nightman61
New Member
I purchased a 73 Newport last summer. When purchased the gentleman gave me a new/rebuilt steering gearbox.The old one was leaking at shaft seal. He was moving and did not want to take the car with him. I have read the service manual and checked on line for what I could find. I don't think I need to completely remove the steering column, but I do need to drop it down a little so I can slide it back to clear the gearbox. I have removed everything according to the service manual from Chrysler, but still can not get column to drop past the mounting bolts under the dash. The plate at the firewall is loose. I pushed the column down about 1/8 inch, maybe a little more, but it still does not want to drop down to clear the studs. The coupling at the gearbox is moved back, once I removed the pin, but not far enough to clear the shaft. Standard steering column, no tilt, or extension one. Am I missing something here? I don't want to force it, because the service manual says something about it having a plastic coupling that could break it struck to hard. I thought it would just drop down some so I could slide it back, but won't drop down. Any help would be appreciated.
