Steering Column Repair: steering column, chevey, spring compressor

Question
i'm having problems installing the steering column in my 1989 chevey silverado 1500! I can't push the lock plate down far enough to lock the snap ring  in place. Can you give me any suggestions?

Answer

race retainer (seat) Hi James:
The lock plate will not go down far enough because the inner race and race retainer are not seated properly allowing the shaft to be pulled up far enough.  
You will need to remove the plate and spring and manually pull the shaft up while seating the inner race into the bearing allowing the shaft to come up.  Then push down the race retainer (some people call it a seat or crown), spring and plate once again while holding the shaft up.  the you can slide your spring compressor on and gently seat everything properly.  Make sure the 'crown' is not crushed.  If it is, open it up to fit over the shaft and push against the inner race properly.

I hope that helps

Doug
We have video here of the entire job:
www.stolenandrecovered.com