[69gmcc10]

While I was removing Donna Summers from my cab I shorten the steering column by 1.5 inches, all of the posts about it said it was quick and easy and for the most part it was. The one thing the threads on the subject did not tell me was that you can only shorten it 1 inch or less or go 2 inches or longer. If you go any longer than 1 inch you must move the back up light switch that is attached to bottom of the column inside the cam by the fire wall outside of the cab and if you don’t go 2 inches the switch will be stuck inside the firewall and that can’t happen.

I decided to go for 1 inch because I didn’t need much more room, but a little would be nice. First remove the intermediate shaft from the truck and shorten the shaft and inch. (Note-you must completely remove the bolt that connects the shaft to the column!!!! Completely!!!!) The intermediate shaft is made of 2 different pieces of metal that slide inside of each other so if you get into an accident it compresses instead of the wheel compressing you. The shaft is held at a certain length by 4 small holes that are glued into place so in order to shorten the shaft you need to drill out the glue, spray the shaft with Sea-Foam Deep Creep or PB Blaster at the slide point and let it sit for about 1 beer. Then take a hammer to tap on the overlap area of the shafts to loosen any left over rust and gunk holding the shaft in position. Now you are ready to compress the shaft with a piece of wood and a hammer (you might need a big hammer)!