Hey Echo SSEi
 

Doyou by chance have a write up on the Intermediate Shaft replacement? When mine was done and I got it back, my steering wheel was put back on crooked. Then I brought it back and their fix was to adjust the " toe " to bring it back straight. To me the proer fix would have been to take the wheel back off and put it on straight. I guess what I need to know is what the shaft replacement entails. Do they even take the steering wheel off? If not, how could my steering wheel end up crooked? Also now my car seems to want to pull to the right....my guess that's from them adjusting the alignment.....any help appreciated....thx.

Quote:
Note: The wheels of the vehicle must be straight ahead and the steering column in the LOCK position before disconnecting the steering column or intermediate shaft from the steering gear. Failure to do so will cause the SIR coil assembly to become uncentered, which may cause damage to the coil assembly. Insert J 42640 (steering column anti-rotation pin) into the steering column access hole in order to lock the steering column.


Right out of the GM TSB for Steering - Front End Clunk Noise When Turning Bulletin No.: 04-02-35-004C seems like they messed up just alittle there with your Intermediate Steering Shaft.

bjjoh sent that to me when I had a problem with int/shaft repair. your symptoms lead me to believe they didn't take the propper steps in repair. By trying to fix it with your allignment they are just avoiding a column repair that is their mistake.You should make them fix it.

Interesting.....I'll have to take it back there.....again... :roll: :evil:

Sorry I didn't see this yesterday...home internet connection was A.W.O.L.

Thanks for the info SJC.

I don't have a write-up for this, but there is lots of information about the replacement. Since I have a '97, I haven't really gotten to deep into this. I'll see what else I can find.

My main concern is that when I go yell at the service manager that they won't come back with a legitimate reason for the alignment needing adjustment after this procedure.....anyone here have this done and needed an alignment adjustment afterwards?

There is no need to remove the steering wheel, or the column in order to replace the intermediate shaft. Having replaced mine myself, I can not think of any way off-hand that the steering wheel would be just a little off-center as a result. At the top, it connects through the U joint end with a bolt through the steering column. For it to be off there, it would have to be 180 or 360 degrees off. That would seem to certainly destroy the SIR coil, which would throw a code. It would also seem that it would change the position of the steering position sensor and would set a stability system code.

The other end that attaches to the steering gear has a flat spot on it, so that can only be attached one way. I did not need an alignment after I was done.

So what do you think happened that caused the steering wheel to be at about the one o clock position when I got it back from the dealer? And then why do the tech instructions state to lock everything in the straight position before taking out the shaft? You would think there would be room for error there and something like this could happen?
I do see what you're saying and if you did one yourself you have first hand knowledge. This just isn't making any sense.....

The steering column spins very easily when it is no longer connected, and is the only reason I can figure on why they want it locked in place, so that it doesn't get spun around. I did not buy their special tool, or lock mine in place. I just made sure that I didn't move it around a lot. I agree - it doesn't make any sense, and I could only guess as to what they may have done to make the steering wheel off-center.

The only reasonable guess I can come up with is the same as you did, that for some unknown reason, they went through all the trouble to unnecessarily remove the steering wheel. As they readily did an alignment for you, which is not needed when working on the shaft, it's apparent that they did something wrong, and likely know what it was. Was any other work done on the car at the same time?

Even if they did take the steering wheel off and put it back on a bit off, a properly done alignment should have taken care of that. Also, an alignment problem generally will not be the cause of a car pulling to the right or left. Is the pressure in the tires proper? Any indications of brake dragging, etc.? It may be time to take it to another service shop for an inspection. Then take that information (and the bill) to the shop that did this repair, if you can't get satistaction from them.

No other work was done at the time. After driving it a little more, I guess it really isn't pulling as bad as I thought at first. Steering wheel is straight. But something just doesn't feel right when driving the car. I keep having to make corrections when driving in a straight line and it seems to want to over correct so I'm constantly touching the wheel. Guess I could make a few calls and talk to some different shops.....I'm just sick of taking the car in....don't have the time.

I understand your frustration. An option is to ask the shop if they performed a 4 wheel alignment, or just the "thrust line" or front end alignment. My guess is they just did the front end, as you mentioned them adjusting the toe-in as a correction. It is possible that the back end is out of alignment, and could be causing your problem.