I have been thinking about getting a rag joint eliminator for my car, but a friend of mine said that it's not a good idea because the rag joint is the part in the steering colomn that would break away in an accident. So pretty much if you hit something hard enough your steering colomn is going to be a spear amied at your chest. Heres my question, is the rag joint the part that breaks away in an accident, or is it just there to help reduce road feel and stuff? I just want to make sure I am not going to die if I put this thing in,haha.

 

I would like to know too, is a rag joint eliminator perfectly safe for a daily driver, and also, will it increase road noise/vibration, and if not, why the hell is the rag joint there to begin with?

 

the rag joint is there to help limit noise and vibration to the steering shaft. Its not going to break away in an accident. That is not to say it wont break in a wreck but if you are in a wreck that is bad enough to rip the steering shaft apart then the rag joint is probably the least of your problems. Anyway that is not its main purpose...

 

most steering columns are desinged with a built in "collapsing" section that will actually shorten and lengthen (to an extent) in the event of a severe accident or if the steering box were to break loose. this sleeve is not in any way a part of the rag joint, and eliminating the rag joint will not in any way cause unnecessary danger to the driver. the rag joint is only to dampen the vibrations.

 

I eliminated the rag and wen't solid. I didn't notice any more vibration or noise.

Ken R.

 

cool, thanks everybody.

 

As I recall, LS1 cars don't have rag-joints, only the LT1 cars. So, given that, it's not needed for accident situations.