Dorman Intermediate Steering Shaft

dubs_17 · March 24, 2009

I've been doing my homework on the whole "steering clunk" issue that all GM's are apparently famous for, and I still have not been able to get an up-to-date opinion of what works best to fix this problem

I've gotten the impression that the "new design" shaft from GM (#19153614) fixes the clunk for a while, but ends up clunking after so many miles/kilometers. Anybody with experience...is this true?

I've been looking into possibly replacing my shaft with the Dorman replacement (#425-176), but there does not seem to be much in the way of reviews of this product on the internet/forums.

Maybe the fact that nobody has complained about either of these replacement shafts since mid-2008 is a good sign?

Please post here with your experiences with BOTH shafts, either good or bad. I need to know the best way to go to fix this problem right THE FIRST TIME!

Thanks all!!

C & A s Dad · March 24, 2009

Maybe I can help a little.

I had mine replaced on my 02 Yuk XL under warranty with the new designed GM shaft about the time DOR introduced the 425 176. My clunk has not come back but know that my truck has only been driven for 10,000 miles or less since the new GM shaft was installed.

I also work for a company that sells the DOR shaft and we have sold hundreds out of the Distribution Center I work from and to my knowledge, we have never had one come back. I would guess we have sold thousands accross the country and we have had no recalls or known issues with this piece.

If mine begins making noise again, I will replace it with the Dorman piece.

dubs_17 · March 24, 2009

Anybody else with experience with either of these shafts? I'm a little wary of the GM replacement, as I know they've been struggling with this issue for many years and have said, "We've fixed it" many times, only to find out they haven't fixed anything.

dubs_17 · March 25, 2009

Nobody has the Dorman intermediate shaft??

bigredmariner · March 25, 2009

Anybody else with experience with either of these shafts? I'm a little wary of the GM replacement, as I know they've been struggling with this issue for many years and have said, "We've fixed it" many times, only to find out they haven't fixed anything.

Jared, I had mine replaced with the updated GM shaft and have placed about 30,000 miles on my truck since. Still no clunk, that doesn't mean that it won't start tomorrow, but for today "no Clunk".

dubs_17 · March 25, 2009

Jared, I had mine replaced with the updated GM shaft and have placed about 30,000 miles on my truck since. Still no clunk, that doesn't mean that it won't start tomorrow, but for today "no Clunk".

Anybody with the GM #19153614 replacement shaft that HASN'T had such a good experience? Some of the people that I've seen saying that the clunk has recurred actually weren't sure which shaft # they had in their trucks because they had had so many replacements. That's where I got confused. The posts on success/failure seem to stop around mid-2008 (as I said before), so I'm looking for more updates. So far, so good!

b_zieman · March 25, 2009

Get the Dorman. Works perfect. Leave it to another company to fix what has taken GM 9 years and still not fixed. Have gone through many of the "different" GM ones and all are junk. Put the dorman on and problem solved!

Anyone found a solution to the paint coming off the stereo buttons? (issue #.......) Sorry just a little bitter after hearing a commercial today about their commitment to quality..ha

grogman45459 · March 25, 2009

Anybody else with experience with either of these shafts? I'm a little wary of the GM replacement, as I know they've been struggling with this issue for many years and have said, "We've fixed it" many times, only to find out they haven't fixed anything.

I replaced mine with the updated G.M. one - #19153614 - about 25K miles ago. It's worked out fine and is still tight. When I replaced mine, the steering was really loose and the thumping was unbearable, it felt like part of the front end was going fall off when going around turns.

dubs_17 · March 27, 2009

You know, I just finished doing a bunch of reading and searching on the subject, and found a recall for the Dorman shaft! It says that one of the 'linking welds' was found to have potential to fail. I've also now heard that the ridiculously-priced Borgeson replacement fails after so many miles. Tough choice here. Might have to give the GM product a whirl.

dubs_17 · March 27, 2009

You know, I just finished doing a bunch of reading and searching on the subject, and found a recall for the Dorman shaft! It says that one of the 'linking welds' was found to have potential to fail. I've also now heard that the ridiculously-priced Borgeson replacement fails after so many miles. Tough choice here. Might have to give the GM product a whirl.

Okay, to correct myself. The shafts that Dorman is recalling are not for the GM/Chevy trucks. They are for passenger cars. Still makes a guy a little wary. The designs can't be THAT different. Anyway, for kicks...here's the recall notice:

Manufacturer: DORMAN PRODUCTS, INC.Mfr’s Report Date: OCT 16, 2008NHTSA CAMPAIGN ID Number: 08E063000 N/A NHTSA Action Number: N/A Component: STEERINGPotential Number of Units Affected: 3855Summary: DORMAN PRODUCTS IS RECALLING 3,900 INTERMEDIATE STEERING SHAFTS DORMAN PART NOS. 425-151, 425-152, AND 425-153, (SOLD UNDER DORMAN’S “OE SOLUTIONS” BRAND NAME), BALKAMP #’S 7-3057, 7-3058, 7-3059 (SOLD UNDER THE “NAPA” BRAND NAME), AND PLATINUM PARTS #’S 2425151, 2425152, AND 2425153 MANUFACTURED DURING THE MONTH OF SEPTEMBER 2007. THESE REPLACEMENT STEERING SHAFTS CAN BE USED ON THE VEHICLES LISTED ABOVE. THE WELD CONNECTING THE INNER TUBE TO THE OUTER TUBE MAY BE DEFECTIVE.Consequence: IF THE WELD FAILS, LOSS OF STEERING COULD RESULT, POSSIBLY RESULTING IN A VEHICLE CRASH.Remedy: DORMAN WILL NOTIFY OWNERS AND REPLACE THE STEERING SHAFTS FREE OF CHARGE. THE RECALL IS EXPECTED TO BEGIN DURING OCTOBER 2008. OWNERS MAY CONTACT DORMAN TOLL FREE AT 1-800-523-2494.Notes: THIS RECALL ONLY PERTAINS TO DORMAN’S OE SOLUTIONS BRAND NAME, BALKAMP’S NAPA BRAND, AND THE PLATINUM BRAND STEERING SHAFTS AND HAS NO RELATION TO ANY ORIGINAL EQUIPMENT INSTALLED ON VEHICLES MANUFACTURED BY GENERAL MOTORS CORPORATION. CUSTOMERS MAY CONTACT THE NATIONAL HIGHWAY TRAFFIC SAFETY ADMINISTRATION’S VEHICLE SAFETY HOTLINE AT 1-888-327-4236 (TTY: 1-800-424-9153); OR GO TO HTTP://WWW.SAFERCAR.GOV

MikeInCtown · March 27, 2009

No offense, but the Dorman and the GM shaft are close to the same price. GM has a horrible track record on these shafts. My choice would be the Dorman shaft.

As far as the recall goes, that's aofr a car like you stated. If you based your purchases on a recall for something other than the actual product you were buying, you'd never buy another vehicle again as they ALL have recalls for one thing or another.

C & A s Dad · March 27, 2009

We issued the recall immediately when receiving it from DOR and the first thing I did was check to see if the 425 176 was included. I would have posted it at that time but it was not on the list.

Again, to my knowledge, we have never had one come back.

If you can get one in your hands and take a look at the "D" shaped design of the shaft, you will understand why it is a quality piece.

dubs_17 · March 27, 2009

We issued the recall immediately when receiving it from DOR and the first thing I did was check to see if the 425 176 was included. I would have posted it at that time but it was not on the list.

Again, to my knowledge, we have never had one come back.

If you can get one in your hands and take a look at the "D" shaped design of the shaft, you will understand why it is a quality piece.

Awesome. Thanks, guys, for all your help!! I'll be ordering the Dorman today.

sap_man · July 7, 2009

How did the Dorman install go? Did you do it yourself? Looks like there are a lot of DIY's out there on the web. I too, need to order up an intermediate shaft to install due to the infamous 'clunk'.

Drop a post when you get a chance to let us know how it went.