Ball Joint Replacement

[jgasca]

It should straighten up with about 3 turns of the sleeve, not enough to really mess with your turning radius.

It sure does mess with it. It sets me back to 2 full turns to one side and 1.5 turns to the other.

 

[jgasca]

So i found the culprit, the steering shaft. I got the shaft from a 97 astro van I believe. Here is the comparison between them;

Stock is to the right, the astro van shaft is on the left

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This is where my 1/4 turn is coming from. Should I just go with a Jeep steering shaft?

 

[bucket]

Yeah, just go with the Jeep shaft.

 

[RetroC10Sport]

Astro is perfect for S10s, but too short for a square.

 

[jgasca]

Astro is perfect for S10s, but too short for a square.

The shaft I got was the about same length when expanded all the way.... It was working until this happened!!

 

[89Suburban]

Retro you should add this info to your mod thread if it isn't already there.

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[HotRodPC]

Hell, he already has an upgraded steer shaft. That looks to be the Borgeson shaft.

OK, guess I missed a page. I knew it wasn't a Jeep shaft. So what's the problem there? The D is to big???

 

[jgasca]

Hell, he already has an upgraded steer shaft. That looks to be the Borgeson shaft.

OK, guess I missed a page. I knew it wasn't a Jeep shaft. So what's the problem there? The D is to big???

The shaft fits just fine, its just that the upper part of the shaft is turned to the side. That's where the 1/4 turn comes from....

 

[RetroC10Sport]

Interestin...To me the Astro shaft looked too short.

When I did the Jeep shaft to my Blazer, I had to adjust the tie rods to compensate for the steering wheel being at a 90* angle...No problem since.

 

[jgasca]

Interestin...To me the Astro shaft looked too short.

When I did the Jeep shaft to my Blazer, I had to adjust the tie rods to compensate for the steering wheel being at a 90* angle...No problem since.

When you say the tie rods, you dont mean the drag link ends do you?
The tie rod ends are connected to a bar which goes from one side to the other. I didn't tough the tie rod ends and neither do I know how to adjust to compensate for the this 1/4 turn.

All I know is you can't adjust the drag link sleeve to straighten out the steering, or you'll get more turn on one side...thus my problem.

 

[RetroC10Sport]

Well, this was on an S10 Blazer 4x4 with an IFS and regular tie rods. The 4x4 boys (and girls) here know more about the SFA setups.

 

[bucket]

Interestin...To me the Astro shaft looked too short.

When I did the Jeep shaft to my Blazer, I had to adjust the tie rods to compensate for the steering wheel being at a 90* angle...No problem since.

I was just looking at an Astro shaft the other day, it looked way too short. It must extend a good amount.

When I put the Jeep shaft in my S10, the steering wheel was only off-center a small amount. Odd.

 

[bucket]

All I know is you can't adjust the drag link sleeve to straighten out the steering, or you'll get more turn on one side...thus my problem.

That's why the adjustment is there, just not for the amount you needed.

 

[RetroC10Sport]

My buddy with the Syclone didn't have to adjust his at all. Just the way they're made I guess.

 

[HotRodPC]

When I installed my Jip shaft, my spokes stayed right on target. Of course, I was very careful of how I did it to keep it that way since it was perfect before I started, I didn't want to mess that up. In this case, you just need to loosen the end at the steer box, turn the wheel the clock it right, then tighten it back up.