the bearing for my steering shaft and the shaft itself are shot. they had been going for a while, and then the other day after i beat the piss out of it in the snow the bearing fell off, the steering wheel was bouncing up an down, what an experience
if you are unsure if your steering shaft is bad, grab it and shake it, if it moves around the bearing is shot. when you twist the shaft check for play in the joints at the top an bottom of it.
this is the new shaft quadratec sent me, 109$ list
personally i think all crown automotive parts are junk, so i was a little let down when they sent me a crown shaft.
it should be assumed i used a lot of pb blaster on every thing i removed
first there are 4 bolts holding your steering box to the frame
the bottom two bolts (in the picture one of them is still in) go through a bracket that is bolted to the frame. on the firewall side bolt i ended up having to grind the bolt head off that goes into the frame in the bracket. it rusted an broke out inside.
after you have those bolts out you can lower the steering box a little, i supported mine with a jack stand.
you cant tell from the pics, but i ended up removing my washer fluid and coolant reservoir bottles
next your going to remove the bolt for the upper clamp on the steering shaft
next you remove the bolt for the lower clamp
once thats done you have to work the shaft off the upper shaft and the steering box, i say work cause it'll be seized on there. i used a pry bar and a hammer to spread the clamps open wider. i got it off the steering box first, and then was able to just hammer the shaft off the upper shaft.
that picture shows where my old bearing slid down and out of place
here is the new bearing kit
next you remove the old bearing assembly, first the ring comes off with a screw driver, then the outer metal case, the bearing, and the plastic ring.
just put the new parts back in the same way, first the plastic piece and the bearing
and then you just put on the metal cap piece and lock that in with the metal ring. after that just slide the new shaft on.
i put a lil weld on mine to really lock it in place, thats probably unnecessary though i just had a buzz going an thought it was a good idea. regardless once you slide the shaft back on you just tighten down the clamp bolts and re install the steering box.
and thats it, its fairly easy i'd say, my steering feels amazing. i was going to replace the steering box too, but i may not now since this eliminated 85% of my steering play.
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How to replace a lower steering shaft and bearing with epic pics
i somehow skipped through the thread and didn't see the pics on the bearing..... 
