Can't get intermediate steering shaft to separate from upper shaft

[pdxyukon]

I did find a similar thread but did not find an answer to my question, I am trying to do my driver's side engine mount and I have the steering shaft disconnected from the steering box and both bolts pulled out of the intermediate shaft but I cannot get the intermediate to separate from the upper instead the whole upper piece tries to slide out of the firewall boot when I hammer down on the intermediate to try to separate it. At first I was thinking something might be broken the way it was sliding so easily cuz nobody else's videos seem to show it moving so freely but I finally found a video of the last gen Yukon where a guy was sliding the upper shaft piece back and forth. I gave up on it for the night but figured I should check on here and see if anyone had any tricks or knows if I was able to extend the upper shaft downward without damaging anything or if it would just fall out if I kept on hammering downward on it I used somebody else's picture for the one I am uploading because it's too dark to take pictures right now but the red circle is the shaft that is sliding in and out of the firewall in the directions I drew the arrows. Sorry this was a ramble on post I appreciate any help.

 

[B-train]

I remember on mine I had to soak it with penetrant and it was a bear, but eventually came free. Do yourself a favor and use the seatbelt to hold the steering wheel straight. If you get that loose and the wheel spins, you could be in for a nasty surprise. Keep the clock spring where it's supposed to be!

Also, you don't need to remove that to do a motor mount. Use a piece of wood, lighty jack up on the exhaust pipe on that side and it will give you enough room to get the bolts and slide it out/in. Keep it simple my man

 

[pdxyukon]

Thanks I'll give it a try tomorrow and see if I can get the mount out around the steering shaft without disconnecting it I did do a bungee cord from the bottom of the steering wheel down to the brake pedal to hold it straight just in case anything came loose. It is the all-wheel drive will it still have enough room to come out around the steering shaft do you think?

 

[OR VietVet]

The rust is holding it together but I would think you still have room. If you go the way of removing the exhaust manifold, you will likely break some bolts and have another headache. If you do as @B-train says, it will be tight but doable. Get a paper and pen out and be ready to write down all the new curse words that will fly out of your mouth.

 

[Dustin Jackson]

If you don't have a mallet yet, a mallet is a great way to give parts a good whack without damaging them. I would heat it, spray it with some wd-40, and whack it a few times with a hammer or mallet to physically break any sealing rust

 

[Geotrash]

I just did this a few weekends ago on my '12. It's a bear to get that thing fully separated. Once it's moving it takes constant working it and pulling/pushing to get it to separated enough to uncouple it fully. Mine wasn't rusty thankfully, but it was still stuck initially. I used Deep Creep penetrating oil and that was enough to get it moving.

 

[donjetman]

Thanks I'll give it a try tomorrow and see if I can get the mount out around the steering shaft without disconnecting it I did do a bungee cord from the bottom of the steering wheel down to the brake pedal to hold it straight just in case anything came loose. It is the all-wheel drive will it still have enough room to come out around the steering shaft do you think?

I didn't disconnect the steering shaft. Here's how I did it: https://www.tahoeyukonforum.com/threads/front-differential-mounts.120260/page-3#post-1676685

 

[B-train]

Thanks I'll give it a try tomorrow and see if I can get the mount out around the steering shaft without disconnecting it I did do a bungee cord from the bottom of the steering wheel down to the brake pedal to hold it straight just in case anything came loose. It is the all-wheel drive will it still have enough room to come out around the steering shaft do you think?

Yes. Just pull the front tire off if you need more room. It's usually easiest to work through rhe wheel well