Steering gear oil seal replacement

[dlrogers]

Hi all
I need to replace the oil seal on the steering gear box and have run into a snag. The service manual says to remove the steering column but a previous owner has welded the tangs on the shaft coupling so that it cannot be removed. I was wondering if anyone has shifted their steering column backwards by just removing the floor bolts and the column clamp? If I could do that I would be able to separate the coupling from the shaft and continue with the oil seal job. Any help appreciated.
Cheers
David

[ShelbyDogg]

That'll work.  Unbolt the 2 column support bolts, 3 firewall bolts, lay the stering wheel on the seat, then push out the compression pin on the coupler.  Prying the coupler off of the splined steering shaft is the easire way to do it anyway.  Cleaner too. The coupler is usually keyed to get it back on the 12:00 position.
I usually can get that coupler cap to stay on with a little work.

Rob

[dlrogers]

Cool, thanks for that Rob
Cheers
David