Thanks guys for all the guidance I would be lost without this forum. I am going to get a front end alignment this week. Danny, what you mentioned about the safety feature of the column makes sense as to why it separates. I used some vice grips to hold it together while I was putting the steering wheel back on.
Yes, Danny's diagram is pretty much exactly what you have. In Brazil it was common to several cars, but in the US maybe just T3 and some Vanagons? The 2 rubber bushings that sit on the pins can wear and make a little slop, but they are easy to replace. It uses a pinch bolt/splines at the input shaft of the steering box, at the universals, but NOT at the crash coupler. That safety coupler is just a reverse slip fitting and the tension of the steering wheel nut holds it in place. When you remove the nut/wheel you have to be careful that you don't push the column down as it can easily separate at that time, but it cannot separate under normal conditions. When reinstalling your steering wheel, reach behind the dash and grab the exposed steering shaft and hold it in place while installing the wheel, OR get under the car and lightly clamp both sides of the coupler to keep it from separating. Also, be careful not to knock the wire off of the column at this slip fitting as it is what bridges the rubber isolation and makes the upper column grounded.
as for moving your steering wheel: we use VW/Porsche/Audi fine spline upper column (Late Beetle, 90s Audi, Porsche 924/944) and it is 18mm diameter tapered spline with 40 splines. thus you have 9 degrees of movement per spline. So, you can correct some misalignment via rechecking the wheel, but if it is off less than 9 degrees then you correct it through a minor realignment of the tie rods.
Thank you Carey
Carey: The Man. The Legend. Customer Service Extraordinaire!
Bobby D: next time use a plastic ty-rap.