I removed the steering column from my 94 XJ. I replaced the ignition switch and some other related electrical work and painted the visible parts of the column a nice shade of black. All of the electrical connections are in place, the jeep starts, blinkers blink, so far so good!

My problem is that I can not get the steering column to slide back in place with the linkage. I see that there are two round sides and two flattened sides, so I am aligning them, but no matter what I have tried I just can't get the cloumn to slide into place.

Does anyone have any tips for helping this along? I'm trying to guide it in by hand - it is an extremely tight fit to get my fat arm twisted in position. When I have someone help by pushing the column forward from inside the cab I can't seem to keep the universal joint from giving way under the slightest pressure.