Please help...telescopic steering problem...

[the tenor man]

Hello all,

I've run into a bit of a problem...here's my story:

After resealing the steering box on my 1987 300D Turbo, I mounted the box (NO MORE LEAKS)..., connected the lines and the coupler to the steering box...now comes the problem.

I can't get the steering shaft to match correctly with the coupler. It lines up fine and goes in, but it's about 1/4 inch shy of going into the coupler far enough to get the bolt to line up with the detent in the steering shaft.

When the steering wheel is as far forward as it will go, it still doesn't reach the coupler properly.

Is there a spline inside the column that could be binding?

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated...Thanks,

The Tenor Man