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I'm trying to get my steering wheel off. Priority is the ignition actuator.
One or more of the previous owners appears to have removed the wheel at some point, and clearly haven't done a great job. As you'll see in the picture below, one of the holes is larger than the other where someone did who knows what when trying to use a puller, and looks like they tried to fix it by making a bigger hole, but the threads still don't really catch, and I can't re-thread it because there is no room left.
This lead me to try and rig the puller with rope similar to
, but the wheel pattern of the wheel doesn't make it great for trying to keep everything level. I also tried another trick I had used in the past where I wrapped a tie down strap around the wheel a couple of times and anchor to the seat belt bolts. This also didn't work.
Lastly, I tried just leveraging my weight and just pulling on the wheel ( leaving the bolt on to avoid another break in my nose :-) ).
All have failed. Does anyone have any suggestions for getting this off? I'm worried anything else will be so much force that I'm worried about breaking something.
Prior to any attempt, I used some generous amounts of PB B'laster.
The blinkers only work if you hold the rod up or down, and the tilt doesn't work at all. Pulling the rod doesn't allow you to lift or lower the steering wheel as expected. I'm not sure if this is somehow causing some issues with this, and one of the reasons I'm hesitant to just throw more force at the problem.
Only idea I have left is to borrow my neighbors gear puller and hope that it fits around the wheel somehow.
Last edited by conrad10781; Nov 16, 2018 at 07:57 AM.
Reason: Clarification
Once, with a similar situation, I put the nut on the steering wheel shaft, just enough to protect the threads, braced my legs beneath the steering wheel, applying pressure towards me, and struck the steering wheel hold down nut with a hammer. The force "drove the steering shaft through the steering wheel" and it came off.
Once you get the steering wheel off, you might consider replacing it?
pulled one last weekend on my 90 parts truck, same internally. I only had 1 bolt that fit one threaded "pull" or leverage hole, but thankfully I had a pair of vise grips mounted to a slide hammer I use for pulling copper weld pins from a stud pin welder (for pulling metal prior to bodywork). I snatched mine off that way. I have done it with nothing but hands and thighs before, but it takes awhile. I always soak penetrating oil in prior to starting (as far in advance as I can).
If you cannot generate enough force to ****** it off, which they can be kinda frozen, you're going to have to likely thread the holes with tap and die set the best you can to capture the threads on a bolt again. You might seek out a beefy friend who can maybe generate more force with arms/knees??? hang in there, you can get it off, but it's going to take a lot of patience since someone buggered the holes badly.
I have to work on my parts truck steering column again now that temps out of 30s and rain stopped, if I have any brain strokes of genius while doing it, I'll report. I think your yellow rope being nylon is going to stretch just enough that won't work. IF you had some small chain or wire or some large hose clamps or something metal that can only go so far, you might get there rigged like that. I'm also wondering if there's anyway to get a 2x4 behind the wheel and have a person on each side of it pulling back while you are bumping and trying to pull it off.
Stupid thought... but Odisvan made me think of it lol. Bottle jack with piston pressing the center shaft of the steering column, with chain/straps around the steering wheel and running behind the footprint/base of the jack? Sounds like something I would try
Drill new holes for the puller, 90 degrees away from the damaged holes. Start cutting the threads with a regular tap until it bottoms out. Finish up the threads with a bottoming tap, which is designed to get almost all the way to the bottom of a blind hole.
Install studs or threaded rods into the newly tapped holes. Thread them in tightly, as far as they will go. The idea is grab as many threads as possible. That should hold up just fine to remove the wheel normally with the puller.
Drill new holes for the puller, 90 degrees away from the damaged holes. Start cutting the threads with a regular tap until it bottoms out. Finish up the threads with a bottoming tap, which is designed to get almost all the way to the bottom of a blind hole.
Install studs or threaded rods into the newly tapped holes. Thread them in tightly, as far as they will go. The idea is grab as many threads as possible. That should hold up just fine to remove the wheel normally with the puller.
That's what I would do, drill two new holes and tap them. You could start with 1/4 20 and if they stripped out the next size is 5/16-18. Always use a hammer to smack the puller. Tighten the puller up as much as you dare, and then hit the puller right on top on the hex where you are tightening it. The shock like someone else mentioned, helps break it loose. This helps prevent pulling the threads out. Sometimes when you smack it, it does not come loose, but does loosen the puller some. Tighten it up as much as you dare and hit it again.
Almost forgot, haven't seen it mentioned yet. However you break the steering wheel free, leave the nut loosely installed, backed off a couple of threads. You may have to generate considerable force, and once the wheel breaks free, expect it and the puller to launch at you at breakneck speed.
I know you said you did this but think you were doing it a little wrong.
Put the nut on but not all the way like you did once before.
Now you will be pulling on the wheel but NOT both sides at the same time.
Pull on 1 side then the other back and forth. You can have your hands on each side but only pull on 1 side at a time as hard as you can.
Pull on it like you are going to break it and it should pop off.
If the nut is not on you will be going to the hospital for new teeth or nose lol
Dave ----
I couldn't get mine off and finally I just went completely berserk with it while under puller tension and it came off. I felt some previously unknown to me muscles afterwards.
Just recalled, I also push wheel back down several time slamming towards dash with my hands. So, you get it going a tad, little more penetrating oil, try drive it back in, work back out, wiggling ,etc. if you’ll get rough as heck with it, it’ll pop. And pop it will. I have to get brutal, I’m only 190 now, but I could do it when I was young and about 150-150. Keep pressure on wth knees hard, bang hell out of upper and side portions with your palm, yank use your shoulders etc. you can get rough and get it off in 5 minutes of being the Incredible Hulk. Or spend an hour or two and do it right, with threaded holes.
i guess drilling and tapping would be final choice for me, unless this was a more valuable vehicle to me. Or course, breakage could happen, I say that because I’m not the best at drilling straight. I’d end up a tad off on one hole and on some weird angle with my luck. I can do it the brutal way, but absolutely always a proper repair is best, it’s just matter of time and value of part to me.
how often do you need to pull wheels. Get brutally violent with it, pushing in, yanking off, upper Brady, etc, and with loose nut and it WILL pop like hell and turn loose. If you don’t leave nut on, you will tear your face half off when it comes loose. They get kinda frozen on and it helps to try to shock it back and forth. I out cardboard under on column and keep throwing the penetrating oil to itl. Getting brutal will wear your palms out and might bruise thighs from keeping constant pressure on lower wheel. You must keep pressure on.
guess am stupid and I do suggest stupid things, but I’ve probably pulled 8-9 wheels By now, at least, and this was my only method til I got older and bought steering wheel puller. Back when I was young, there was no free tool loaner program, and I sure didn’t have any money and had no choice.
Worst comes to worst, you spend time and drill new holes and tap and you’re off, so puller bolts don’t line up well, you might be able to use a grinder on upper portion of threads and remove material up near your puller. That’s in case you get one bolt a smidgeon off, which is what I know I would do. I just am not good at sitting somewhere and holding a drill and winding up in very good shape. But that’s me. I’m not so good at cutting stuff straight either.
on the wallowed stock ones, tapping those larger, and same deal only remove as much threaded material up near the top to be able to get your puller on them. That’s your big thing with stock ones, your tapping would take you to such a much larger diameter of the bolt, it might not fit into puller unless you grind down some diameter of the bolt metal where the puller arms fasten. Bolts which May or may not fit puller arms, whether due to diameter or out of alignment, is your big deal on keeping whichever way you choose working.
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