OT- 1992 Dakota steering shaft issues

[shadango]

Hey guys

Hoping someone can help. Off topic in the sense its not for an FMJ etc....but it IS for an old Mopar....and I know there are gurus here, so hoping for some info....

1992 Dakota 4x4 with tilt.....the steering wheel felt loose the other day....looking at the joint on the steering shaft under the hood, I found that the rubber insert to to what would be in the old days the "rag joint" at the lower joint has backed out and when you turn the wheel, the roll pin moves in the big hole shown til it hits the side of the hole and moves the steering box shaft....no crazy wear in the holes yet but I am sure that will come.........

I am not sure how this is built so I am not sure what exactly is coming apart in that area.....

Is this a "replace the whole shaft " thing like in the 98s and up or can this joint be rebuilt like the 80s and below Mopars?

I cant seem to find parts for either scenario????? I saw ONE reference for a 93 Ram pickup that looks to be the same shaft (at least the part I can see) and the guy said he had to pull the master cylinder to get to the top half....UGH!!!! And then he had to buy custom parts from Borgeson and build a shaft! DOUBLE UGHHHH!!!!

 

[AJ/FormS]

Your truck is worthless now, I'll tow it away for $200; call me........... kidding
Do not drive the truck until this is resolved.
IDK what's going on there I have never needed to take that apart, but
as much play as you say you have on such a critical part is very scary to me.
I think that junk is all supposed to be bonded together and used as a feed-back insulator. Ima guessing you could just weld it all together, but your parts alignment would need to be fairly straight, and the floorplate might need to be re-aligned. After that, any vibration coming up to the steering box, is also gonna find it's way up the shaft. Hopefully the tilt mechanism will survive.
Like I said; IDK.
Ima thinking the rubber stuff was the principal driver and the roll-pin was the safety back-up system.... so if the roll-pin snaps......

 

[80mirada]

Part no. 4470093, discontinued, not finding through nos or dealer stock. Borgeson could probably supply a joint to fix it, or you will have to find a good used one.

 

[shadango]

Part no. 4470093, discontinued, not finding through nos or dealer stock. Borgeson could probably supply a joint to fix it, or you will have to find a good used one.

Thanks. Is that the part number for the entire shaft or parts?

 

[volare 77]

try a junk yard
Search Results

 

[80mirada]

That is the number for the lower coupling

 

[shadango]

Your truck is worthless now, I'll tow it away for $200; call me........... kidding
Do not drive the truck until this is resolved.
IDK what's going on there I have never needed to take that apart, but
as much play as you say you have on such a critical part is very scary to me.
I think that junk is all supposed to be bonded together and used as a feed-back insulator. Ima guessing you could just weld it all together, but your parts alignment would need to be fairly straight, and the floorplate might need to be re-aligned. After that, any vibration coming up to the steering box, is also gonna find it's way up the shaft. Hopefully the tilt mechanism will survive.
Like I said; IDK.
Ima thinking the rubber stuff was the principal driver and the roll-pin was the safety back-up system.... so if the roll-pin snaps......

re: $200---- make it $250 and u have a deal. NOT!!! LOL

I love this truck....have had it since it was a year old in 93. Its been uber-reliable so having to deal with this isnt a surprise....SOMETHING is gonna break eventually....about 125k miles.....she only sees a couple hundred miles a year now at most.....

I am gonna check and see if "that junk" will all push back in and confirm that that it is the main driver as you say....thats my theory too....or maybe its pressed in originally.....cant figure how it would have worked its way out like that.....

I cant believe that NO ONE makes a replacement.....its not like it was a rare truck back in the day......there are tons of replacement parts for the 98 and up.....entire shafts.....

So I sent an email to Borgeson to see what they suggest....

 

[shadango]

Thinking about this more, I dont understand how the rubber insulator sleeve (assuming that is what it is) does anything BUT insulate.....what is actually making the CONNECTION besides the roll pin in there???

If the rubber is just an insulator and all that is making the connection is the roll pin, why is there slop? There must be something else to it......right???

 

[Aspen500]

I feel your pain. I've got a '96 Dakota and seems a lot of parts are made from unobtanium anymore. It's almost like finding parts for an F/M/J body. I dare you to find a drivers side inside door handle. New, discontinued long ago. Good used one,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,meaning not broken, just this side of unobtanium, lol. I looked for one for almost a year, no luck locally or on-line and when one finally popped up on Ebay, "BUY IT NOW" got clicked faster than I've ever done before. I think every part on the '96 and older Dakota's were discontinued years ago from Mopar and aftermarket isn't much help in a lot of cases either.

 

[AJ/FormS]

Go back to your picture; it looks like close to 1/8 clearance on each side of the pin, totaling 1/4 inch movement.
The coupler looks to be about 1.75 in diameter , making the waistline to be 2.4 inches. So 1/4" play would be ~ 10 degrees.
On a 14" steering wheel this would be 1.22 inches on the rim,
but
the power-steering box, with the engine off, is gonna double or triple that, as the reaction springs have a ton of play in them, all by themselves.... which is normal..

I'm thinking when new, that whole assembly mightabin bonded together and acted as one piece with the roll-pin just acting as the safety in case the bonding failed.... as yours seems to have done.

 

[8T2TOP]

7 years after model year run... Poof..nos GONE...
Not to correct previous poster,but for 97 up they sell complete assy. Looks similar on 96 down N body(dakota) check Feebay Gong show might have one or double check Mopar instead of pieces might have assy Part #...
And after 08-16 era (non political)
Cash 4 clunkers Daks were overflowing junkyards now 25+ years later they are upon the heap of automotive history..

 

[Aspen500]

Seems if you look at aftermarket parts, Dodge didn't build a full size truck until 1994, and the Dakota didn't start until 1997. Apparently, Chrysler Corp didn't build any cars from after 1975 until 2005 either.

Doesn't help matters that Chrysler has gone through multiple owners in the past 20 years. Daimler,,,,,,,,,,HUGE DISASTER. Cerebrus,,,,,another DISASTER. Fiat,,,,,,,,the jury is still out but I'm not overly impressed to be honest. OK, enough of that.

Anyways,,,,,,,,,,,,I checked every source I could think of and pre '97 Dakota steering shafts came up zip.

 

[8T2TOP]

Sucks..
Time to part it out or retire it...
Or find a lower mileage one and get parts off it..

 

[Aspen500]

Therein lies the problem. Finding a '96 or older Dakota period, in any condition, anywhere. Scrap yards,,,,,,all long gone years ago already. On the road, aside from mine, I may see one every once in a great while, or what's left of one anyways. Most are rotted half way to the door handles and probably shouldn't be on the road at all. Of course, that will be different depending on where you live. Wisconsin is a lot tougher on vehicles than Arizona, LOL. Here they rot to nothing or break in half when the frame rots away and go to the scrap yard with a good interior. Arizona, the opposite. Mint body and chassis, cooked interior.

 

[8T2TOP]

Yep...
From Milwaukee...
Well aware of R U S T
sorry...
Did you double check with a competent Mopar parts advisor?
If so it might be time to say a vigil...

 

[Opticon77]

3/4" DD X 3/4"-48 Vibration Resistor U-Joint - FR1899 - Universal Joints - Vibration Resistor Universal Joints

Or something less vibration resistant (and cheaper) from their wider selection.

 

[8T2TOP]

Here are some possible solutions some require fab work and these other might work or pic pieces and make it work..

 

[8T2TOP]

Or something from these would have to work since Mopar used same basic junk on everything..

 

[8T2TOP]

Or hit Mopar dealer and see if whole assy part# is available..
BOL...

 

[Aspen500]

My theory on why there's no replacement available from the aftermarket is, they fail very seldom, unlike the same part on a GM truck. We replace them all the time at work on trucks a lot newer (like 2005-2010 models or even newer). Some we get from our GM parts supplier, others we get from next door at Carquest. Depends on what the customer wants. Let's just say, Carquest keeps the shafts in stock at all times. I suppose, can't forget the newest 1st and 2nd Gen Dakota's are almost 24 years old now ('96 last year) so, how many are actually left alive yet, which could explain the lack of parts availability also.