81 CJ7 Steering Column Removal - Pics (help)

[truk820]

Trying to take the tub off to put new panels / paint / etc. on. I have the dash out and am trying to take the steering column out without any luck.

Here's how it looks now:


I removed the bolt on a collar here:


Here's another look:


I took the bolts on the column support out from inside the tub but this thing won't slide out, or I'm missing something.

What do I do to take this out??

 

[truk820]

I hosed it with blaster this afternoon and gave it a few tugs; a cover of some sort came off but still no luck.



Does anyone have pictures / video that might be able to help me out?

 

[jb8376]

Can you unbolt it from the steering box and pull the whole thing out. I removed mine a while ago to replace the bearings and If I remember right I kept soaking it in on blaster till it came out.

 

[truk820]

In the 3rd picture of my first post I included an arrow to show what I tapped to get the column out. Hopefully I didn't break anything but we'll see.

I found a picture here that someone had posted:


that shows how the upper and lower joints go together, then compared it to mine and realized I could probably tap the bottom of the upper sleeve to get it to move. That's exactly what I did and it slid out but did dent a washer in the process.

 

[jb8376]

In the 3rd picture of my first post I included an arrow to show what I tapped to get the column out. Hopefully I didn't break anything but we'll see.

I found a picture here that someone had posted:


that shows how the upper and lower joints go together, then compared it to mine and realized I could probably tap the bottom of the upper sleeve to get it to move. That's exactly what I did and it slid out but did dent a washer in the process.

I'm not sure what washer your talking about but you can get that metal retainer, bearing, the clip and nylon piece that's all right there on the end of the shaft for pretty cheap. It comes in a kit. It would be a good time to replace it while you have it out.