steering wheel

whats the best way to remove a steering wheel without a puller.

I wouldn't advise trying to remove it without a puller. When the nut on the column is tight it locks the splines in the wheel and the shaft pretty tight. I think you would damage the wheel or the column or both if you tried prying or something like that. Steering wheel pullers are pretty cheap. I would just go buy one if it were me.

whats the best way to remove a steering wheel without a puller.you can get a puller from kragen for around $10...some places let you borrow then too.bm

yeah i know they are cheap and the auto parts stores loan them but i didnt want to have to go borrow one cause its like 10 miles away.
ive pulled one before with 2 bolts and a wrench between them. but i dont know if putting all the force on those threads while turning the bolts will hurt them.

A sledge hammer might work if you can't afford the $10.:)

i didnt say i cant afford it i said its like 10 miles away and i am not planning on going that way for the next couple of days.

I've removed mine without a puller before.
I take off the nut, put a drop of penetrating oil on the splines. Then I force the wheel past the locking point in both directions to loosen the splines. I can feel it "give" at that point. Then I use my knee to put pressure at six o'clock on the rim and one hand pulls at twelve. With my free hand a few taps on the end of the shaft with a brass hammer and it usually comes off. Just watch your face when it lets go.

Good Luck!

Jeff

i didnt say i cant afford it i said its like 10 miles away and i am not planning on going that way for the next couple of days.

So...

The question is, should you drive ten miles out of your way or risk injury to yourself or damage to your car? I would make the drive myself. Or order one online and have it delivered. They aren't building anymore cars like yours and parts are getting harder to find. And being briused or shedding blood unnecessarily isn't fun. And you at that moment, you always think, it would have been so easy to avoid this.

So...

The question is, should you drive ten miles out of your way or risk injury to yourself or damage to your car? I would make the drive myself. Or order one online and have it delivered. They aren't building anymore cars like yours and parts are getting harder to find. And being briused or shedding blood unnecessarily isn't fun. And you at that moment, you always think, it would have been so easy to avoid this.


well yeah basically. i guess i need to just buy one and not have to worry about it. just wanted to see if thier were other ways

I have removed dozens & dozens of steering wheels the backyard mechanic way :rolleyes:

I loosen the nut and remove it except for a few threads (took one time to smack me in the face to figure this out). I then put my knees at 9 o'clock and 3 o'clock and start alternating the pressure from one knee to the next until it finally pops loose. For the wheels that have the spokes at different positions, I position it to where I put pressure only on the spoke area of the wheel. Out of the approx 40 or more wheels I have done, I have only needed a puller once on a '53 5 window I had only because it was rusted on.

I know this is not the best way to do it and certainly not the most civilized, but I get the wheel off without damage (except for the time I took the nut completely off and got steering wheel in the face syndrome). I have never broken a wheel that wasn't already thrashed.

Mike

I continue to do this method even to this day. I started doing it when I was 16 and continued on through my teens and twenties, never buying a puller because I never needed one. Now in my mid 40's, I still do it because I am just too lazy to buy one :D

Mike

ive pulled two wheels and once was with a puller and the other was a home made puller by puting a bolt in one puller hole unsrewing the nut most the way. and putting a wrench on the shaft of the bolt and prying it against the middle nut alternating each side. but it was alot easier with the puller.
ill have to try your method tomorrow.

Sit in the driver seat and remove the nut ok.
Now grasp the wheel with both hands real good then freak out like you have ants in the pants:D pull yank cuss go nuts the wheel may bend it may pop off and knock out your teeth it might not budge who knows but please if you try my way video tape it and post it.:D :D :D

ill have to try your method tomorrow.well...did you get it off?bm

well...did you get it off?bm

that's kinda personal don't you think:D :D

i was gonna but the screws holding the pad on don't seem to have budged in 30 years and wanted to strip so i sprayed some penetrating fluid on them and haven't got back around to it yet. ill try again later today and if they don't move i will just give up and keep using the old ignition that's in it.
i was just gonna replace it cause my uncle gave me a brand new one that he didn't need.