Rated "R" Shaft talk (1 Viewer)

[LandoNick]

I Have a 87 FJ60. I recently installed a Red head FJ80 power steering box. The new box seems a little longer. So how I installed it was removed the steering column then fitted the splines back in the shaft and bolted the column back to the firewall. At first I did not have enough room from the driver side to just install it like a normal person would. The "at times" issue I have now is the the two shaft pieces at the splined portion are so tight and don't slide very easy. So if my frame flexes at all the shaft stays extended and the top U-joint right again the firewall on the engine side rubs as I turn. Then the shaft will eventually compress enough where it doesn't rub. My idea was to separate the shafts, really clean it out and see if that loosens the sliding. Is there a lube that I need to put in there that would help?

 

[OSS]

The steering shaft is supposed to be disassembled and greased (any grease is fine) on a semi- regular basis. That lube location is marked in the owner's manual along with all the drive shaft zerks and knuckles.
Nobody does it though.
I drilled & tapped a small hole in the rear end of it to accept a grease zerk. Makes greasing it easy.
The splines on the steering shaft ends should be clamped in the u-joints after installation. The splines shouldn't slide at all when the lock bolt is tightened up - only the two steering shafts.

 

[LandoNick]

The steering shaft is supposed to be disassembled and greased (any grease is fine) on a semi- regular basis. That lube location is marked in the owner's manual along with all the drive shaft zerks and knuckles.
Nobody does it though.
I drilled & tapped a small hole in the rear end of it to accept a grease zerk. Makes greasing it easy.
The splines on the steering shaft ends should be clamped in the u-joints after installation. The splines shouldn't slide at all when the lock bolt is tightened up - only the two steering shafts.

And to be clear the placement of the zirk is above the “male” portion of the shaft so there is no interference when the two shaft move

 

[OSS]

Yes. The outer female shell of one half is pretty thick. On my install, the zerk threads didn't protrude into the cavity. The male half was free to slide to his heart's content. (I guess that went from R rated to X rated)

 

[LandoNick]

Yes. The outer female shell of one half is pretty thick. On my install, the zerk threads didn't protrude into the cavity. The male half was free to slide to his heart's content. (I guess that went from R rated to X rated)

Did you put the Zirk closer to the end of the female shaft where the male portion of the shaft resides in the female shaft. I feel so wrong typing all of this!

 

[OSS]

Yes the zerk was installed at the very end. The male part doesn't even reach that far.
If you take the shaft assembly out and work the two pieces in & out, you'll see how far the inside part goes into the outer part.

If you remove the steering shaft every 5 years or so and lube it, there's no need to install a grease zerk in the shaft. Some people have never greased it in 30 years.