how it can't be the part. The geometry seems to be the same - the rack and column never moved, and the joint and shaft were the same length as the old one. The only difference is maybe the old worn rag joint in the original one gave a little extra "give" so it bound less? Just hoping someone with a similar situation can chime in. Thanks in advance.
So being that GM doesn't sell parts for these old cars anymore, and I couldn't find a new aftermarket replacement, I bought a used 98-02 steering joint on eBay. When it got here I held it up side by side with my old one, and sure enough it's identical length and everything, just no rubber joint in the middle (and the angles of the ends being off, but I didn't care because I was replacing my steering wheel at the same time). I checked it out and everything seemed to feel how I thought it should, with the U-joints on both ends moving free but not sloppy.
After installing, now my steering has gone from too loose to too tight and binding. Every quarter turn or so of my steering wheel the bottom U-joint seems to bind a bit. When I went in for an alignment the local shop pointed out the lower u-joint was tightest and sprayed some lube on it, which helps for a short time until it wears/burns off. I also saw the top joint where it connects to the steering column has a slot where it can slide up or down about half an inch. I tried it both fully in one direction and then the other, and not much difference.
Anyone have any tips or ideas? Did I just get a junk used part? I'm kind of worried to buy another one and still not fix the issue, but at the same time I don't get how it can't be the part. The geometry seems to be the same - the rack and column never moved, and the joint and shaft were the same length as the old one. The only difference is maybe the old worn rag joint in the original one gave a little extra "give" so it bound less? Just hoping someone with a similar situation can chime in. Thanks in advance.
