Steering shaft U-joint?

I have about a half inch of play in my steering. (From the steering wheel) It makes the car feel like it's 30 years old. I have traced the play to what looks like a U-Joint (If that's what it is) about halfway down the steering shaft. I looked at someone's Ford Ranger and it had a piece of rubber in that joint. Mine doesn't. I'm assuming if it had the rubber in there, one side of the joint couldn't move independently of the other.

My questions are:

Am I supposed to have that rubber thing in the joint?

How hard is it to replace the rubber thing, or if I have to, the whole joint?

How expensive?


Thanks for any and all input!

Thanks for the replies guys!

cjones said:

i believe it's called a steering coupler. Part# EOSZ3A525A you should double check on the part #.

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Is that for the just the joint part? I assume I have to replace the lower part of the shaft too then, right? Anybody have any links to websites showing how to do this proceedure, or any tips on how to do this? I have almost no idea what to do, although I am somewhat mechanically inclined.