T-Boner-ism # 49: 'Ah cain't doo sub-traxyun'

From : transurgeon

Q: hasnt got r & p...found the instructions for steering shaft removal in an old haynes manual...drift pin...yuck... cricket the lower end of the shaft goes into the rack and pinion assembly there are two large bolts holding it to the front of the cross-member with the bolts out the entire rack and steering shaft can be shifted towards the left wheel giving you room to work jack up the front wheels remove the two big bolts that hold the steering rack to the frame sigh...if jacking it up was an option that would be helpful...; shifting sand is all ive got... not quite clear on what you mean by steering rack...the shaft is sort of in the way i thought about unhooking it at the gearbox end... cricket then you can scoot the rack to one side so the steering shaft is out of the way attack from top okay its hot my dearly beloved not so much just now... tore down the shop so theres no place to work on this thing on level ground and im short...all of which is relevant *because*... i cant reach the damn thing! from the bottom i cant get at it without three extra joints in my arm no safe way to jack it up anyway. from the top i just cant reach period. obviously this is looking like a major project and i dont want to spend two hours dicking around with it only to find out that its absolutely impossible to get at from above/below and has to be attacked all over from the other way. so...anybody done one of these lately and if so any secret to getting at the damn thing ive done three s-10 blazer starters in the last four years and i cant believe i cussed about them...theyre a piece of cake when compared to this beast...; cricket .