steering column removal

[canajien]

so close yet so far, after struggling for an hour my column has only cleared the notch for the roll pin

I ended up using a couple of wrenches as spacers, and using the largest pickle fork I have as a motivator but at this point it won't go any farther

right now its soaking in knock r loose for the night, and I'm looking for some other ideas and wisdom before I get at it again tomorrow morning

maybe a pickle fork with a 3 foot handle for leverage ;)

 

[junkyardhero]

you seem to know what's up but i just have to ask.

the column is free and clear from the firewall and underdash attachment, correct?

 

[canajien]

you seem to know what's up but i just have to ask.

the column is free and clear from the firewall and underdash attachment, correct?

yup, all fasteners removed on the inside, 3 on the firewall, 2 under the dash, that was the easy part ;)

 

[Woodys_Cuda]

so close yet so far, after struggling for an hour my column has only cleared the notch for the roll pin

View attachment 1716290327

I ended up using a couple of wrenches as spacers, and using the largest pickle fork I have as a motivator but at this point it won't go any farther

right now its soaking in knock r loose for the night, and I'm looking for some other ideas and wisdom before I get at it again tomorrow morning

maybe a pickle fork with a 3 foot handle for leverage ;)

I dealt with this issue a couple of weeks ago. We used wd40 and a hammer and tapped on the bottom of the coupler upwards. It was slow going but it eventually came free. I still had the seat in the car and rested the column on a crate to raise it and relieve some tension at the coupler. There may be better ways but it worked for me.

 

[Bodyperson]

I opened up the coupler. Couldn't even get the roll pin out. Basically pulled the box first.

 

[remytherat]

I sit in the driver’s seat and grab the wheel with both hands and pull.

 

[canajien]

I'm gonna combine these ideas and see if I can get an extra set of hands today.

I've tried pulling on it from inside by myself, but

however, if I can get someone inside to support the wheel while pulling on it I can tap on the coupler...

worse case scenario, I finally have the excuse to order that new 16:1 box from mancini ;)

 

[canajien]

SUCCESS!!!!

closest friend wasn't available, they were trying to get things done before the rain this afternoon

so I propped the column up on a crate

tapped the coupler till it started to clear the indent for the pin

got in the car and then pulled it out

only to see there was no coupler

which really explains the sloppy steering

and the coupler itself was empty, good thing I got that rebuild kit.

as I've stated before a lot of redneck engineering in this vehicle, a lot....

Thanks for the advice everyone!!! Enjoy the weekend!!!