U-joint vs pot coupler

jos51700 said
The plastic pins in the collapsible column have probably already sheared. I'd make a witness mark on the steering shaft and see if the inner portion of the shaft is plunging. If your car has that, I'm not sure when Chrysler started that.

So then you can wear out the actual steering shaft if you ditch the pot.

I did put a grease fitting on my coupler (at the bottom of the pot) so I could pump the dirt n' grit out. I get that it's tight with headers an all, but this is one of those things that I highly doubt Chrysler would've spent the money re-engineering the wheel if they didn't have to.

Yeah, I hadn't thought about the pins having sheared, I did note some marks on the end of the shaft where somebody did a no-no and hammered on it. No way to know until I pull the shaft. My snap ring plyers broke years ago, slight delay while I get some new ones today. If they are sheared, it's not obvious, the shaft appears stiff/solid all the way, i.e. if I push on the bottom, and hold against the top, there is no play/slide whatsoever.

BTW, unlike the plastic post for the reverse switch, these columns are in NOS and available.