I'm trying to install a steering shaft on my 89 firebird v6 but having problems putting it on. I got it off but took a while beating it with a hammer but now i don't know how to get it on because i cant get the hammer in there to push it on the the gearbox. Is there an easier way or another way to do this?

 

Yes... Clean everything VERY good. Get a small wire brush or tooth brush and scrub the splines out so they are CLEAN. Do the same up at the steering column end. Clean both the column and the shaft up with some sand paper or something. Then, what I do, is coat both ends with anti-seize. Helps it to slide on easier, and makes it 1000 times easier to remove next time.

If you still cant get the end on the steering box, and you are SURE its lined up correctly, you can try to spread it slightly with a screw driver. Just stick it in where the split in the spline end is and twist.

Shouldnt be hard at all if you clean it good though. Really try to get all the gunk out of the splines thats probably been in there since 1989. Mine can be installed/removed by hand with little to no effort.

J.

 

Thanks for the help!!! I didn't have it aligned right. I lined it up and it slid right on.