My steering wheel and column outer tube have been disassembled for WAY too long while I removed and recovered the dash, repaired butchered wiring, converted instrument lighting to LED with dedicated harness (long story there), etc, etc. Now it's time to put it all back together.

I've got the column tube back in with the turn signal and O/D switches installed and wires connected. Ready to put the steering wheel back on but I find that the shaft needs to extend further in order to have room for the signal/OD switch bezel and still have enough shaft to provide adequate spline purchase with the steering wheel. The spring at the lower end of the tube makes pulling the shaft up very difficult - what's the trick there? Should I remove the spring retainer clip from the shaft, allowing the spring to relax, and then reinstall the clip after the upper end is all assembled?

Now, can somebody tell me the order in which the parts are installed on the top end? I assume I start with a split seat (like the one at the lower bearing) that fits down into the I.D. of the bearing and fills the gap between the bearing and the shaft. Then, working up from there, does it get a thin washer and then the plastic signal tripper? It seems there will end up being a lot of friction between the plastic tripper and the thin washer or split ring once the lower spring is fully loaded.

Sorry for the creative parts names, but hopefully you are getting the picture.
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Current rides: 2005 Volvo S80 2.5T, 2003 Volvo V70 2.4NA, 1973 Volvo 1800ES (STILL not road worthy!)