Steering Shaft

[hemi8]

I see GM discontinued the steering intermediate shaft, no one rebuilds them as far as I can tell. The rubber boot cracks open on the GN's and the white plastic piece near the firewall wears out and causes slop. Does anyone know where to find these plastic pieces or is this a junkyard part also?
Mike
86 GN

 

[KevinB]

I don't know about the part your talking about, but I did see new rag-joint rubber piece in the help section at Autozone.

 

[tb3]

If your talking about this part:
eBay Motors: 81-88MonteCarloSS ElCamino Grand National steering boot (item 120157678479 end time Sep-09-07 17:18:04 PDT)

I've done 2 of my turbobuicks now and they are a excellent fit. and look really nice. Really nice guy too, and ships super fast. I've went ahead and bought a couple extra just to have as spares. Thats the only place I could find them.

 

[jgme]

I have to agree that the service is excellent. The boot is not a duplicate of the original but it works.

If your talking about this part:
eBay Motors: 81-88MonteCarloSS ElCamino Grand National steering boot (item 120157678479 end time Sep-09-07 17:18:04 PDT)

I've done 2 of my turbobuicks now and they are a excellent fit. and look really nice. Really nice guy too, and ships super fast. I've went ahead and bought a couple extra just to have as spares. Thats the only place I could find them.

 

[hemi8]

I have the intemediate shaft out on the workbench, how do I get the old boot off? It looks like 4 tabs bent over and a spring-type clamp? The other piece I'm talking about is on the steering coluum shaft as it comes through the firewall, there is a big round white plastic piece around the shaft......................... Makes me nervous working on this steering part, does someone out here rebuild these intermediate shafts? Also, who is recommended to rebuild our steering boxes.
Mike

 

[tb3]

crap! everytime I replace or repair something on my car, I think about taking pictures and doing a step by step write up so's maybe it'll help somebody out. I tend to go overboard and be overdescriptive though, so probably not a good idea actually.

The intermiediate is made up of 2 shafts that are "freefloating", and ones sliding into the other. I assume the design for the freefloating was to give the steering column more collapse room in the event of collision. There is a "c" tab spring about 2 inches long that is sitting inside a reccess in the inside shaft. That, and 20 years of grime and corrosion are the only things that are keeping the 2 from sliding apart, when you get it off the car. If the rubber boot that covers where the 2 shafts meet is still intact, then you'll need to stick a large flat blade screwdriver in past it, and tap on it till you break them free of each other. try not to damage either shaft, if you do, you can just smooth out on a grinder, or sand paper etc. A bench mounted vise is a must-have for this job.
I used a flat blade screwdriver to pry the 4 tabs up that hold the boot in place. Once installed, I used a punch and a hammer to knock them back down.
If you need more assistance, I can take a couple pictures of mine on the car, and draw some arrows to try to make it a little more clear.

 

[hemi8]

Thank you TB3, you have helped me out quite a bit. Sure appreciate the advise.
Mike
86 GN