[brokengto]

My car was disassembled about 6 years ago and things packed away for later use during the restoration-I am in the process of installing the steering column and I have an issue with it being to short from one splined shaft and at the steering sector side and the steering wheel side when I first went to install it I couldn't get the connection on the engine side even close to where it needed to be I had to pull it back out and attach the connector to the splined shaft and beat on it until I eventually got enough of it out to get it attached properly between the column and the steering gear box
Now I installed again and now I am dealing with not having enough of the shaft out of the steering wheel side-the threads above the splined shaft just clear the edge of the collar the steering wheel sets into-I am at least an inch short of what I need to mount the steering wheel
I can not figure out what the issue is and why it happened in the first place
Please help

[John Eiseman]

Without pics its tough to say what the issue might be. Do you have the rag joint installed? There are adjustments @ the mounting brackets that should be able to give you an inch or more. Post some pics of both ends.

[webfoot]

If you have ever tapped even a little bit on it, the shaft will collapse into itself (by design) so you just need to put it in a vise and tap it back out so it fits. (guess how I know!)

[brokengto]

it seems you have really have to beat on it just to budge the steering shaft at all-not sure why it collapsed so easily and you have to fight so much with it to get it to extend it back-very concerned about how to go about it without damaging the splines or the threads

[webfoot]

It didn't take much tapping for me to move it a little bit. Use a brass punch on the outer collar.

[brokengto]

If I put the steering wheel on the shaft just the top of the threaded shaft is flush with the mounting base of the steering wheel-It would have been nice if just a few threads where showing to possibly use the nut to help extend the shaft-have tried to hang on to the nut with a vise grips and hit it with a hammer but no luck-now trying to figure out a better way come up with some type of flange mounted under the steering wheel nut and use a slide hammer-As you can see I am trying to figure out a method with out removing the column again

[webfoot]

Not sure you will be able to pull this off, just bite the bullet and remove the column - it will save you time in the end. Isn't it possible to remove the inner shaft while leaving the column in place? May just need to drop it down a bit.