Also posted in CF forum..

Uh OH.....Houston, we have a problem; My 84 has started making an odd noise in the steering. Hope I can describe this accurately. With the car shut off and sitting in the garage, if you move the steering wheel back and forth, something makes a loud clicking noise that you can feel, right when pressure begins to be applied to move the tires. Once the tires begin to move, no other problems until you move the steering wheel back the other direction. Once it encounters resistance, the loud click again. I think I have narrowed it down to what the Chevy manual calls the "intermediate shaft", which is between the rack and pinion and the firewall. I removed the metal cover over the U joints on the shaft and had my wife move the wheel back and forth. Right where the shaft connects to the small u-joint by the steering rack, I can see what appears to be a small amount of slack in the shaft joint (not the u-joint). Putting my ear down there, it appears to be where the sound is coming from too. I will try to get a camera down in there and post a pic of what I am talking about.

I remember a guy with a similar problem posting on the crossfire forum once, and he indicated he was having trouble finding a replacement shaft.

Do you guys think I am on the right path here? I am almost certain that this is where the noise is coming from, and I don't like the sound of it. The service manual indicates that this is a "collapsable column" and has plastic injections that hold it rigid. Is it possible that one of these has failed? Would it be possible to just have the shaft joints welded solid? I know it would defeat the collapsable function, but it isn't my daily driver and I don't plan on wrecking it ;)

Any help will be appreciated.

:cheers: :cheers:

 

I'm the guy you read about with the same problem. And yes, that is your problem also. The shaft is discontinued, and anything you buy on ebay is going to fail in time, if they already haven't. Here is what I did; I removed the shaft, (two screws, one on each cover, and two bolts, one on each end of the shaft) Slide the shaft towards itself and remove. Take it to someone with a drill press and have him or her drill a 7/32 hole through the shaft. I suggest you try a machine shop because the steel is as hard as diamonds and a regular drill bit will not go through it. Where I drilled mine was 90 degrees from the old sheer pin on the weld where the shaft and the U joint connect.(its about ¼ inch lower then the old sheer pin) Then I got a 1/4 inch x 2 inch sheer pin I bought at Lowes and tapped it through the hole. I cut off any excess sheer pin leaving about 1/8 inch protruding. I then took a hammer and penned over each end for added security. Then replaced the shaft. It works perfectly and you still have the collapsible feature.

 

Jon....I just got the shaft off of the car, and you are 100% correct. I put the shaft in a vice and turned it, and lo and behold, it made the sound. Well, at least I know where it's coming from.

I appreciate your response, and I am printing it out right now. Sounds like a good solution, and I can probably find a machine shop here that will do the work for me. I did find another shaft on eBay, but it looks like it's been through the wringer, and as you say, will probably fail soon if it hasn't already.

Thanks again for the advice. I may be dropping you a line for more once I get into the middle of the project. :cheers: