Today i installed GM'* latest and greatest revised steering shaft part # 26068295 and i have got to tell you all what a difference it has made. My car was purchased used about 2 weeks ago. Having a couple of Bonnie related issues i found and joined this fine group of Luxo-performance owners. After taking your advice from previous threads on R&R procedure to re-lube the intermediate shaft i had to ask myself one question, what is the fault with this component. After a cleaning and diagnosis i realized the real problem was that the sliding portion of the mechanism has too much of a tolerence side to side motion. The replacement does not share this problem. They even added a rubber floating to isolate the steering gear from the steering wheel. My car feels like a new car with much increased steering response and feel for the road. To my suprise the front end shimmy@65-70 mph is gone. So no need for expensive wheel balancing for you guys you no whom you are. Anyone with these problems owes it to your self to run out and purchase this part for 145.00 with tax. Installation takes about 2 hours follow the steps on previous threads and you should be OK. One word to the wise after shaft removal remove the lower clear boot completely and spray the entire inside with white lithium grease then insert the new shaft before inserting through the firewall from the engine side. This helps force the larger flex joint assembly thru the small end of the boot and ensures no rubbing sounds after installation. Wish i had thought of this fiirst. Well good luck to all and happy motoring.

I caught my noise before I left the dealer and they replaced it, with the newest FM version for free, it didnt make a noise for a week, but low and behold, one good turn up into a drive way and *clunk*.......F*#$!!!!!!! You're one of the lucky few.

Hopefully the new part works out for you! So far I haven't had any issues with mine after owning the car for 11 days. It has probably been replaced before. After reading about these shafts, it may have even been replaced more than once. Hopefully I will not have any issues with it.