Hey. I'm trying to get the starter out of my 87 dakota 4x4 3.9. I can't for the life of me figure out how to get the steering shaft out of the way. The whole thing is a big rusty mess, but I dont see any sort of bolts on the upper or lower end of the shaft. Just the u-joints. Do I have to take these u-joints off? I really dont want to get too deep in this shaft or else I'm afraid something will break because of the age and rust. Just trying to get the damn starter out of the way. any help would be awesome, ESPECIALLY pictures. Thanks in advance guys

 

I never needed to remove the shaft to get the starter out, I always got it to drop down and just twist it around. But to remove the shaft you would have to remove it where it connects to the steering column. Some have bolts, some have pins, if it is a pin just punch it out.

 

Okay I guess Ill try it from the bottom and let you know how it goes

 

Hi Sam.

Here's a description of the setup on my stock 89 and 90 4x4 3.9 dakotas

The steering gear has a splined input shaft with a u-joint attached to it.
That u-joint is held on by a roll pin (which I removed with a long bolt of the same diameter, and punching it out with a hammer )

That "u-joint" has a hole in the upper end (protected by a rubber boot) that the steering shaft slides into.
When not rusty... that shaft (rounded with flat sides) can slide in and out of the "u-joint"
That shaft then slides into a sleeve in the steering shaft above it, and is secured by a bolt and clip. (you need to remove the clip too or it won't come apart)

If that u-joint connection is not totally rusted, you should be able to remove the bolt and clip and then slide the shaft down into the u-joint.
You can then swing the upper u-joint out of the way.

If that connection is rusted.... well.. then you have to undo the bolts holding the steering onto the firewall in the cab.... remove the roll pin holding the u-joint onto the steering gear... slide the u-joint from the steering gear. then you can move the shaft out of the way...

Some have had luck by dropping it down... Like Crazy4x4RTS, but I'm not sure how they do it. I spent an hour trying to get it out after it was loose... then finally gave up and moved the steering out of the way. In my case i was lucky and the coupling wasn't rusty.

The ease, or lack thereof, of dropping it down may be due to differences in body height or exhaust or somthing... not sure. More likely I'm an idiot... LOL