With a tick over 100k on the odometer on our Project '94 XJ, some of the less durable items are beginning to show their ugly heads. Plastic dash parts are rattling a little louder, window seals are shrinking and emitting a light whistle, etc. All in all, no major issues, just annoyances. This is pretty surprising given the fact that our XJ spends much more time off road than Chrysler ever thought it would. Given the time spent on 3+ and 4 rated trails in our XJ, it has been nothing but reliable, predictable, and more capable than many bystanders ever thought.

But, as I mentioned, those trails are beginning to take a toll. Oddly enough, not in the form of broken axles or U-joints, tie rods or transfer cases, but the steering shaft. That's right, the shaft from the steering column to the steering box failed. The part that failed me is a part that never touches the dirt. Obviously all of those low speed 4lo maneuvers in the rocks finally caught up to the stock steering shaft.

To be specific, the factory rubber isolator in the steering shaft failed. Once it let go, there was more than 20 degrees of slop in the steering wheel. The only reason that there was any steering capability at all was due to the safety stop that is integrated into the stock shaft. Fortunately, like so many other Jeep parts, someone else has broken this steering shaft before me and has designed a better replacement.

Borgeson has been advertising their replacement steering shafts for years as being heavy duty replacements for the stock shafts. They have recently begun to offer their heavy duty steering shafts for XJ Cherokees along side their existing line up of full size truck and Jeep CJ/YJ shafts.

The installation is fairly straightforward, it is only made complicated because of the confines of the engine compartment. The intake manifold of the 4.0L makes access to the steering shaft somewhat difficult. Those with 4 cyl or V6 engines may find this install easier than those with the 4.0L. To begin, the stock shaft is easily removed with a single bolt at each end of the shaft. Installing the Borgeson replacement is a little more complicated. For safety reasons, a 3/8" diameter hole must be drilled in the end of the factory steering column shaft. This hole allows the installation of a set screw to insure that your steering shaft doesn't fall off. Drilling this hole is the trickiest part of the installation. Between the power brake booster and the intake manifold, there is no room to get a drill anywhere near the bottom of the steering column to drill this hole. The only solution I found was to use a 12 inch long 3/8" drill bit. Once you've drilled this hole, the install is truly a no-brainer.

I've since put a few thousand miles on our XJ, both on road and off, with the new steering shaft. There are no surprises to report. The steering is tight once again and the Borgeson needle bearing design will easily outlast a stock replacement. The Borgeson shaft is simply a bullet proof product that leaves me with one less thing to worry about when I'm far from home.

- Click Here For More Information About Borgeson Universal -

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