Can't get my steering column back in...

[wordbuilder]

I had to remove my steering column to replace my heater core. (It would be so much easier if the heater core was accessible from the passenger's side!) Some time elapsed from its removal until now and I cannot figure out how to reconnect the "steering column shaft coupler" to the "steering gear shaft."

The steering wheel hasn't turned since disconnecting the two nor have the wheels but I cannot get things to mesh so I can put back in the pinch bolt/nut/pin.

Am I just not getting them lined up or is there a part I'm leaving out?

I really appreciate any help. If I don't have this thing fixed by nightfall tomorrow, I'm in a heap of trouble.

In the picture, the top piece is the coupler and the bottom piece is the shaft.


http://img180.imageshack.us/img180/1020/dscf0033ns2.jpg

[wordbuilder]

At the least, maybe someone with a similar model can snap a digital pic of what the assembled area looks like on theirs.

[hundahunta]

pull the bottom shaft towards the pinch sleeve

[wordbuilder]

Thanks for the reply. I figured that out. But, for some reason, it didn't line up. I had to unbolt the steering column, lock in the shaft, and then twist the column to rebolt. I don't know why things didn't line up. I guess the wheels must've shifted a bit since I started.