Wrenching adventures, interesting learning experience.

So, I decided to change my intermediate steering shaft today and do some various jobs on the truck.


I want to share my story for your laughs and a possible learning experience for anyone interested in avoiding my mistakes.

To start, I decided to change this shaft because I was getting a pretty solid bind on a few spots when turning the wheel. Penetrating fluid would help for a few weeks, but it would eventually come back, so I decided to replace it all together. Ordered an Amazon one for less than $100cad.
I would Definitely recommend an air chisel for this job, otherwise, have some punches and be ready to hammer in some tight spaces.

Anyway, while changing this part, you have to turn the steering wheel back and forth a bit to access all 3 bolts (2 upper, 1 lower). I made some marks and references while removing the old one to make sure my alignment was as close as possible with the new one. Which is all fine and dandy, unless you're an idiot like me and still somehow managed to clock the steering wheel one full rotation during the process. Everything lines up perfectly, and bolts in fine, and there is no binding of the steering wheel.

HOWEVER! The test drive after yielded some interesting results. Not more than 10 feet down the road, my traction control/ABS system started going nuts! I assume this could only be caused by the truck thinking I have the wheel clocked one way, but the truck continues to drive straight. I believe there are steering position sensors or something of the sort in the steering wheel clock spring.

Realizing my error, I limped back home, jacked up the truck, and got ready to pretty much repeat the whole process. Luckily, I had a feeling I had turned the wheel one full rotation, and knew which way to turn it back to centre. After fixing this, and re-torquing everything, my next test drive went much smoother, with only a traction light illuminated. This quickly went away after a few minutes driving, and I am hoping all is well now with no damage to my tractions system or the clock spring in the steering wheel. **Fingers crossed**

Now, feel free to laugh, but please don't give me heck. I am fairly handy and knowledgeable, but by no means a mechanic. I like to learn and try things. I did my research before attempting this, but we all make mistakes.

Here are some suggestions if you decide to tackle this.

1. Some videos show the steering rack being unbolted to slide the intermediate shaft off. This is not needed, as the sleeve on the upper part of the shaft will slide up far enough to facilitate removal.

2. A thick flat punch will spread the sleeve open and make sliding it up the steering shaft easier.

3. MAKE YOUR MARKES and REFERENCE POINTS in something visible AND permanent.

4. Somehow tie or Bungee chord your steering wheel inside the truck so it doesn't free spin (this is what got me) as it free spins easily when it is disconnected and you may loose track of it. You will need some room to turn it, but you need to keep track of what is "Zeroed".

A little patience goes a long way. This is not a super difficult job, and makes for a much smoother steering feel if you old shaft is as far gone as mine was.

Hope you have an amazing day. Thanks for reading.

Cheers!

 

I only ever laugh the third try.

 

Me too. Because I’m worn out from the fit I threw doing it the 2nd time.

I’m going to start throwing a few tools and having the melt down, BEFORE I start working.
Can’t hurt? If anything it should keep the neighbors from coming over and “helping”?