hi im having a bit of trouble removing the intermediate steering shaft, iv loosened off the bolts at either end of the shaft and tried sliding each end out but cant get either end to slide far enough to remove it. is there some trick to getting these out or?

Here ya go.

Take the upper bolt completely out, and you will need to force it towards the column so it can be taken off the rack end of it.....then slide it downwards for complete removal.
When fitting the replacement one, or the same one, buff the paint/rust off the upper spline, and apply some anti-sieze compound to both splines ( top and bottom ), and use medium strength loctite for the bolts.