PackardV8 wrote:
Another method in the absense of a puller that i do NOT like to use but does work:

Squat in the front seat of the car with your knees grasping under the rim of the steering wheel. Use a brass hammer to strike the shaft with a full body yank backwards to pull up on the steering wheel with your knees.

Again it is a method to be avoided under most circumstances but it does work.