i have a bum u-joint in my steering shaft. It is the one closest to the firewall(underhood), that has the rubber flex joint attached to it.

It has a bit of slop in it, and is noisy(almost clicks while turning). Would that make for a notchy feel with tight spots while turning also?

Now for the big question- how does it come off? I can't tell how to get the shaft out as a whole. I see the bolts where it clamps at either far end of the shaft. But everything else either looks like a rivet or some weird three sided, sloted head screw I've never seen. Is there a special tool for this?

 

Here's the best pic I could find if it helps.

 

From what I know you have to replace the whole thing, and you need to remove the steering wheel, unbolt the shaft from the steering box and slide the whole thing out through the passenger cabin.

 

That definitly sounds like a PITA. RAVE says to loosen all 3 clamp bolts at the splines, then slide the lower(steering box) end off first,compressing, then you can remove the upper. But that did not work for me. Maybe I just needed to use a little more force when compressing it.

But here is something odd, wondering if my box is going bad also. The notchy feeling in steering is worse in one direction than the other, and is worse the more cold it is. As it starts to warm being driven, it gets alot better.

 

That sounds like a steering box problem because the fluid will get warm as you drive obviously.

As for the steering shaft, I cant help you.