Taking the plunge tomorrow evening. I've been researching it and have collected quite a bit of information so I feel like it should go fairly smoothly.

The effects of not keeping the steering wheel striaght are slightly disturbing but hopefully it will work out just fine.

If you've got any tips/warnings/etc., lay 'em on me!

the straightness of the steering wheel shouldnt be an issuse as long as you dont turn it more than 5* or so.. the biggest thing would be wiring damage, but that is unlikely without a 2x full rotation. most of the straightness issues are caused by the steering wheel position sensors used in teh SSEis for the stability control system, which you dont have in your SE

I agree, as long as you keep the steering wheel relatively straight, you shouldn't have a problem. I did mine without GM'* special tool to lock the steering column, and it even moved some while I was doing it, without causing any problems. The warnings are there so that everyone will be careful with that issue. Better safe than sorry. Follow what you've found with your searches, and you'll do fine.

I do have one question. Is it possible to remove the upper boot from the firewall instead of leaving it attached and cutting slits in it? Seems like it would be easier to get to the upper u-joint this way.

Go ahead and cut the boot. It will make it easier when you have to lube it again in 6 mos. or so, or....... decide to just replace the shaft assembly. I've lubed to spec and even bought replacement. Nothing lasts more than 1 year. Can not figure it out.

The last time I lubed the shaft I was extremely careful with the steering wheel and also used TLC removing and installing the shaft. Now, intermittently, I get that dreaded Stability Control warning out on the interstate, steady state, no significant steering wheel movement. A quick push of the Reset button and every think is fine for a month or two. Go figure. BTW, the last lube did ZERO! I don't think my problem is in the telescoping slip fit. I believe it is in the upper joint. That seemed a little stiff but no amount of lube would help.

Got the shaft lubed. A couple of snags but the noise is gone ...for the time being that is

Thought the bolt on the upper joint needed to have a wrench on it too but it does not--just the nut. After we got that figured out, everything went well. Just takes some time because of the space restrictions. I'm 6'-5" so it was not a lot of fun getting under my dash.

As a side note, the upper u-joint did seem to bind a lot more than the lower and I know some people think this might be the cause. I can't say for sure as there is no way to tell since I lubed both the upper joint and the shaft. I used WD-40 on the upper joint and let that work its way in, then followed it up with heavy-duty bearing grease, which I also used on the shaft splines. Doesn't appear necessary to buy the kit from GM. I did not lube the lower u-joint as it was fine.

I'd say any average shadetree could do this. A lot easier with a buddy however. Any questions, feel free.


PIC BELOW--The lower u-joint with clear rubber boot slid up and out of the way. 11 mm socket for this one. Took this pinch bolt out first before moving inside the car to do the upper u-joint.

PIC BELOW--Upper u-joint--Make a couple/three slits in the black rubber boot underneath the steering column to gain access to the nut on the upper u-joint. You'll have to remove the plastic dash piece under your steering column to get to this--two screws and one interior light connection to remove.

PIC BELOW--upper u-joint bolt with nut already removed--13mm wrench for this one. You DO NOT need a wrench on the bolt to keep it from spinning when loosening the nut. Its' got a bracket on it that will keep it from spinning. This part is a little hairy just because it'* hard to get to and tires you out pretty quick with the space constraints. As you can see, I cut really large slits to make access easier. Duct tape it back up when you're done.

Hey Harry Dunn can you give a little play by play in between the pics.Like where we are looking and what you did for each pic, if you dont mind.I will use this to do mine in next couple o weeks.Appreciate it.Oh and what was the name of the grease.

JDQ,

I updated my shop pics with some narratives. Hope this helps. Let me know if you need anything else.

Thanks Harry between The pics and info from you and Dick(Archon) this should be a piece of cake.

Yep, Archon'* post was a big help. I printed it out and had it on my workbench.