Steering Shaft/Box removal

Any tips on removing the steering shaft / box? Unfortunately I do not have a book. It looks like both the U-joint and the shaft are shot.

umm buy a book?

No kidding? Thanks for the useful tip!!

Soak every bolt or anything you're seperating with PB.

Shaft can be somewhat of a pain to seperate if it's original (just seized at the splines, use a pry bar or chisel it off if you're replacing the whole thing)

Good luck taking the pitman arm off, sometimes it can be a PITA. If you have another box going in, see how cheap it would be to replace the pitman arm anyway (not sure how much $$$).

Get a line wrench to disconnect the lines at the box. If you're replacing the lines, then you can also cut them and use a deep socket (use a tubing cutter if you plan on reusing the box. metal shavings = bad).

Taking the bolts out of the "frame rail" should be pretty simple. I've heard of some people's breaking but I've yet to have that happen *knocks-on-wood*

Good luck man

Thanks. I just bought a drop pitman arm to put on it, and after taking a closer look - I will be ordering a new box and shaft tonight. I just put 33" tires on it, and the last trip on the freeway was scary to say the least! It was changing lanes on it's own :wierd:

Make sure you order just what you said a " new " box . Do not buy a remanufactered box unless it is from a company named PSC . From what I have read all of the rebuilds are done by the same company no matter which parts store you use ,which explains why I could not make one last if even felt right when it was installed initially. I have been through many on my Jeeps and Dodge Rams in the last 10 years . PSC is the one company who rebuilds them above and beyond any other .Performance Steering Components , I think is what it stands for but their stuff is good ! This is one area that the saying you get what you pay for seems to hold a lot of truth .

Wow, were do I start. A dropped pitman should not be needed and will probably make steering worse unless you have changed the position of one or both ends of the track bar. Your goal here is to keep the track bar (a line from end to end) parallel with the drag link.

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The reason that most people have the steering gear bolts break is that there is a magnesium spacer between the frame and the box that actually causes the bolts to corrode. Once you break them, then it's time to drill it out and tap it. Use generous amounts of anti-seize on ALL the bolts that ever deal with.

Finally, check the other components of your suspension system for wear. Wandering and scarry steering can be caused by bad tie rod ends, ball joints, or even bad tires besides the actually steering components that you are already working on.

The year makes a difference. Make sure that you get the right year for the steering shaft, because they changed, in 97 I think, and the top end will not interchange. Visually they're easy to check because the later ones have a rubber bellows on the telescoping portion. Older ones require that you remove, or loosen and tilt, the steering box to get the shaft out, because you cannot telescope it without damage. Newer ones will allow the shaft to retract, so you can do it without disturbing the box.

The shaft is keyed so you can only put it on one way. When you do this, make sure, doubly sure, absolutely really effing sure, that you get the thing on the shaft all the way at both ends, so that the clamping bolt actually goes through the crossed keyway in the shaft. That may seem simple enough, but I've seen it done (not on an XJ, though) that someone does not put it on far enough, the bolt goes through beyond the end of the inner shaft, clamping down only on the very end of the shaft, but allowing it to pull apart. Very scary.

Ones I've take off had blue loctite on the bolts, but I see no reference to that in either the 95 or 99 FSM. I also have read that new bolts are recommended, but this also does not show up in either of my factory manuals. It would not be a bad idea, though, if you have any doubt about the condition of the bolts, to replace them, and a little loctite would not hurt.

I've never put in a rebuilt box, so defer to others on brands. If you are looking at a used box from a vehicle you don't know, get a real warrantee, because you may not be able to detect side play in the pitman shaft until it's installed. If your time or travel cost to parts source is valuable, consider that a new/rebuilt may end up being cheaper.

If you go to a parts place, they may have separate numbers for different years. As far as I know, steering boxes are year specific because they changed the boost, making them a little less overboosted in later years. Physical fit did not change, but when I put an 89 box into my 95, I was startled at how soft it was. Whatever year you have, you might consider going with a later box if you don't like that "wheel of fortune" feel.