1995 Olds Cutlass Steering Gear Question

How do I get past the plastic or rubber seal at the firewall in order
to remove the the intermediate steering shaft lower pinch bolt? I need
to do this so I can separate the intermediate shaft from the steering
gear.

I cannot push the seal far enough out of the way to gain access and get
a wrench on the pinch bolt. Is there a trick to moving this seal in
order to get access to the pinch bolt? Any advice or ideas would be
appreciated.

Thanks in advance for your help.

KC wrote:
> How do I get past the plastic or rubber seal at the firewall in order
> to remove the the intermediate steering shaft lower pinch bolt? I need
> to do this so I can separate the intermediate shaft from the steering
> gear.
>
> I cannot push the seal far enough out of the way to gain access and get
> a wrench on the pinch bolt. Is there a trick to moving this seal in
> order to get access to the pinch bolt? Any advice or ideas would be
> appreciated.
>
> Thanks in advance for your help.

You may find 7mm head screws holding the plastic boot to the firewall
around it's perimeter. Lift the carpet and look for these screws. I
don't have an exact answer but that is a common design.

Toyota MDT in MO

KC wrote:

> How do I get past the plastic or rubber seal at the firewall in order
> to remove the the intermediate steering shaft lower pinch bolt? I need
> to do this so I can separate the intermediate shaft from the steering
> gear.
>
> I cannot push the seal far enough out of the way to gain access and
> get a wrench on the pinch bolt. Is there a trick to moving this seal
> in order to get access to the pinch bolt? Any advice or ideas would be
> appreciated.

Usually, you can just reach up and rotate the plastic boot while
pushing up on it. If that doesn't work, I sometimes use a long
pry bar to push the plastic out of the way while I get a socket and
long extension on the bolt head.

Ian

Thanks for the help. The job I am performing has the task labeled as
"reposition seal", which made me think I was missing some simple way of
moving it out of the way.


shiden_kai wrote:
> KC wrote:
>
> > How do I get past the plastic or rubber seal at the firewall in order
> > to remove the the intermediate steering shaft lower pinch bolt? I need
> > to do this so I can separate the intermediate shaft from the steering
> > gear.
> >
> > I cannot push the seal far enough out of the way to gain access and
> > get a wrench on the pinch bolt. Is there a trick to moving this seal
> > in order to get access to the pinch bolt? Any advice or ideas would be
> > appreciated.
>
> Usually, you can just reach up and rotate the plastic boot while
> pushing up on it. If that doesn't work, I sometimes use a long
> pry bar to push the plastic out of the way while I get a socket and
> long extension on the bolt head.
>
> Ian