i am putting in a new sterring gear box on my 48 f-1. i was able to get the box out of the truck with no problem but i cant get the sterring wheel off! i dont need the housing or shaft. but i do need the tube.

if i take the housing apart can i slide it out the top of the housing or will it only go out the bottom???

RC

 

You have a worm gear at the end of your shaft the tube won't go over it you need to either take the steering wheel off with a wheel puller or cut the old shaft in half.

 

the steering wheel is STUCK on their. i tried for hours with a puller and also a hammer. there is no way to cut through just the shaft right now because the tube is in the way. any suggestions as to what i should do next.

if i took it to a shop what would they have beside a puller and a hammer to pull off the wheel? would they have a better puller or maybe a bigger hammer? RC

 

The worm gear is press-fitted on the end of the shaft and there is an upper bearing/race assembly at the top of the box, so for all practical purposes it will only go out the bottom of the box.

Take the steering wheel off - push down and twist the horn button just enough to disengage the tabs(counter-clockwise I think, about 1/2" or so), lift it off along with the horn contact plate, pull the horn wire down thru the shaft, remove the 1" nut that holds the wheel on the shaft, then use a wheel puller/ dampener puller, etc. to pull the wheel off. The shaft is splined where the steering wheel attaches.

Remove the bottom plate from the gearbox and with a little manipulation of the sector roller, the shaft will drop right through.

 

[updated:LAST EDITED ON 10-Jun-02 AT 08:46 PM (EST)]I see you've been busy since I opened your original msg. The shops will probably use heat or penetrating oil. Are you using a puller that threads into the holes in the wheel with a center screw? Torque it down and thump the back of the wheel with a rubber hammer. Re-tighten and thump again - it has to move eventually.

It's a splined joint - heat - oil or wax - bigger hammer - perseverance and luck!

 

the original owner stripped the threads that were there so i have been using a 3 arm puller that wraps around to the bottom of the steering wheel.
my dad told me to try heating it up and then tap it all around with a hammer also. i will have time to try it tonight.

thanks RC

 

You'll probably continue to have a tough time with a 3-jaw puller. Don't ask me how I know that.

If the threads are just stripped you can drill the holes out and retap to the next larger size bolt. Tapping the holes isn't that hard and most steering wheel/balancer pullers have several sets of different size bolts to handle the different threaded holes out there.

1. Look through the bolts in your puller kit and pick a set that's one size larger than the original threaded holes in the wheel hub.
2. Get a taper tap with the same thread as the bolts you've chosen. Taper taps are used to start threads in a hole and you should be able to pick up one at your local hardware store.
3. Get a tap drill of the diameter recommended for the tap you're using. A lot of taps have the tap drill size stamped right on them but a good hardware store will have a chart and you can also do a search and find that info on-line.
4. Drill out the old holes with the tap drill to at least the same depth as the original holes.
5. Use some tapping fluid and gradually work the taper tap into each hole. It's good practice to go forward until you get a fair amount of resistance and then back off to break off the chips. Just keep repeating the process until you get to the bottom of the hole. Take your time or you'll end up with a broken tap stuck in one of the holes. Make sure to clean out the chips periodically or they'll keep you from reaching the bottom of the hole.
6. After completing both holes, grind off the end of the tap until only a little bit of the taper is left. Do the last grinding lightly so you have a nice clean end with no burrs. Congratulations - you now own a home-made bottoming tap.
7. Repeat the tapping process for each hole with your "new" bottoming tap. You now have holes with full threads almost to the very bottom.
8. Stick that puller on there and let 'er rip!

The tap and drill will probably run you about $6 total. Cheap way to fix the problem.

George

 

if heating it up doesnt work that will be my next step. thanks earl

RC

 

so i get home last night to work on this i grab the tube to pick it up and put it on the workbench but as i do the steering wheel flys off and the tube slides up the shaft and i almost fall over everything because i was not expecting it to be loose. .. so now im baffled because there is now way this could have just loosened up on its own.
so i go and ask my grand dad if he know anything about this and he trying to keep from laughing and at the same time he tells me my uncle stopped by and he told him my problem, so being a retired mechanic he went out and did exactly what you guys said about heating it up etc. he said it took him like 10-15 minutes.
they put it back together and stood it up in the corner of the garage to see the look on my face when i picked it up and everything went flying off. Damn old timers got me good. gotta love em.

thanks for the advice guys. RC