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I have my engine(s) out of both 1993’s and this would be a convenient time to replace these parts
there is nothing really wrong with them.
except, i cant find them available as NOS or reproductions
i CAN find them for earlier corvettes, but not 90+ model year corvettes
they are pricey.
is this a ‘wear item’ that people on here replace ?
Yes a rag joint is a wear item.
My 1992 does not have a rag joint, the steering shaft goes directly into the rack and pinion. That's the only year I have access to, so I cannot speak to any other year car.
That said, most 1980s GM rag joint assemblies are no longer available. On my Grand National, I had to replace the intermediate shaft in the engine bay with a steering shaft from a Cheep Cherokee that did not have a rag joint. You may be looking at a similar modification. It wasn't a terrible job, and it greatly improved the steering quality. Good luck!
I replaced mine on my 86 with two if the smaller ones that you can find at any local auto parts stores. The local stores usually carry two sizes. The large one doesn't fit and the smaller ones are more thin than the oem ones so I doubled up.
I stand corrected, I hadn't removed the plastic cover yet. Thank you!
That said, there's nothing special about this linkage. Some time with a steering linkage manufacturer's catalog and a tape measure should be able to produce a remedy and eliminate that rag joint. Or something like this where somebody's already done the homework:
I stand corrected, I hadn't removed the plastic cover yet. Thank you!
That said, there's nothing special about this linkage. Some time with a steering linkage manufacturer's catalog and a tape measure should be able to produce a remedy and eliminate that rag joint. Or something like this where somebody's already done the homework:
"Is the part available from GM?" If yes and you want the car original, replace it with those parts.
"Is the part not available from GM but I still want it to look stock?" If yes, then maybe take the joint apart and replace the fabric with a disc from somewhere else? Looks like you'll need a pretty big rivet gun to pull it off.
If the the problem is, "I want my steering to not be mushy and full of parts that I can't replace." then eliminating that section of the linkage in favor of OTS parts from the aftermarket is a solution. Saginaw steering parts are not hard to find, even the metric ones. The Hot Rod industry has a solution for all of this, but there may be some cutting and grinding involved. YMMV.
Any time you're dealing with a machine that's been out of production for thirty years, you're eventually going to have to resort to making your own parts or paying somebody else to make them for you if you want to keep it going.
Years ago, I replaced mine with an aluminum one that was intended for an F body. Very similar to the one above. It totally resolved a slop feel that my 94 had in the wheel, the rag joint was worn.
C4 steering rag joint - when to replace?
