RAG JOINT

[TRIPPS88]

I have what i belive to be a bad rag joint on my car. Can i replace the joint with a aftermarket disk or should I get a new lower shaft? It appears that one of the straps on the rag joint has broken b/c you can turn the shaft one way (about a 1/2 turn) and rack the other and then it will catch on the other strap. i am not familar with these joints, so any help will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks
T3

 

[TRIPPS88]

Anybody??

 

[stang&2Birds]

WTF? No one answered?

You have 2 options:
1: The cheap way - go to your local parts store and in the ?help section? they have a replacement rubber joint. You'll need to drill out the studs.

2: Get a *MM* steering shaft (?$150?).
DO NOT GET THE POS FLAMING RIVER STEERING SHAFT MADE BY MORONS AND SOLD BY EVEN BIGGER MORONS!

For option #1, try searching for "replace rag joint" here and on the corral. You should find out what to ask for in those threads. Or, maybe someone will be nice and reply to this thread with the how you find the replacement rubber/rag joint at a parts store.

 

[Supercharged89]

Buy a used one off Ebay.

 

[stang&2Birds]

Buy a used one off Ebay.

Ahh yes, the wisdom of Newbies.
<rolleyes>

WHY? So it can break in a short time? A used rag joint is a used rag joint. And, it will go in a "short time".

Also, you can NOT just buy the rag joint in OEM form. You must get the whole steering shaft.

And, steering shaft lengths VARY BETWEEN THE YEARS!

For a very short term solution (a year or so), buying a used steering shaft, and then either using the steering shaft or the rag joint is a possibility. But, for ~?$15? you can get a "new rag joint" from the "help section" that should last another ~15+ years.

Gee, what seems like the smart thing and what seem like the foolish thing to do?

If people are too lazy/stupid to use the search function (especially when they've been told what term(s) to search for), then they should *not* be working on cars!

 

[TRIPPS88]

Thank you stang&2birds For the information. I decided to fix the one I have with the ruber disc from the help rack at Napa. I am glad you responded I almost got one from Flaming River. I did not realize they were worthless.

Thanks again
T3

 

[stang&2Birds]

Thank you stang&2birds For the information. I decided to fix the one I have with the ruber disc from the help rack at Napa. I am glad you responded I almost got one from Flaming River. I did not realize they were worthless.

Thanks again
T3

I'm glad that you got it fixed!


The steering shafts from Flaming River aren't "worthless", it's just that they are designed and sold by morons!

On the corral, I go over the mods needed to make the design *safe*. If anyone at Flaming River had *half a brain*, they would change the set screws (to ones that can be safety wired) and they would change the directions to be similar to what I did. To have the design they do, shows zero knowledge of even basic mechanical engineering!

The MM shaft is *much* better because it allows for the real-world flex (distance change) between the firewall and the k-frame. The OEM steering rack also allows for "vertical" movement.

Have fun!

 

[HaynStang]

For what it's worth, the MM steering shaft is worth every penny of $200 if you like turning corners... gets rid of the numb steering feel that Ford probably has a trademark on and makes the car actually steer like it should...

 

[88stangmangt]

got mine from advance to replace the one on the 90lx...was discounted due to being opened...had to drill it. mine was completly broken away very dangerous to drive and wouldnt pass tech.

 

[dls322]

Does anyone have a right up on this or is it pretty self explainitory? I'm going to tackle this tomorrow. Since you had to drill the bolts, what size did yo ureplace them with? Any idea how many hours this will take?
Thanks!

 

[rd]

Changing the rag joint is straightforward, but can be a pita. It will take 3-4 hours or so.

To remove: Take the cross bolt out of the intermediate shaft, kinda up by the brake booster. Then take the clamp bolt out of the lower section of the rack adapter part of the joint.

The intermediate shaft should then slide up into the upper shaft enough to pull the lower half back off the rack input shaft. Mark the alignment of the rack adapter and rack shaft before you take it apart, also the intermediate shaft to upper shaft and such. You will probably have to turn these to get to stuff. Then pull the intermediate shaft and rag joint out of the car. It may be necessary to remove the bolts that hold the colunm under the dash. This lets you drop the column to pull it back if you cant slide the intermediate shaft up enough to pull it off the rack.

To remove the rag coupler, you may have to grind off the rivets, etc, and replace them with the bolts in the Help kit. Put it back together and reassemble. Make sure to get the bolts and pins that steer if the rag fails, etc, all lined up. I had to grind some bolt heads on one that I did.

Put the assembly back in the car, intermediate shaft into the upper shaft first, then align the lower coupler onto the rack shaft, and install the clamp bolt, etc, etc.

If needed, you can unbolt the two rack mount bolts to pull the rack out of the coupler instead of removing the colunm. Most of the time you don't need to pull either, but....

There are a couple of sizes of rag joints so make sure you get the correct one. Jack the car up safely, etc, and be careful.

 

[dls322]

Awesome, thanks for the reply and great write up.....i was going to try to tackle this afterwork but might wait till the weekend instead. I called NAPA and they have a kit with the rubber piece and the hardware. I've dealt with play in the steering wheel for years now....horrible feeling at highway speeds!