Steering box and shaft removal

Take the Pitman arm off the box and remove the driver side cowl brace also. With the steering wheel off, now remove the tube. Push the seat to the rear of its' travel (so the steering shaft won't damage the vinyl). Remove the steering box attach bolts, and now you should be able to carefully swing the box upwards, forward, and out.

So it comes out from the top????????

i don`t know if this was the right way, but i was able to remove the shaft by unscrewing the jam nut at the box and screwing the shaft out. i was not re-using the box, so i don`t know if i wrecked it. i put the new box in without a motor in place and it was much easier

No, you have to pull the shaft (still attached to the steering box) through the firewall from the engine compartment side. He's saying to run the seat back so that when the shaft swings down as you are removing it, it does not hit the seat.

actually he is saying that you swing the whole unit up so it comes out the hood opening and not out through the bottom. I have never used this method but I bet it works without removing motor mounts, etc.

Read it again.

You may also have to detach the driver side motor mount and lift the engine up a bit on that side to get everything to clear.

Right, the steering box swings up and out through the hood. But, when this happens the steering shaft inside the interior is going to swing down, thereby possibly hitting the driver's seat.
When he asked earlier if it would come out "through the top", I assumed he was aking if the steering shaft would come out through the firewall into the interior. Misunderstanding on my part.

thought you were disagreeing with the question of whether it comes out through the top (which it does).

If I had realized you could take a long shaft box out this way my chrome oil pan would not have the big dimple in the middle where I jacked it to take the mount out years ago /forums/images/icons/mad.gif. Sometimes when you're working under the car you forget you can take things out through the top.

Thanks everyone for your much needed help.