sounds like youve collapsed the column shaft, the steering column is a telescopic shaft which is made to colappse in the event of an accident. when you hit the shaft up towards the firewall to release it, it mustve broken the tiny plastic dowells inside the column which keep the column the desired length. you can pull the shaft out to get the length back but inside the column the factory dowells are broken and cannot be repaired, as they are the size of a matchstick thickness and designed to break on impact so you dont end up with a steering column through your chest if ya hit something hard enuff get my drift? basically the column is a saftey component that shouldnt be hit with a hammer! if you need room release the column from inside of car as its bolted to firewall and under dash beam. to get it back in well really the column is stuffed, but if you can manage to pull the shaft out long enough to the correct length and bolt it securely to the steering rack and manage to get the bolt in you should be ok as it wont fall apart if its back to where it should be and bolted. good luck mate .. my 2c