help with steering box removal

[96tahoe2dr]

I have a 96 Tahoe 4wd and I recently took off the steering box to replace the pitman arm. when I pulled the steering box out the whole shaft came with it. when I went to put the shaft back on I heard something hit the ground and it was a small rectangle metal piece. it had grease on it and I have no clue where it goes. does any one know where it goes? Please help

 

[MO Viet Vet]

Coupling area at top of shaft. You should have unbolted at bottom of shaft and top of gear at the rag joint.

 

[96tahoe2dr]

I did unbolt it down there but it still all just came out as 1 real easy.

 

[MO Viet Vet]

When you unbolted it still stuck together from being bolted together for so long. Just saying that when I have removed the steering gear I always unbolted there and separated.

 

[96tahoe2dr]

Thanks. So where does this little mental rectangle piece go?

 

[MO Viet Vet]

See my previous post. If you unbolt the gear box and drop the box and shaft as one piece then it can only go at the top area of shaft.

 

[96tahoe2dr]

I didn't hear it gal until I took the shaft off the gear box and when to slide the shaft back into place. I didn't unbolt anything uptop either. It just easily slid off with the gear box even though I had the bottom one unbolted

 

[MO Viet Vet]

It is a cover where it slides together.

 

[lesterl]

The steering shaft is 2 pieces, one slides up inside the other, the metal tang is a spacer IIRC.... mine is missing, oh well IDC...

 

[96tahoe2dr]

so it goes into the grove on the top side of the shaft where the bottom side slides up onto the top side?

 

[lesterl]

IIRC it does......