Thumper8302
Full Access Member
Read bailey-hoes's post on the iss fix.. i went ahead and joined the z71 forum to read this install and also have a few friends with z71s so info is always in need.. But thought i would go ahead and carry this info over here for quick reference reasons for the ones that dont wanna join z71... Now i do not take credit for this info and i am greatly thankful for RobertWYoung posting up that link
A few notes before you get started…
• One thing I found when I was reading is that the newer intermediate shafts may not take the grease
fitting. I'm not too sure about this. I never had mine replaced so it was the original old style from
2002. I don’t know what version you are up to. If you are comfortable taking the whole ISS out it
might be worth a look...
• I used a ¾” rubber stopper to make the plug for the bottom of the ISS. You may be able to find
something else that will work. Others have wire welded or used JB Weld to permanently fix a cap
over the end of the ISS to prevent the grease from coming out the bottom.
• I did the entire mod without removing the ISS. If you want/have to remove it, you can follow the ISS
lube procedure from Carguru to get the shaft out. Just make sure you secure the steering wheel
before you remove the bolt under the dash. Some have said to use a ratcheting strap from the
steering wheel over to the drivers side 'oh shit' handle. The other thing I saw is to loop the seatbelt
through the steering wheel and clip it in, then pull the seatbelt all the way out so it goes into the
locking mode, and let it retract so its nice and tight to hold the steering wheel in place. For more info
check out this thread:
How to install grease Zerk fitting on Intermediate Steering Shaft
1. Turn steering wheel to center so that front wheels are straight.
2. Use center punch to make a mark in the center of the Intermediate Steering Shaft (ISS) about ½” to
¾: above the coupling bolt, before the ISS begins to neck down. Pop the mark with the center punch
a few times to make sure it’s nice and clear.
3. Drill a pilot hole on your mark with a 1/16” drill bit.
4. Drill out the hole with the #3 drill for the ¼”-28 tap.
5. Tap the hole with the ¼’-28 tap. Make sure you tap slowly, ½ rotation at a time. Don’t go too deep.
Back the tap out slowly once you are in far enough.
6. Install the grease zerk fitting. Use a little low-strength threadlocker to prevent it from coming out.
7. Remove the coupling bolt joining the ISS to the Lower Steering Shaft (LSS). 15mm wrench or
socket.
8. Remove the clip inside the bottom of the ISS with a pair of needle nose pliers.
9. Shape a 3/4” rubber stopper with a sharp knife so that it fits snugly up into the bottom of the ISS. It
needs to prevent the grease from pushing out the bottom, so only trim a little at a time. Once you get
it to go all the way in nice and tight, push it in until the top of the plug goes about 1/8” past the top
of the hole for the coupling bolt.
10. Drill a hole through the stopper to allow the coupling bolt to pass through.
11. Reassemble the ISS and LSS and bolt back together. Torque bolt to 37 ft-lbs.
12. Pump up the ISS with grease. Use a high viscosity, high temperature, lithium complex grease. I used
Mobil 1, and it seems to work fine. You can remove the rubber boot at the firewall and slide it down
to see when the grease starts coming out the top of the ISS splines. If you’ve had it greased before, it
may only take 10-15 pumps to fill’er up. I had never greased mine and put about 25-30 pumps in
before I heard it bubble up through the splines.
13. When it starts to rattle, give it a few pumps of grease. Or you can remove the coupling bolt, separate
the ISS from the LSS, and push the lower half of the ISS up to the steering wheel to force the grease
down the bottom up into the splines.
Courtesy of FishNJ
think we can get a sticky for this since we are all pretty much plagued with this?
A few notes before you get started…
• One thing I found when I was reading is that the newer intermediate shafts may not take the grease
fitting. I'm not too sure about this. I never had mine replaced so it was the original old style from
2002. I don’t know what version you are up to. If you are comfortable taking the whole ISS out it
might be worth a look...
• I used a ¾” rubber stopper to make the plug for the bottom of the ISS. You may be able to find
something else that will work. Others have wire welded or used JB Weld to permanently fix a cap
over the end of the ISS to prevent the grease from coming out the bottom.
• I did the entire mod without removing the ISS. If you want/have to remove it, you can follow the ISS
lube procedure from Carguru to get the shaft out. Just make sure you secure the steering wheel
before you remove the bolt under the dash. Some have said to use a ratcheting strap from the
steering wheel over to the drivers side 'oh shit' handle. The other thing I saw is to loop the seatbelt
through the steering wheel and clip it in, then pull the seatbelt all the way out so it goes into the
locking mode, and let it retract so its nice and tight to hold the steering wheel in place. For more info
check out this thread:
How to install grease Zerk fitting on Intermediate Steering Shaft
1. Turn steering wheel to center so that front wheels are straight.
2. Use center punch to make a mark in the center of the Intermediate Steering Shaft (ISS) about ½” to
¾: above the coupling bolt, before the ISS begins to neck down. Pop the mark with the center punch
a few times to make sure it’s nice and clear.
3. Drill a pilot hole on your mark with a 1/16” drill bit.
4. Drill out the hole with the #3 drill for the ¼”-28 tap.
5. Tap the hole with the ¼’-28 tap. Make sure you tap slowly, ½ rotation at a time. Don’t go too deep.
Back the tap out slowly once you are in far enough.
6. Install the grease zerk fitting. Use a little low-strength threadlocker to prevent it from coming out.
7. Remove the coupling bolt joining the ISS to the Lower Steering Shaft (LSS). 15mm wrench or
socket.
8. Remove the clip inside the bottom of the ISS with a pair of needle nose pliers.
9. Shape a 3/4” rubber stopper with a sharp knife so that it fits snugly up into the bottom of the ISS. It
needs to prevent the grease from pushing out the bottom, so only trim a little at a time. Once you get
it to go all the way in nice and tight, push it in until the top of the plug goes about 1/8” past the top
of the hole for the coupling bolt.
10. Drill a hole through the stopper to allow the coupling bolt to pass through.
11. Reassemble the ISS and LSS and bolt back together. Torque bolt to 37 ft-lbs.
12. Pump up the ISS with grease. Use a high viscosity, high temperature, lithium complex grease. I used
Mobil 1, and it seems to work fine. You can remove the rubber boot at the firewall and slide it down
to see when the grease starts coming out the top of the ISS splines. If you’ve had it greased before, it
may only take 10-15 pumps to fill’er up. I had never greased mine and put about 25-30 pumps in
before I heard it bubble up through the splines.
13. When it starts to rattle, give it a few pumps of grease. Or you can remove the coupling bolt, separate
the ISS from the LSS, and push the lower half of the ISS up to the steering wheel to force the grease
down the bottom up into the splines.
Courtesy of FishNJ
think we can get a sticky for this since we are all pretty much plagued with this?
.. but as far as the rubber stopper i would look at auto parts stores, places like lowes and home depot, who knows u could find somethin around the house that might work... i havent found anything yet myself tho... will post somethin up if i find anything
