My two shafts inside my steering column decided to come apart today while driving. Luckily my alignment is good so I kinda just drifted into the other lane and then off the road. Could have been much worse. Could have drifted into oncoming traffic. Moral of this post is CHECK YOUR STEERING COLUMN. If there is any fore/aft play in the shaft that comes through the firewall on the underhood side, then the plastic pin is broken and it's only a matter of time before you lose steering. There was a recall in 97 that was supposed to bandaid the defect, check to make sure the recall was completed.

 

Sounds scary. On my list for my weekend projects.

 

Can you post pic of area that's prone to break away?

 

I wish I could but it's about halfway up inside the column. You can tell if the end of your column that comes through the firewall has any in/out play.