rag joint / stalling

[rental blazer]

qustion number one i wanna know the size spec. for a brand new rag joint like how thick how big dim. and the bolt pattern size..

2nd qustion what the heck can cause stalling while driving 2 days in the last week it stalled twice in 1 day while driving its a automatic and it will not start for 5 min then stuggles to start but starts.. before this it was stall and researt byself in less then a second .....

[berniescout]

what happens with the dash lights when it stalls?? read thread in faq about ingition switch, especially if it is a 97

[OverBoardProject]

What's a rag joint? I imagine that it's local slang for something.

[rental blazer]

Originally Posted by OverBoardProject

What's a rag joint? I imagine that it's local slang for something.

okay sorry its the rubberish cotten thing otherwise known as a steering coupler/and reduce vibation and when worn makes ecsstive play in the steering wheel as far as the year its a 95 blazer so it does not have the 97 swicth the motor has 3600 miles transmisson i belive to be origanl with 123k miles and i have changed the fuel fiter 5 months ago...so what the hell stalls this thing...

[Moser97]

I'll probably get murdered for saying this but here goes anyway. I pulled the cover off of my "rag joint" and after inspecting it, and the entire shaft assembly, I decided that it was OK and did not change it. I saw no play between the top half of the shaft and the coupling device on the top of the steering box. The fabric and it's hardware appeared to be secure and tight, so I soaked it down with about 20 good seconds of PB blaster to saturate and "waterproof" it and left it alone. I loosened the locking nut on the top of the steering box and turned the screw in until it got snug, NOT tight. I backed it off 1/3 turn and locked down the locking nut being careful not to let the adjuster move while locking down the nut. My steering is considerably improved, almost to the point of being TOO responsive. You may want to back off the adjuster a half turn and you will still see improvement. I have a '99 Jimmy, with 85,000 miles. Of course if you see wear or loose hardware or slop between top and bottom replace the shaft. I don't think just the fabric is replaceable. There are posts that detail this project, including part numbers and photos in the forum, you will have to search around for them a little. Pull the air box out completely and this is all pretty accessable from above. Good luck. As to your stalling I would look at fuel delivery, possibly the dreaded fuel pump.

[rental blazer]

what you did was changed the ratio of the steering boxes u found gm's serect for changing steering ratio

[dmbrisket 51]

for the steering instability its called a drag link, its possible to be a tie rod, but a 95 is well over due for a linkage if it hasn't had one

[muzzy1maniac]

Originally Posted by rental blazer

what you did was changed the ratio of the steering boxes u found gm's serect for changing steering ratio

Rental, can you explain how it changes the ratio?

[Moser97]

It does not change the ratio. The only way to do that would be to change the number of teeth on the driving, or driven gear. Without tearing the steering box apart I can't say for absolutely sure what the adjustment does. I would be willing to bet that what happens is the clearance between the driven gear and the driving gear gets smaller. That way there is less movement in the input gear before the steering responds.

[ZL1power69]

do u have to take that plastic shield/cover off to see the adjusting screw/nut? all i can see right now is the 11mm nut that holds the shaft to the box. i have about 4-5 inches of play in my steering and would really like to get this fixed but i can't see the adjusting screw (even though its probably right in front of me, lol).

[Moser97]

Plastic cover comes off to reveal rag joint. I broke my cover taking it off, and did not put it back on. It's been a couple of months since I did this so my memory may not be exactly right. The adjuster is on the top or side of the box. It is, like you said, right in front of you. It is a small (5/16 x 18, I believe) setscrew type bolt with a nut on it to lock it in place. It is sticking out of the side of the box. I believe it is a 5/8 or 3/4 nut and the setscrew type bolt that takes a 3/16 or 7/32 allen wrench. There are posts with pix. Do a search on "steering" and I bet you'll find it. My screw turned in a full turn before getting snug, then I backed it off 1/3 turn. If I had it to do over I would back it off a little more than that, probably 1/2 turn. It will make a BIG difference. Other people who have driven mine say it is too "quick" to steer, but I am used to it. I could not have continued to drive the car like it was, now it is fine. Good luck.

[ZL1power69]

Originally Posted by Moser97

Plastic cover comes off to reveal rag joint. I broke my cover taking it off, and did not put it back on. It's been a couple of months since I did this so my memory may not be exactly right. The adjuster is on the top or side of the box. It is, like you said, right in front of you. It is a small (5/16 x 18, I believe) setscrew type bolt with a nut on it to lock it in place. It is sticking out of the side of the box. I believe it is a 5/8 or 3/4 nut and the setscrew type bolt that takes a 3/16 or 7/32 allen wrench. There are posts with pix. Do a search on "steering" and I bet you'll find it. My screw turned in a full turn before getting snug, then I backed it off 1/3 turn. If I had it to do over I would back it off a little more than that, probably 1/2 turn. It will make a BIG difference. Other people who have driven mine say it is too "quick" to steer, but I am used to it. I could not have continued to drive the car like it was, now it is fine. Good luck.

ok thank u for the info.

[dmbrisket 51]

i beleve the nut your talken about tightens the clearences up, check your drag link, tightening the box MAY be fixing the wrong (in this case potentally dangerous) problem with the slop