Ever put off a long-overdue repair? Here's why you probably shouldn't.

Back about 5 years ago, I bought my 1997 Dakota from my old boss at a place I used to work for. When I bought it, it needed a bunch of repairs, including figuring out why the steering was so sloppy. After fixing a bunch of other stuff, like the brake lines, bumpers, front suspension bits, and more, I started thinking about why the steering was so loose. I did some research, and found out that the steering shaft that goes from the column to the rack is a wear item. Last fall, I decided to finally buy one, and there it sat in the garage until I got around to fixing it last weekend.

Take a look at these pics:

Here's the old one and the new one.

How I'm not dead, I'll never know.

The joints are not only bad, but they are ROTTED!!! Parts that are supposed to be on the inside are now on the outside! Remember, I've had it for 5 years this month, and I've put over 10k miles (including plenty of highway miles) on it with this rusty thing being the only connection between the wheel and the rack.

Go fix those things you put off, folks.

When I was in college, bulletproof, and poor, I put off servicing the drive shaft in my DD MG Midget. The vibration got so bad I eventually had to scrape together the $5 to buy a new U-joint. When I finally replaced it, the old joint was about like yours. There were no needle bearings left, the cups were worn through, and two of the four round ends of plus-shaped inner part that go in the cups were worn half away. I also couldn't afford to fix the rear brakes on that car, so I just blocked off the corresponding port on the master cylinder.

Looks pretty clean for Chicago.

Buddy of mine ages ago took a TR3 on a cross country trip, and so naturally the crank started knocking. The garage he stopped at had no TR3 crank bearings. So they um installed some carefully cut to size pork rinds instead. He drove it for 3 years and sold it that way, claiming to have told the buyer about the, ah, aftermarket bearings... No, I don't think I woulda, either.

Apis Mellifera wrote: I also couldn't afford to fix the rear brakes on that car, so I just blocked off the corresponding port on the master cylinder.

I did the exact same thing on an 87 honda lx-i in college with a hose clamp. Thankfully my uncle "borrowed" it one day when I was doing some work for him and fixed it. It's a miracle I didn't die with the way I drove that little thing around.

Jay_W wrote: Buddy of mine ages ago took a TR3 on a cross country trip, and so naturally the crank started knocking. The garage he stopped at had no TR3 crank bearings. So they um installed some carefully cut to size pork rinds instead. He drove it for 3 years and sold it that way, claiming to have told the buyer about the, ah, aftermarket bearings... No, I don't think I woulda, either.

I guess your buddy read "Grapes of Wrath" too.

my Great Grandmother lived the grapes of wrath.

As for myself, I would always do the repairs, but I would put them off. Usually the parts that were getting sloppy would break hours before I was going to replace them. Like the passengerside drive shaft on my old Hyundai Excel. I had the replacement in the backseat and was returning from the dealer with it when the CV joint parted ways. Did the repair on the side of the road and drove back to the dealer to get my deposit back

Appleseed wrote: Looks pretty clean for Chicago.

Yeah, I'm thinking that if it wasn't actively binding up ("power steering isn't working every 90 degrees") then fark it.

I'm more amazed that a Dakota lasted long enough to need a steering shaft. Those things rusted massively. The last time I ever saw a second generation one was a long time ago and my knee fell through the bumper as I replaced its exhaust manifolds.

Buddy of mine has a second Gen Dakota that is nearly perfect. He is obsessive that way though.

In reply to Knurled:

Oh, it's got some rust. The rockers are getting crusty, and the bumpers have been replaced, as they were skeletal when I bought the truck.

Steering shaft failure on these is very common. Mine has over 175k on it, and it was long overdue.

Ball joints are another one of those.

Had a student complaining that his car would hit a bump and then change lanes. Told him to look at the ball joints. I know have both his lower ball joints in my demo pile - both ball joints were one good pot hole away from oblivion.

In reply to SkinnyG:

Ball joints. Yep. In my short stint in college my dad let me borrow his Lancia Beta Coupe (anyone?) after my motorcycle was totaled ....twice (an incredible story for another time). That short term loan turned long term due to my lack of funds and his desire to keep me off the bike. I developed a sloppy feel in the front and was preparing for a Saturday apartment parking lot ball joint session when the left front snapped, shooting me toward a crowd at a public transit bus stop. I will never forget the look on the face of one man standing here. I stopped about 3 feet short of the structure. Lesson learned.

SkinnyG wrote: Ball joints are another one of those. Had a student complaining that his car would hit a bump and then change lanes. Told him to look at the ball joints. I know have both his lower ball joints in my demo pile - both ball joints were one good pot hole away from oblivion.

We get three or four tow-ins a year where a lower ball joint lets loose. This usually rips the brake hose apart, and on a front driver it pulls the inner CV joint apart.

Just worked on an '05 Accord yesterday that did this. The upper ball joint got hyperextended and damaged as well.

Quick oil change places are not your friends, they don't do vehicle inspections and they don't grease fittings.

"Ooo... that needs to be fixed. I'll buy the parts right now!"

immediately goes on the web and orders parts...

"Parts are here! Woo hoo!"

parts sit in the box until the car is sold...

I had a Volvo 850 Turbo in college that had a caliper hanging up, which I tried my best to put off for a few months until I had income from my summer job to fix it. Right around this time of year, with maybe a month left in the semester, it started getting really bad, to the point where I pulled into my apartment after dusk one night to find the rotor glowing cherry red and smoke billowing profusely from the wheel well. Had to suck it up at that point and ask mom and dad to borrow the $50 or whatever it took to fix it.

And maybe I should get around to putting the ball joints on the XJ that have been sitting on the shelf since last June or July.

I learned how important ball joints were way before I could drive, thanks to my older sister's 1988 S10 Blazer. She was taking a turn up the street from my parents' house, and her driver's side wheel folded in on itself as the ball joint failed. I remember going with my dad to look at the carnage.

I hate salt. Ugh.