New used steering column woes

[skelly1]

I got the steering gear bolted up to the frame with the new weld in and bolt in ORD kits. I even replaced the gear with a new one from Napa. I replaced the steering column with a new used one and I now cannot seem to get the rod back onto the steering column. I just needed to do that and put one wheel back on to test drive but no success so I gotta wait until next weekend. The only thing I can think of to do is to file the ends for burs and then pull the two pieces together with needle nose vise grips. The hammer with grease trick did not work. Anybody have any other techniques?

 

[4X4HIGH]

What "rod" are you talking about? The shifter rod? the steering shaft to the gear box maybe? What year is the steering box, what year is the steering column?

 

[skelly1]

The steering shaft to the gear box. The steering column is from an 89 and the box is for a 90. The column looks identical to my old worn out column.

 

[4X4HIGH]

Are you sure about the year of the steering box? The early boxes up to 1980 first design used a larger input shaft into the steering gear box than any of the other years and also the box would use flare fitting lines.

I just re-read your original post and i'll bet you bought a rebuilt steering box from Napa and when it was rebuilt they used the earlier input shaft which should be too large for your steering column shaft to fit.