who needs those HIGH $$$ steering joints, not me! ! !

as everyone knows i'm one cheap SOB when it come to building my rides, always was & always will be. with then help of family, friends & great deals i have been able to keep my cost really down on Large Marge && here's just another example of what a cheap fucker i am. i love to go to the boneyards to find stuff to help cut the cost on everything & here's one of my good finds.
over the years i have collected different GM FWD & Chevy Astro Van steering joints all using the Double D shafts & tubes.


This is off a fullsize FWD GM car & this 1/2 is attached on the column




not a clear pic but this end will except a double D Tube




This Double D Tube will except a double D shaft.




This is what one looks like before you take it apart




This is 1/2 of the Astro Van steering shaft.




These are easily found on I believe every GM trucks & RWD cars. You'll get about 6inches of Double "D" tube & about 12inches of shaft(LMAO)



This is the lowwer part of a Chevy Astro Van steering joint && the BIGG plus is that it has a vibration damper built in. I also drill a spot in the double D shaft so I could use a set screw & jam nut to hold everything in place.




I'm using 1/2 FWD GM & 1/2 Chevy Astro Van steering joints to make up the steering joint going through the firewall. The piece of pipe you see coming out of the firewall is an exhaust pipe reducer. I cut the end of a steering column off w/the bearing & welded the piece of tubing(that holds the bearing) into the exhaust reducer. I did it for extra support & to help seal the cab from exhaust fumes.




Using a FWD steering column the male part of the steering joint going through an Exhaust pipe reducer.




This shows the complete set up. All that needs to be done is to weld or bolt the piece of pipe that holds the Hiem Joint to the frame. The reason for the hiem joint is the steering column bearing that I used on the outside of the firewall to help support everything isn't a snug fit & this is one place OVERKILL is a good idea.




if for some reason the pics dont show up look on THIS PAGE it the last page in my Large Marge pics on Webshots

 

Thanks for the post. I will save a few $ next time.

 

A damn good idea there!
I also will add a few "barg'ins"
a YUGO and several other Lil shitbox cars like Geo and escorts have nice steering joints too.
If you want new ones worth the money try Chirco Performance and restoration[have an Ebay store] they sell em for sand buggy use at $27each.

 

That is some good info, have to save this for the next junkyard run.

 

That's very similar to what I did on one of my projects. I pulled a 72 Camaro steering shaft apart, attached the rag joint end to the steering rack, where it belonged, slid a 93 Camaro u-joint setup onto that, and stuck the upper shaft into the u-joint end after chopping it a few inches. I too, used a heim just above the 93 U-joint assy, and attached it to a Monza tilt column. Amazing how that shaft design and size didn't change over the years.

 

the jeep commanch pickup has a nice steering d rod too. its about two foot long so it will slide from two feet to almost four.

 

here's a couple more pic's of everything along w/a couple of corrections...joe



Frome left to right.. 1st steering joint goes to the steering box, this is the lowwer half of a Chevy Astro Van & has the same splines as the S10 steering box I'm using. 2nd is a piece of double D tubing which connects the 1st steering joint to a piece of double D shaft w/a piece of double D tube attached to it which goes to a steering joint. As you can tell everything has been drilled & tapped for set screws & lock nuts for safety.



As you can see both the Double D shaft & tube has be drilled & tapped for set screws & jam nuts for safety. Personally I believe this is a must.



From left to right. 1st is the double D shaft & tube w/the tube having a set screw & jam nut. 2nd is the outer steering joint w/a lowwer steering column bearing attached which goes into the tube that is coming out of the firewall to help hold the hold everything(EXTRA SAFETY) You can't see it but it also has a set screw & nut on the double D tube. Also I'm adding a set screw & jam nut to the opposite side of the locking bolt for added safety. 3rd is the inner steering joint that attaches to the column on the inside of the cab. 4th Last but not least is the bottom of the 93 Buick Park Ave steering column that I'm using.



This is how I mounted the Hiem Joint to the frame. I simply took a piece of pipe & mounted the Hiem Joint to it by welding a jam nut to the pipe & then had a friend chuck it in his lathe & clean up my weld. Then I took some angle iron & made a mount to bolt it to the frame.



As you can see everything is bolted together & looks good. It may look like the steering shaft is touching the exhaust manifold but really it's about an inch away from it. The upper joint is almost 2 inches away from the manifolds.




Be sure that you have some space between your Hiem Joint & any tubing you are using. You need this for body & frame flex so the shaft can side with in the Hiem Joint if it needs to.



As you can see the steering is complete w/a Hiem Joint to secure everything along w/the set screws & lock nuts for added safety............ PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASEEEEE be sure to check any used parts that you do use on your own projects for wear & defects along w/adding set screws & jam nuts w/lock tight for that added safety. REMEMBER that this is one place that SAFETY OVERKILL is a good thing.

 

Don't forget the Mopar stuff too! I have a GM column, GM DD shafted into a Dodge Dakota lower joint, splined into the Dakota steering rack. Same Saginaw DD shaft sizes. All fits like factory, and cost maybe $10!

 

I like cheap. I'm so cheap only dogs can hear my squeek.

I use steering joints from full size GM vans (80's thru 90's G series). The earlier ones don't use them but around 1979, give or take a year, they went to universals in the steering shaft. They are bigger and heavier than some of the smaller FWD types.

I am on really good terms with a local salvage yard that I used to work at. If he charges me at all for them it's only $5 or $10 whether I have 2 or 10 of them. I have to pull them myself but I also get to run through the yard as I please.

 

Hi I know this is an old post.
Does anyone know the od of the collapsible shafts?
I need 2 bearings 1 for each side.
Thanks.