Steering Wheel Removal

[justagoodolboy]

Don't know what I'm doing wrong but my steering wheel doesn't want to come off.Is there a trick to getting it off or are they just hard to remove?I tried the search but couldn't find anything.Thanks in advance.

[wancosc356]

rent a steering wheel puller from your auto parts store

[nickp51chevy]

Originally Posted by wancosc356

rent a steering wheel puller from your auto parts store

I went to auto zone. I dont know if they are nation wide, but $20 down and $20 back, and it worked like a charm.

[justagoodolboy]

Originally Posted by wancosc356

rent a steering wheel puller from your auto parts store

So it just needs a little encouragement,huh?! Thanks,I'll have to check into that.

[wancosc356]

That's correct. The nut has pressed the wheel onto the steering shaft. A steering wheel puller works great. You can either rent one or buy one. No problem. Take it easy.

[leddzepp]

You can buy this kit at Harbor Freight for $10. It will remove steering wheels, pullies, etc. Great investment.

[Beatcoaster]

Just buy a steering wheel puller - they are $15 at Schucks...

[justagoodolboy]

Thanks for your help,everyone.Before I go buy one,I'm going to check with my local mechanic.He may have one I can borrow.

[surfacerust]

times are tough, and some of us may not have 20 bucks...

now i know this may sound shady but its worked many times for me. pappy rust taught me this one.

take the nut off and find a regular nut that threads onto the shaft.
thread it on just enought that the shaft dosent protrude out of the nut.

lace your arm thru the wheel pull it toward you. and with the other bump the nut with a small hammer.

be sure you arent hitting the shaft just the nut. and be gentle you can still damage the threads. it should pop off without too much force.

and dont hit yourself in the nose with the wheel when it pops off.

and a little anti-seize on it before it goes back on.

[Shane]

... sounds like a good way to lose some teeth.


do yourself a favor and find a puller ... rent, buy or borrow, it's still cheaper than the dental bills.

[Stocker]

I have one like this that I bought many years ago. It was cheap and works great.

[Shock_Me]

Yeah they're not too expensive, and it's surprising how many times I've actually used it.

[justagoodolboy]

I'll probably end up getting a puller somewhere.We tried putting pressure on it and tapping the nut -kind of the same method I used to slide the back axle out of my four wheeler-but it wouldn't budge.I didn't know if there were any tricks or something I missed,but it sounds like I just need a puller.Hopefully I'll get to it today.

[mr48chev]

Use the puller. Guys used to do the hammer trick all the time but it is too easy to damage the collapsible columns and shafts and or the steering boxes on older trucks with solid shafts. Some of those things we "used to do all the time" are made obsolete by the designs of the newer and I mean newer by 68 and up rigs.

From experience it isn't fun to have to repair a steering shaft that someone collapsed by wacking it with a hammer to get the wheel off. One of them is in my 71 and was damaged when one of my uncles redneck buddies changed a turn signal switch for him. When I pulled the stock wheel off to put my custom wheel on the shaft slid down inside the column.

As several said, if you are low on bucks and can't borrow one. Go to Autozone and hand them some money on their rental program, use it and take it back and get the money back.

[justagoodolboy]

My mechanic/friend said he has one I can borrow so I'm picking it up in a few minutes and then I'm off to my buddy's shop to keep yanking my interior.

[justagoodolboy]

Worked like a charm! Thanks, guys.

[wancosc356]

Great! Glad it worked for ya!

[K10-Kansas]

I've got a 1967-68 steering wheel and I don't see how the pullers I am finding work. Napa and O'Reilly's have them to borrow for free but j shaped hooks are too fat to fit between the column and wheel and the horn bowl prevents and puller bolt for screwing in. Do you need a special puller for a 1967 wheel?

[LNP]

Originally Posted by K10-Kansas

I've got a 1967-68 steering wheel and I don't see how the pullers I am finding work. Napa and O'Reilly's have them to borrow for free but j shaped hooks are too fat to fit between the column and wheel and the horn bowl prevents and puller bolt for screwing in. Do you need a special puller for a 1967 wheel?

You need to remove the horn pieces so you can access the bolt holes

[truckster]

Originally Posted by LNP

You need to remove the horn pieces so you can access the bolt holes

To expand on that, you remove the horn button and the three screws that hold the horn ring. Under that you'll find two bolt holes, one on each side of the steering wheel nut. Remove the nut, thread a bolt through the puller on each side of the steering wheel hub, and tighten the puller until the wheel comes off.

[K10-Kansas]

Thanks. I'm not sure why that didn't occur to me when I looked at it, that I could take the bowl off. Thanks.

[MARKDTN]

Originally Posted by surfacerust

times are tough, and some of us may not have 20 bucks...

now i know this may sound shady but its worked many times for me. pappy rust taught me this one.

take the nut off and find a regular nut that threads onto the shaft.
thread it on just enought that the shaft dosent protrude out of the nut.

lace your arm thru the wheel pull it toward you. and with the other bump the nut with a small hammer.

be sure you arent hitting the shaft just the nut. and be gentle you can still damage the threads. it should pop off without too much force.

and dont hit yourself in the nose with the wheel when it pops off.

and a little anti-seize on it before it goes back on.

I can remember getting a Ford truck steering wheel in a junkyard in the 80s. We took the nut off and one of us pulled hard while the other hit the shaft with a big hammer. We didn't care what we did to the column. I'm ashamed of that now.

It's fine thread on GM so not always easy to find a nut that fits. I'm with the get a puller camp. They are handy for balancers too.

[vics stuff]

Originally Posted by surfacerust

times are tough, and some of us may not have 20 bucks...

now i know this may sound shady but its worked many times for me. pappy rust taught me this one.

take the nut off and find a regular nut that threads onto the shaft.
thread it on just enought that the shaft dosent protrude out of the nut.

lace your arm thru the wheel pull it toward you. and with the other bump the nut with a small hammer.

be sure you arent hitting the shaft just the nut. and be gentle you can still damage the threads. it should pop off without too much force.

and dont hit yourself in the nose with the wheel when it pops off.

and a little anti-seize on it before it goes back on.

Do Not Use This Method you stand the chance of pulling the steering shaft upwards and from the lower steering column bearing. I know , this has happened to me . As the old saying goes , use the wright tool for the job.
Vic

[Rust_never_sleeps]

Originally Posted by K10-Kansas

I've got a 1967-68 steering wheel and I don't see how the pullers I am finding work. Napa and O'Reilly's have them to borrow for free but j shaped hooks are too fat to fit between the column and wheel and the horn bowl prevents and puller bolt for screwing in. Do you need a special puller for a 1967 wheel?

I borrowed the thing LEDZEPP shows and it worked great. Sometimes called a harmonic balancer puller, among other names
I originally borrowed another type (a thing actually called "steering wheel puller), and it was a no-go for me