Steering column

Sparky said

Sorry guess I did not explain, just after the steering wheel there are two covers, one would be the pernundle, with the park, reverse etc letters and the other one behind it, not sure what the correct name for these two parts. It seems mine does not fit close enough to the dash according to the pics I have found on the interweb. I took it apart because this part was loose, I have referred to my shop manual but it is as vague as my explanation.
Thanks

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PRNDL or prindle. But yes, these are the column collars. Still unclear as to why can't you get the steering wheel on though. Are you referring to the 'steering wheel' as the whole column?

Regardless, I've had a similar issue, it can somewhat depend on the sequence you use to tighten the nuts that hold the column bracket to the dash frame. IIRC, you might have to push up on the entire column and tighten the rearmost bolt (closest to firewall) down first, then tighten the nuts in the front but don't quote me on that. May have to try a few different ways. Don't crank them all the way down until you get it where you want it.

There is also some fore and aft movement where the breakaway biscuit things are. Tighten down the nuts and bolts that hold the bracket to the dash enough to hold it up but still allow to be moved with a little force. You can put the tip of a larger screwdriver between the column bracket and dash frame and pry the the assembly towards the back of the car. You will probably have to loosen the 3 bolts that hold the plate to the firewall in the footwell to be able to move the column around.

Also, make sure the steering coupler at the bottom of the shaft is seated correctly all the way down on the steering box output shaft.