I want to replace the steering shaft with a shorter one. I have the new shaft but can't figure out how to get the old one out. I'm hoping to be able to do it with the steering box still in the car. I have the top and bottom 3 bolt caps off and I removed the cotter pin and nut from the bottom of the shaft. I can move the shaft up about 1/2 to 3/4 of an inch but that is about all.
Any help or recommendations are greatly appreciated.

It would be quicker to remove it, but if you are hell bent, and whiskey bound to do it the hard way, you'll need to meke yourself a slide hammer, of sorts, so you can slide it over the shaft, put the nut and washer back on, then use the slide hammer action to pull the worm off the shaft, it is a light press, about 2in long with 2 woodruff keys in it to keep it tight on the shaft, and they aren't exactly aligned like you'd think, they are out of time just a bit, to make them stay tight in the worm. Or call, Gary, maybe he as a better method, he's probably worked on one or two! Bob

When you say to put the washer and nut back on. Are you talking about the nut at the steering wheel side for the slide hammer to work against? Or are you talking about the washer and nut on the bottom side?

He's talking about the steering wheel nut, I'm sure, to give the slide something to hammer against. You're way better off taking it out and putting it in a vise; you'll probably want to take the side bell off and reset the gear lash when you reassemble it anyway. Since you're changing the shaft that the worm gear rides on there's no gaurantee it's going to be the same as the old one.

Thanks for standing in for me, I had just assumed he had done it. It will make things easier to just go ahead and remove the box assembly, you might get lucky and get it changed without, but you might also damage other stuff, and still have to remove it, and it's a lot more fun to work on, out of the car, than it is in it, it may look easy, but believe me, it isn't. I have new shafts in stock, if you need one, in case the one you bought still doesn't suit you. Thanks Jim, and that was one hell of a midget race Sat night, been a while since I had time to watch one, and even looking thru the fence on the backstretch, looked like lots of fun! Bob

Happy to help if I have something useful to share; I'd just replaced the seals and bearings in my unit last year so I know first hand how much fun it is to get everything apart and back together. I can't imagine even attempting it still in the car.