steering u-joints.

[ghetto_superman]

so i was snooping around my buddies shop a few days ago, and looked under the hood of a GM van (newer fat column type '83ish+) and saw u-joints on the steering! i imagine if a guy could figure out the part #'s for them, you could order new ones just to be safe, and both the upper and lower joints would bolt straight to our columns and boxes and all we'd need is a longer DD shaft... and for people trying to go for 'stock' looking, that would work... and still save $$$ compared to the borgeson brand joints as mentioned earlier.. what do yall think? worth it?

also a side note, will the newer fat column tilt shift lever handles work with a 67-72 truck tilt column? im having trouble finding a correct *short van style* shift lever for my smaller steering wheel... the newer ones look a little less beefy, but hopefully would still work...

thanks guys.
-Mike

[msgross]

I might have a shifter that you might like...msgross@hotmail.com for pics. Let us know what you find out about the ujoints.

[454_72_4X4]

You mean like this?

This is out of an Astro van and I lengthened it to fit my S-10.
I'd like to do another one for my 72 someday.
There are 2 different spline that GM used though.

[ghetto_superman]

yep that looks like the one! think it would look good all cleaned up and painted?

[454_72_4X4]

Originally Posted by ghetto_superman

yep that looks like the one! think it would look good all cleaned up and painted?

It'd probably look better but I'll take function over looks anyday. Besides it's been on there for 100,000 + miles. It has a right to look used!

[ghetto_superman]

lol so it does work well then and is worth the effort?

[454_72_4X4]

Originally Posted by ghetto_superman

lol so it does work well then and is worth the effort?

Yep, it works well and the peace of mind is worth the effort.

I've never seen a rag joint rip during normal driving but I have sen quite a few ripped at demo derbies. I kow that not a real fair comparison but still...

Two big problems I see with the 67-72 trucks is the spline count/size on the sector and the bottom end of the steering column itself.
The splines on the sector changed somewhere through the years and I think the column is round and splined on the 67-72 trucks? It's been along time since I've had any of them apart.
The newer columns are a "double D" type with a through bolt, (once again if I remember correctly), and the Astro column is a "double D" with a clamp bolt that fits in a groove in one of the round sides of the double D.

Other than that all you should have to do is lengthen the shaft.

[ghetto_superman]

hmm i believe youre right about the round shaft end on the older columns. i suppose you could drill out the ujoint to make it fit... but then the bolt thru.. i wouldnt really want to modify my new reman tilt column that would be a shame... maybe it would end up too cobbled in the long run and it might just be better to buy the right stuff from borgeson. o well i guess. the idea was worth exploring anyway...

[redz 1970 K5]

It is a great idea to see your way through the miriad of possibilities when undertaking something like this. What seems like a great deal could in the end be more costly and time consuming then you ever thought. I have had a number of projects like that before I finally learned to see the big picture.

I just bought the Borgeson shaft for mine. Borgeson offers a single u-joint/rag joint shaft and a dual u-joint shaft. I was leaning towards the dual shaft, but then I chose to keep the rag joint after speaking with a Borgeson rep. She mentioned that a big part of the rag joint is to absorb vibration so you don't feel it at the wheel. She said it was a trade off with the dual joint shaft. A little less play vs. more vibration at the wheel.

I chose to keep the rag joint personally. I just had it replaced before I did the shaft, and the steering does feel better now with the single joint. It doesn't feel like rack and pinion mind you, but it does feel better and probably as good as it is gonna get.

[msgross]

what was the cost of that setup?