Steering Shaft Upgrade

[ChrisHager]

I'm in the process of upgrading from the rag joint steering shaft to a U-Joint style shaft. I've been scouring the forum as well as the interwebs via the google machine and find most people use an XJ shaft. I *think* the upgrade only calls for the lower portion of the shaft. It appears you disassemble the XJ shaft and swap the lower portion over to the FSJ shaft and snug it on.

Here's the issue - What shaft do I need?!

Specs:

1. 1979 Jeep J10
2. 4 Bolt Steering Box
3. 3" Housing
4. 3/4" Input Shaft
5. Input Shaft contains 26 teeth PLUS the flat gap.

I contacted a lead inquiring about a couple shafts. He asked if I needed a shaft from 84-96 XJs or 97-01 XJs. He had what I needed for either flavor. Since I didn't know which would swap, we decided to compare splines. It turns out, the XJ shafts in his possession have 13 or 15 splines plus the flat gap.

What's going on? What shaft do I need? I'm quite stuck right now and could use any leads at all!

Thanks in advance. Pictures of my input shaft are below.

[SemperFIGuy]

Curious, I did that on my 89 GW, but I just grabbed the first shaft that was accessible at the pick and pull. Had no idea there was a difference.

By the way, pics aren't showing up, for me anyways.

Sent from my SM-T230NU using Tapatalk

[cmaje72]

I used one from a 98XJ. As long as you have the 3/4 input it should work. I have one out on the bench right now so I can take a pic for you later if that will help.
Unfortunately I have done this a couple times and I find that the upper joint is usually worn out too. I have replaced the entire shaft with a CJ HD manual steering shaft. And it works great. Omix-Ada #18024.01. if you shop around you can find them for about $100. Just another option.

[ChrisHager]

I do believe mine is the 3/4" shaft. I'd be glad to see pictures if you don't mind.

Thanks for the advice! I'll keep this all in mind. I'm glad we're narrowing this down.

[cmaje72]

Here are a couple pics of the business end of the shaft. The part of the joint that connects to the steering box seems to be aluminum.

IMG_20160818_204515323.jpg

IMG_20160818_204431163.jpg

[ChrisHager]

Well isn't that interesting. That looks like it'd do the job!

I'm not sure why the fella I was talking to said the shafts he had only had 13-15 splines. Perhaps he was counting the wrong end?

Edit: Thanks for the pictures! I'm going to borrow them for some assistance tracking down the correct joint, if you don't mind.

[cmaje72]

No problem.... pretty sure that one came from a 98 xj but I think they all had the same steering box type even pre 98.

[ChrisHager]

I have replaced the entire shaft with a CJ HD manual steering shaft. And it works great. Omix-Ada #18024.01. if you shop around you can find them for about $100. Just another option.

Here is some more troubling information. I found another thread over at IFSJA that confirmed what you stated here - An entire steering shaft from a 76-86 manual steering CJ would fit right up to my 79 J10. The part number you supplied, much appreciated, fits the bill. I contacted Omix-ADA about 18024.01. The following is the reply.

23 splines at steering box end, 34 at the other. The ID of the coupler at the steering box end is .739''.

Box end is .75" DD / column end is 1" round tube.

Extended length 34 1/2"

23 splines doesn't match up...

I'm starting to wonder if I have a different box. Either that or me and numbers ain't so good. If I'm counting differently than the next guy, it'll take years to figure this out.

This entire steering situation sure has been difficult.

[cmaje72]

They are probably just not counting the splines that would be where the flat section is... The omix and xj parts both work if your box has a 3/4" input. I have the omix part on my 87 and the xj part is going on my 79.

[ChrisHager]

I believe you are correct. In light of some additional information, I believe I've found the issue. The non-matching spline count issue does indeed stem from how they're counted. The answer was right in front of me, in cmaje72's picture.

The following is of a different 98 XJ shaft. It matches your pictures exactly.





After seeing these, it finally hit me like a ton of bricks. The low number of splines is due to a smooth area in the joint that's necessary to allow the joint to tighten onto the steering box input shaft.

When I get home tonight, I'm going to pop off the rag joint and look at its splines. Either way, I'm in agreement that the XJ shaft will likely work, as will the Omix-ADA part. I'll verify this after I take a look this evening. While it's off, I'll check the joint at the column to see if it has slop then decide which route I'm going to go.

Thanks a ton for the help!

[XJChad]

I used the shaft from a '92 XJ on my '89 Wag to take the place of the rag joint.

[243]

I used an XJ shaft, but it was not a 199X as suggested on the internet but a 200X, I believe 2001. Worked good except the upper factory joint is shot so I will replace it with an eBay part pretty soon. BTW, you can look up the parts on Autozone or Oreilly and typically get the diameter and thread count of various models.

[sonoraed]

I bought and tried a used shaft but it was worn out finally bought new from BJ's

[243]

Honestly, it would have been easier to buy the upper and lower joints off eBay and cheaper than borgenson. In my case the 12.00 lower helped a lot but did not solve the problem due to the upper joint.

[ChrisHager]

Update time, ladies and gents.

1. I found my issue. There may or may not have been an installation error regarding the rag joint. Installing it properly may or may not resolve steering issues. I'm not willing to admit to anything.
2. I believe the 98 XJ shaft splines will indeed match up.
3. Even though the rag joint is now installed properly, likely fixing my issue, I'm still going to upgrade to the XJ shaft end. I checked my upper joint at the column and it appears to be in decent shape. When I receive the end, I plan to do a short test drive with the rag joint installed, swap to the XJ joint, then repeat the same test drive and note any differences. I'll post back with a conclusion in a week or so.

Here we can see the splines on the rag joint....



...and here we can see the XJ U-Joint.



Here's an overlay of the 2 with 50% opacity. I didn't rotate the image to match the "flat" spot on purpose. I wanted the splines to line up properly. You can see they match up nicely.



Lastly, here's a zoomed out picture. Notice anything (apart from the oil sludge buildup)?

[SemperFIGuy]

I did that same thing when I installed my XJ shaft, took a minute to figure out. If you have any play in the rag joint, mine was around a 1/4", I wouldn't even bother with the test drive, it's an easy swap and will improve 100%.

Sent from my SM-T230NU using Tapatalk

[ChrisHager]

Alrighty. The project is finished.

Old Rag Joint. I *think* a 7/16" socket fits this bolt.



Upper U-Joint. 11/16" socket for the nut. The bolt is carriage style. If you remove the nut, you can pound the bolt through. This is kind of a pain. Once it's disconnected, a pry bar helps work the joint off the shaft.



Removed



I applied heat to the center of the shaft and yanked it apart with the help of a vice and hammer. I'm pretty sure the heat is necessary, though you can see in this picture there's also a spring type clip that helps keep pressure on the shaft.



Though blurry, here's the '97 XJ lower shaft slipped into the J10 upper shaft. I greased the shaft and kind of worked it back and forth until it slid well. I found the XJ U-Joint lower shaft was longer than the J10 lower Rag Joint shaft, unlike what I had previously read. The new XJ lower on the J10 upper had plenty of movement to allow proper fitment in the J10.



Once it's together, reinstall the shaft!

[Nikkormat]

The shaft I have for the 91 is from a 96 XJ. Fits the 91's steering gear but not the 74's. So there were some changes over the years. It's also worth noting the XJ shaft won't fit J20 steering gears.

Glad to see you got it back together!

[j20brett]

It's also worth noting the XJ shaft won't fit J20 steering gears.

I beg to differ. It may depend on the year, but I made the swap no problem. v'81 j20 gear box.

[SIUADOG]

Been looking forward to this upgrade and picked up my XJ shaft this morning.
This should be a really straightforward job, but the lower shaft in my Waggy will not disengage.
(Sorry, no pics)
The shaft will move freely in and out, but at full attention, the lower shaft stops abruptly and will not release.
It almost looks like there is a grove with a tab or keyway.
I have tried approaching this from a few different angles, but cannot get the lower shaft to disengage.

Has anyone else run into this issue??
Thanks!