problem fitting link shaft from steering box to column

Cant get the shaft to fit between the column and the steering box on my 90

I have loosened the joints so they slide freely but it seems the shaft is too long and the slots for the crimping bolts wont line up, the last one is about half an inch out.

Might sound daft but have you tried it the other way round?

cfnteabag said:

Might sound daft but have you tried it the other way round?

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Tried it both ways up and swapped top joint for bottom, tried it at different angles/places on the splines still too long by half an inch.
If I use two of the shorter joints then it may just squeeze on but only just and it will be under strain.

Footwell in same place as old one as the steering column slotted nicely into place, column wont push up any so not that, original steering box so not that, must be doing something wrong

are you sure bulkheads in the exact same position and angle

jamesmartin said:

are you sure bulkheads in the exact same position and angle

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Bulkhead not been off, just new footwell welded in and that is definately not half an inch or more forward of where it should be or the column brackets would be out. Footwell would not have fitted if half an inch forward of where it should be, Shaft is more like three quarters of an inch too long now.

I bolted footwell to column before welding and everything else lines up including pedal boxes

Well after much head scratching and trying different positions I decided to give up. Bulkhead exactly where it should be.
The only thing I can think of is that the shaft from the recon steering box must be further out than it should be.
Going to order another short universal joint and see if that cures the problem.

Has it got one of them rubber rings in the middle like a disco?

changed mine yesterday-and the one i took off is 3.1/4 in --or 84mm if your a foriner---so you can check the one you got--mine is a 1990 --90--allen

wilson294 said:

Has it got one of them rubber rings in the middle like a disco?

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No its got the buffer joints in it

alle said:

changed mine yesterday-and the one i took off is 3.1/4 in --or 84mm if your a foriner---so you can check the one you got--mine is a 1990 --90--allen

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Thanks mines 1990 90 also
What did you measure?

total length of the uj that connects the steering collom to the steering box---allen

alle said:

total length of the uj that connects the steering collom to the steering box---allen

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Thanks mate