Steering UJ Refurb

[Lewis's Friend]

Hi All

I think I probably know the answer to this, but is it possible to get steering column UJs rebuilt? Having googled it seems driveline UJs can be done but I'm not sure about smaller units. I would guess a lot are not seviceable.

I have one on my car that feels slightly graunchy in one direction (not that I'd noticed it driving along, but only when I removed the steering rack) but of course you can't buy them. Only the whole column for £300+. They also seem like gold dust from breakers for some reason, and one I managed to buy turned up in much worse condition than mine!

I'm not really willing to pay a fortune for a new one as it's not really required - it would just be nice to fix a potential flaw while access is easy. So to the original question, can these be rebuilt does anyone know!?

Cheers

[stevieturbo]

Depends on their construction.

[PositronicRay]

I had a metal one on an ford cortina.

Boiled it up in link-life did the job. (not sure you can still get link life mores the shame)

[GreenV8S]

It's been a couple of decades since I needed to replace one, but back then they were cheap and readily available. The ones I've seen were staked, so fiddly to dismantle if it was possible at all. Certainly not designed to be serviceable and I doubt it would ever be cost effective for a business to do it.

There seems to be a trend towards selling assemblies rather than components so I can understand why they may not be easy to get hold of these days. I don't suppose there is a huge variety in the UJ/steering column joint. Maybe worth measuring up the one you have and looking for anything with the same dimensions, not just the joint specific to your make/model.

[Lewis's Friend]

Cheers for all the feedback. The car is off of its an x308 jag xj8. I fear rebuilding it is probably not possible.

The chain line trick could be worth a go though. I may try that on my spare and see if it improves it.

I have in fact taken some measurements and looked on various car builder websites but nothing had looked close yet. Not helped by having different splines at each end...!

[stevieturbo]

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Jaguar-XJ8-XJR-X308-ste...

Or you can buy motorsport UJ's and weld something up to make a new part.

[Lewis's Friend]

stevieturbo said:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Jaguar-XJ8-XJR-X308-ste...

Or you can buy motorsport UJ's and weld something up to make a new part.

Cheers for the link. Unfortunately, it's not that easy! That is an early version, and I need the later one. Which I have after much effort for hold of, and its no better at all. So breakers parts on this occasion may not be the way to go...

[Adam205]

These guys might be able to help, I have used them in a professional capacity to build columns before.

https://www.bsquaredautomotive.co.uk/

[witko999]

It is most definately possible to get steering uj's rebuilt, but finding someone to do it and whether it makes financial sense is another question.

[LimSlip]

It's certainly possible to rebuild them provided the spider and bearings can be sourced, and it's not particularly difficult even with staked in bearings. UJs tend to be made in fairly standard sizes which makes this easier. Get your vernier calipers out and take some measurements.