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Steering wheel removal, stuck

losh1971

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Is there anyway of getting the steering wheel off without a puller? Mechanic has set it too deep and now a hard tug is not getting it off. It's rubbing on the NSS and the shrouds and ******* everything underneath. It would be why my horn is playing up too.
Am I realistically looking at steering column removal as my only option?
 

Immortality

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Normally you need a puller to get those suckers off.
 

losh1971

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I have had it off twice on my own and a decent couple of yanks and it comes off. No, garage has fucked up and set it too deep. One of the puller holes has a snapped of bolt in it. It might have just enough to grab, hard to say. But without a puller I might be in trouble. I really don't want to spend extra time pulling the column right out.
 

Vin999

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I have had it off twice on my own and a decent couple of yanks and it comes off. No, garage has fucked up and set it too deep. One of the puller holes has a snapped of bolt in it. It might have just enough to grab, hard to say. But without a puller I might be in trouble. I really don't want to spend extra time pulling the column right out.
without a puller we used to get them off by pushing with knees from behind s/wheel and hitting gently the nut screwed flat on spline, most times works with a few hits and sometimes some wd40 on spline, worth a try without wrecking anything :)
 

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Brute force. They’re all pretty tight. They go onto a tapered spline, so can’t be installed too deeply.

Loosen the nut a couple of turns, then pull up hard with your feet under the pedals.
Try flexing it side to side (pull one side harder than the other) at the same time. I’ve never had one that I couldn’t get off.

Just don’t beat the column with a hammer. It does nothing and you risk damaging the bearings or mushrooming the thread.
 

losh1971

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Brute force. They’re all pretty tight. They go onto a tapered spline, so can’t be installed too deeply.

Loosen the nut a couple of turns, then pull up hard with your feet under the pedals.
Try flexing it side to side (pull one side harder than the other) at the same time. I’ve never had one that I couldn’t get off underneath.

Just don’t beat the column with a hammer. It does nothing and you risk damaging the bearings or mushrooming the thread.
Got it off, ended up having the neighbour tap the centre with a hammer lightly, while I pulled like a bastard.
It was set too deep some how but I can't explain why. A washer or something was missing. Because when I replaced the column the NSS wasn't rubbing on the wheel, the horn ring wasn't rubbing on the shroud either. The horn button has lost 3mm in six months and this is because it was somehow set too deep. Why that is I have NFI just yet. But it can't go back together like that, that's for sure. It wasn't a problem until the last time he fixed the horn, just a few days ago, after that I could hear and feel it rubbing.
 

losh1971

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I just need a schematic now as the VS upper bearing housing is different to a VR and as a result will require different shimming.
 

vs-lover

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Hi Losh,

Not quite sure what's happening here in your case as the wheel will only go on so far and has no ability to have the depth of fit changed. I'm wondering if a hammer has been used and the steering shaft has been ever so slightly collapsed, thus this will bring the wheel closer to the column covers and the switch carrier that's behind which also houses the upper bearing.

As Mechanic above suggested these wheels should never have the centre shaft struck with anything as they are a collapsible column and it doesn't take much force to damage it permanently. I've never had one not come off as again suggested above and only providing left and right hand manual pulling force but ensuring that the nut is still on by a few turns so that the wheel doesn't come off in your face like it will without the centre nut being attached.

I'm really feeling that way too many "so called" professional butchers have had a crack at too many parts on your car and thus this is where many of these silly mistakes come to light somewhere along the way. It seems that everything that's done needs to be readdressed in a short time after the work has been performed. I'm sorry if this sounds harsh but it's just facts with people that work to a dollar value and time frame compared to people that work on cars for the pure joy of it.
 

losh1971

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Something not right. As I mentioned I can normally get it off with a couple of hard pulls plus a couple of taps with my hands from underneath. The way the button is now fucked too has some explanation that I can't explain.
Either way I have to fix it I can't have it rubbing on gear underneath and then wearing down the button prematurely. I had to replace the bearings in the column before and it was a big job and requires a SH column to cut the lower bearing out of.
A schematic will ensure I have all the shims in the right places.
 

losh1971

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I'm going to buy a puller to have on hand, in case the wheel needs to come off in the future. Going to drill out snapped off bolt too and retap it.
 
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