Hi folks, New member here!
I'm in the middle of replacing the steering gearbox on my 1998 Chevy Express 3500. The old box is out. Having trouble with the replacement.
Anybody got any tips or tricks to get the bottom of the intermediate shaft back onto the top of the gearbox?

I've got the two shafts lined up but, with the limited space in there I can't get the intermediate shaft to slide onto the steering gear.
Any help or ideas appreciated.

(Sorry about the blurry pic; it's the best I could get).

 

Not 100% sure about this but on my 2004 Savana there is 2 models with different number of splines.
Is it too tight to see and count them and make sure there is the same number of spline on both pieces ?

Throwing an idea here !

 

You have to pry the shaft open where it was pinched together by the bolt. Then it should go on without much trouble.

 

if the splines are lined upand started....i use a long pry bar and hammer to tap the coupling together.

 

It may be an optical illusion, but it looks like they are not lined up perfectly straight which would make it impossible to connect.

 

Thanks folks! It's in.

With the tight space (and the fact that the unattached intermediate shaft is pretty floppy) I really couldn't get a wedge of a screwdriver blade in far enough to tap it into the split shaft. Air conditioner hoses are right in the way and that plastic cover over the shaft is really annoying.
Next time I'll open the split shaft before removing it from the steering gear. That way I'll be able to get some torque on it.

What ended up working was to get a ratchet strap around the steering box and up over the end of the shaft and tapping with a small hammer and it started to sink onto the shaft.


Thanks to everyone who responded!

 

Peace chevy fam!

I'm new on here, the person who started this thread funny how almost a year later i'm having the same problem on my 98 express 1500.

Here's my issue with installation (keeping it short & sweet)

i tried bolting the 3 bolts back to the frame first. Then proceed with connecting the shaft on the box while the steering box is in the upright position secure to the frame. My challenge is the shaft will not fit over the box while the box is in the upright position for me.

2nd approach
i was successful in putting the shaft on the box. My challenge here.
The bolts are not screwed and the box will not budge for me to line up the box to secure the rest of the bolts. I can get one started with the shaft on the box. But when i try to line the rest of the bolts, the box will not move.
I hope this is clear. What did i do wrong here?

Thanks in advance.