Thread: who needs those HIGH $$$ steering joints, not me! ! !

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as everyone knows i'm one cheap SOB when it come to building my rides, always was & always will be. with then help of family, friends & great deals i have been able to keep my cost really down on Large Marge && here's just another example of what a cheap SOB i am. i love to go to the boneyards to find stuff to help cut the cost on everything & here's one of my good finds.
over the years i have collected different GM FWD & Chevy Astro Van steering joints all using the Double D shafts & tubes.


This is off a fullsize FWD GM car & this 1/2 is attached on the column




not a clear pic but this end will except a double D Tube




This Double D Tube will except a double D shaft.




This is what one looks like before you take it apart




This is 1/2 of the Astro Van steering shaft.




These are easily found on I believe every GM trucks & RWD cars. You'll get about 6inches of Double "D" tube & about 12inches of shaft(LMAO)



This is the lowwer part of a Chevy Astro Van steering joint && the BIGG plus is that it has a vibration damper built in. I also drill a spot in the double D shaft so I could use a set screw & jam nut to hold everything in place.




I'm using 1/2 FWD GM & 1/2 Chevy Astro Van steering joints to make up the steering joint going through the firewall. The piece of pipe you see coming out of the firewall is an exhaust pipe reducer. I cut the end of a steering column off w/the bearing & welded the piece of tubing(that holds the bearing) into the exhaust reducer. I did it for extra support & to help seal the cab from exhaust fumes.




Using a FWD steering column the male part of the steering joint going through an Exhaust pipe reducer.




This shows the complete set up. All that needs to be done is to weld or bolt the piece of pipe that holds the Hiem Joint to the frame. The reason for the hiem joint is the steering column bearing that I used on the outside of the firewall to help support everything isn't a snug fit & this is one place OVERKILL is a good idea.




if for some reason the pics dont show up look on THIS PAGE it the last page in my Large Marge pics on Webshots

Just as long as we dont have to peel you off the guardrail! I also do the frugal thing alot just because I love boneyards!

and I thought I was the only guy that did that.

Originally Posted by bigdude

Just as long as we dont have to peel you off the guardrail! I also do the frugal thing alot just because I love boneyards!

if that happens i have more problems then just the steering, any place the is a double D shaft going into a double D tube it has a set screw & locking nut to keep it in place. i drove our 40 chevy for 10yrs w/a shorter version of what u see w/o any problems in the over 50,000 miles we put on the car && why buy those HIGH $$$ Borgeson Joints when these do the same thing...joe

Nothing personal Joe. They do the same job, but I would still prefer a new Borgeston U-joint and a splined coupler on a solid steering shaft.... Nothing wrong with junkyard stuff. but someplaces I really prefer the new, clean looking pieces over the bulky and clunky OEM stuff....

I am cheap too, but when it comes to safety for myself and others I spend more. I think thats theres no excuse not to use the correct parts no matter how cheap some one is. Not using the correct parts does not have anything to do being cheap .

I make a trip to the junkyard all the time, every chance I get.

I look at it this way, if it is good enuff for GM to use for the past umteen yrs then there should be no problems now plus it's basicly the same stuff Borgeson sells. hell some of u folks are driving by wire now, electronic steering even & what about Ford & those fine stranded cable steering couplers. main thing is this is safe IF u install it correctly just like anyother part....joe

Toomany I like this idea. The auto manufacture went thru design and safety before it used them. I fugure as long as proper securing and support are maintained its as safe as anything available. I hope i can locate some of the same for the A. It will have to be all ford though .

Tuesday's are half price even at the U-Pull it yard.

I have a throttle by wire amazing how it feels just like a cable and spring set up. I just hope i dont wear out the wire from my footing it (LOL)

From what i'm learning all parts have been adapted from some type of doner vehicle . Even Borgenson Didn't invent the steering assembly they adapted to it .

I use the stuff from 'auto recycling' yards as often as possible - but I wont compromise on safety items. The vehicle that you take a steering part from is there for a reason that does't always come from sudden stops - like against a large oak tree - sometimes that vehicle is just plain worn out with 150-200,000 miles on it - including the steering flex joints. When, IMHO, I equate the perceived savings between a shiny new one at $65 versus driving xxx miles to the yard , spending xx hours searching and pulling 'just the right piece'(MAYBE), then taking it then xxx miles back home, spending xx hours cleaning the rust and years and miles of crud off it, I have a problem. Where are the savings? Especially if it's damaged, not the 'right' one - and the yard wont take it back.
(You can fill in the x's with your number for miles and hours)

But as with most of us we have more hours to tinker with small stuff . I mean money is not a issue here except at tax time LOL. Safety is of the utmost importance . A skilled mechanic can diagnose a bad bearing or worn part. I see alot of low mileage vehicles in the yards from just drive line failure or electrical . A rear end collision will not effect steering mechanism's Nothing wrong with good used parts keep millions of people on the road daily.

I see nothing wrong with "recycled" steering parts like these, as long as the builder is careful to inspect them for damage or wear.

The thing that has always concerned me about used suspension and steering parts, is what they went through in their former life.... If the donor is intact and shows no sign of major hits or tumbles, should be ok. My other reason is the Borgeson (and others) U-Joints, and the new double U-Joint are just so clean looking compared to the clunky OEM parts, and those needle bearings in the joints make for silky smooth steering.....

But Dave . . . what do you use on your rat rods?

Originally Posted by Henry Rifle

But Dave . . . what do you use on your rat rods?

ON MY WHAT???????????????????????????????????????????????

Originally Posted by Henry Rifle

But Dave . . . what do you use on your rat rods?

i about spit my drink all over my screen ..joe