Hi all. Been attempting to change my lower steering shaft u-joint after discovering it binding/introducing a LOT of left/right play into the steering. I've PBed everything up and spread the pinch clamps so that I can freely move the joint up and down on both sides (while also slipping the joint separate from the rack, so now my steering is way off; I'll handle that later), but for the life of me I cannot get it to go up the shaft so I can remove the lower portion and slide the whole thing off. Every guide I've seen simply says "slide it up then pop the bottom part off". but my joint seems to get stuck where the upper shaft has a slight "swelling" just after the lock grooves when the u-joint locks in.

Have I just not spread the pinch enough (used the biggest chisel from the store I could get...), or are you supposed to raise the ENTIRE shaft where it goes into the car? I'm almost at the point where I disconnect the upper u-joint so I take half the rack out, but would prefer to not mess with that portion.

What exactly am I missing?

 

I just removed the upper and lower pinch bolts that holds the u-joint in place, spread them open just a little bit by hammering a flat screwdriver in to wedge it open prying open, then I was able to slide it further up the splined shaft and the bottom part going to the R&P was able to come off.

The most important part is making GOOD match marks on the shafts so nothing gets moved accidentally. I scribed a line into the shafts directly inline with the center of the groove that those pinch bolts close up.

There might be extra play at the upper u-joint in the cabin, you could loosen that up too if you need to move the entire shaft up a bit more, I didn't have to on mine but I don't know maybe there's some assembly tolerance and my shaft was up a little more.

 

So even with that sort of "swelling" directly above the upper pinch, it should just slide off? I've almost got it loose enough that I could turn the steering wheel freely of the shaft and it still won't slide off. I imagine the best way to get back to correct orientation is going to be set the wheels straight, get the lower pinch lined up (easy with the additional mark it has), then get the upper installed correctly? I was attempting to move the joint a bit via the steering wheel for better access when it slipped loose of the pinch joint and made this additional headache. Overall, it sounds like j just haven't spread the upper joint enough.

Really considering just cutting the old joint off at this point.

 

Time for an update. By widening the upper pinch a bit more (got the chisel underneath the shaft, to the opposite wall of the joint) and twenty billion more teeny-tiny hammer taps with plenty of PB Blaster/silicone spray (honestly don't know which one functions better as lube, the corrosion was almost entirely gone then), I got the joint fully off.

Currently haven't put the new joint on, but it looks like it'll be a bit annoying cause (a) I have to be gentle with it and (b) it's a tight fit. Best idea is use the chisel to slightly widen the top pinch, then do removal in reverse.

One nice note is it's impossible to put the top on wrong as it has a larger "tooth" that can only go in the joint a single way, and the bottom (in case you accidentally wiped off your grease crayon marks like me) has a little circle on the R+P side that indicates where the pinch opening should be. Definitely still possible to be a tooth or two off, but I should be able to get close enough that I can align within specs. Theoretically you could blindly take the joint off (don't forget to secure the steering wheel!!!), slap the new one in, and be pretty darn close. But, it definitely pays to be thorough and make your damn marks like Cleric suggests.

 

Next time blowtorch it first to loosen it up then chisel it out

 

Sweet I didn't even know there were marks, I had terrible lighting so I just scratched the marks out of habit. I think you should look under the dash to see if you can loosen the top u-joint and slide it up a bit more to make the lower one easier to install.

 

Finished the job. No steering angle sensor problems, but the car definitely drifts strongly to the right (fairly certain with all the jiggling/trying to get the wheels straight I messed the toe pretty bad). Steering is about twice as smooth/easy, can't believe the improvement going to a new joint was.

Ended up loosening the top u-joint to gain another 1/4 inch, then lubing the lower joint pinches and tap-tapping it up the shaft gave me just enough room (15 years/155k miles made mine a bit harder than most I think) to get the lower end on. Had to then go behind the subframe near the cats to tap-tap the upper joint back down (while the lower pinch was nice and loose, the upper pinch was predictably tight due to almost maxing out how high the teeth can go in the joint. Couldn't just pull it down, it needed slight persuasion). Would highly recommend pre-widening the pinches on the new joint with a chisel to make your life WAY easier getting it on the shafts.

On a newer car, this would be an easy job. A torch would make it even easier. Loosening the upper u-joint gets you a few more tenths of an inch, but don't forget to torque that bolt back down (it's also a royal pain in the *** to access the bolt, my long-torque wrench was on my fingertips to get to it with my elbow in my ear under the dash)

Overall, spent multiple hours after work over a few days chipping away at this, and it was definitely worth it.

 

I intentionally left that part out when I mentioned it lol. Didn't want to dissuade you from it.