This was discussed a while back, back I can't find the answer. I want to shorten an after market (Summit) polished stainless steering column by about 4 inches. Can't figure out how to remove the bottom bearing assembly and afraid I may cause too much damage. Can anyone help? Thanks.

 

Be careful with the aftermarket ones. Make sure yours is safe before you waste your time. http://www.lvvta.org.nz/documents/in...ng_Columns.pdf

 

I posted a while back how I shortened my Ididit column. I don't know for sure how the Summit column goes together, but here's how I took the bushing out of my column, it was a flanged delrin bushing held in with two small diameter roll pins. Yours is likely to be the same/similar:
1. Remove the steering shaft from the column. This usually requires removing a couple screws that hold the top bearing in place and pulling it out.
2. Inspect the inside of the lower bushing with a strong light, look for a couple small holes on opposite sides of the bushing. Once you have found them, look carefully at the outside of the column jacket at those points. You should see a tiny pinhole, this is the center of the roll pin. I used a long armed allen wrench of a size that the short arm was an easy slip fit into the hole on the inside of the bushing. I placed the short arm into the hole, holding the long arm, I slipped a long flat screw driver into the bushing behind the bend in the wrench, and levered against the wrench to push the pin about 3/16" out past the surface of the column jacket. Repeat with the other pin. I grabbed the end of the pins with a pair of pliers and pulled them out (be very careful not to drop or lose them!).
3. Once the pins are out a light prying around the bushing flange with a putty knife removed the bushing.
4. After marking the jacket (I wrapped a 2" wide strip of file folder or poster board tightly around the jacket, and aligned the straight edge even with itself where it overlapped and on my cut mark, Then traced around the edge of the strip with a x-fine point Sharpie pen. This gives a line around the jacket that is straight and square.) I used a very fine tooth hacksaw to cut thru the jacket on the waste side of the line. I only cut deep enough to break thru the jacket, but not as deep as the blade height. I then rotated the jacket away from me and continued the cut, stopping again before reaching the depth of the blade. I continued this rotating and shallow cuts until I had gone completely around the jacket. A light touchup with a file and deburring the edge, and I was ready to replace the bushing.
5. To replace the pins, I selected a sharp drill bit that was exactly the same size as the original holes in the cut off portion. I marked and centerpunched the outside of the column at the new location. When I put the bushing back in, I rotated it 90*, I did not attempt to hit the old holes in the bushing. With the bushing in place I carefully drilled the new hole(s) being sure to drill thru to the bushing centerbore. I tapped the roll pins back in flush with the jacket surface.