acklac7

Getting ready to replace the Intermediate shaft/Steering shaft here in the next week and I can't find any mention of it in the Factory Service Manual.

Anyone ever R&R theirs? Any tips would be extremely helpful, i've taken a long hard look in the general area and can't figure out how the shaft comes out.

salimshah

Are you talking about the shaft that connects to the rack& Pinion assembly? The piece that is in the engine bay?

If so there are instructions in the rack replacement DIY. Since some one had difficulty with two people working on it, I was sweating as I had no help. It is much simpler if you loosen the top clamping bolt and remove the bottom bolt. This allows you to slip the rod up towards the steering till the bottom connection comes off.

Few precautions ...
Mark rod position so that on reassembly every thing would be good.
Strap the steering wheel with bungee cord ( I just used the driver side seat belt and passenger side seat belt to lock the steering wheel and used a S hook to tie the belts together. This would ensure that the spiral spring does not get unwounded.


Salim

acklac7

Thanks for the response.

So I can see how the lower part (where it connects to the rack) comes off, however it looks like a bastard to get the upper part off. A there are 3 bolts by the firewall that are next to impossible to access from either the top or the bottom, and B once you do get those bolts off im nearly certain you have to loosen a connection past the firewall (inside the passenger compartment) in order to get the top end free. While I have significant experience with a wrench Im having a hard time picturing what all is involved at accessing the top-end of the shaft (again, from inside the passenger compartment). Furthermore, prior experience has taught me that when an OEM leaves out detailed instructions on a such a major/critical component its often for a reason, and not a good one...

At any rate you can't find a thing on the innernets about this procedure (maybe theres a thread or two I missed), so I will be sure and update this thread with anything I find. This site has been an absolute gold-mine in terms on information, saved me so much time and money its really not even funny, be more happy to finally give something back

acklac7

Got it off.

Soaked both the upper and middle part of the shaft with PB-Blaster for a day. Completely remove the pinch bolt on the lower end, then loosen the bolt on the middle connection (inside the firewall). Took a squared-end pry bar and placed it on the edge of one the joints, then gave it a few whaps with a dead-blow hammer. Slowly but surely it popped off the rack.

Now getting to the upper yolk (where it attaches to the steering column) was an absolute bastard. Took off the bezel, panel etc below the steering column. Then you'll find the rubber seal that blocks air flow from the firewall. Im usually the type to do things by the book but getting that seal off simply didn't seam worth the trouble, so I cut it (easily patched it later with a piece of rubber). Once you get the seal out of the way you'll notice a plastic housing surrounding the shaft, at the end of that hosing is a seal. About a centimeter past the seal is the nut to loosen the yolk. IT IS A PITA TO GET TOO. DO NOT ROUND IT!.. I took a dremel cutting tool and cut a notch in the plastic housing so I could easily slip a socket up there.

Other then that wasn't that bad of a job, biggest piece of advice is DON'T ROUND ANY OF THE 3 10MM bolts on the Shaft!. They are all extremely hard to access thus easy as hell to round/damage.

And a quality 1/16th rachet (with a small torque extention) along with a 6-point Shallow-walled 10MM Socket will make this job 10x easier. Trust me.