Stuck steering wheel

[abridges01]

For reasons I will not go in to here, I elected to swap out the old (now sticky in hot weather) steering wheel for something a bit nicer. The trouble is, I cannot budge the old steering wheel, which I assume has been in place for the past 38 years (mine's a '75 Argosy 26' motor home). For the past two weeks it has sat with a steering wheel puller, under quite a bit of pressure, soaked in WD40, and now has a bottle jack under it for good measure! Still no sign of it coming free.

Does anyone have any ideas as to how I can remove it without causing damage to the column and associated parts?

Cheers

[dznf0g]

You need a steering wheel puller. Most auto parts stores have them.

whoops....re-read. Put a lot of tension on the puller and then rap on the puller/column etc to break the tension bind.

[ROBERT CROSS]

Originally Posted by dznf0g

You need a steering wheel puller. Most auto parts stores have them.

whoops....re-read. Put a lot of tension on the puller and then rap on the puller/column etc to break the tension bind.

Yep....Whack the end while under tension.


Bob

[cwf]

Yup

Tap shaft of puller to send shocks down steering shaft.

Also, get some dry ice and apply to the steering shaft. It is really cold so make sure you don't touch the dry ice. It will freeze your skin immediately! This should shrink the shaft and release from the wheel

[cwf]

Something messed up. Post shows then disappears!

Edit: Reboot phone fixed

[cwf]

Any update?

[abridges01]

Thanks y'all (can you hear my English accent? ;-)
The puller - actually the second puller as the first ('wonderful piece of Chinese engineering!) broke when we applied tension! - has been on, under maximum tension, for over three weeks now.
We have torn the rubber from the steering wheel so as to be able to thump it with assorted hammers. And, as you can see in the photo, I now have a bottle jack applying upward pressure from below - all with, to date, ZERO effect.
I like the dry ice idea and will see about trying that if all else has failed by this weekend.
Alternately, I may need to see if I can pull the column up through the bushings and into the cab (ceiling clearance permitting of course) so as to remove the whole assembly all the better to get really primitive on it with a large hammer. This is, of course, assuming the steering coupling end is any easier to remove!

[abridges01]

Ethyl_steering_wheel | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

[cwf]

Before pulling column check for pins through shaft... Never know..

I would use a Dremel tool to cut away the steering wheel from the shaft. Also if you make a cut along steering wheel parallel to the shaft you will allow it to open up and release from shaft.

[panheaddale]

[QUOTE=abridges01;1324630]Thanks y'all (can you hear my English accent? ;-)
" I now have a bottle jack applying upward pressure from below"
Looks like a GM tilt column. If it is a bottle jack is a bad idea because you are putting unneeded stress on the pivot point and could do damage to it.First off get a good quality steering wheel puller then if you have access to an air gun it makes it easier to apply enough pressure to get the wheel to break loose. I suspect you are not putting enough torque on the puller screw to break the wheel loose. I have had to use a breaker bar before to put enough pressure on it to break them loose before. You probably think you will break something but there is nothing there to break with the puller. Make sure there is not a roll pin through the column which I have never seen before then just crank on the puller bolt and it should come off. When it does there will be alot of pressure on it.I don't understand how the dry ice deal will work because I don't see how you can contain what gets cold and what doesn't. Good Luck let us know what happens.

[ROBERT CROSS]

Your puller should look something like this when under tension.....bolts from puller to hub.



Bob

[doorgunner]

unless your jack is in perfect alignment with the centerline of the shaft you are adding to the problem, Your picture does in fact indicate just that, junk the jack idea. Roberts puller shows a dead straight pull anything less and you are fooling yourself and putting the pieces in a bind.
On some of the flying machines I worked on we has components that were "friction fit". closely machined components, the shafts were placed in a freezer overnight and the housing in an oven. quick like a bunny put them together and very difficult to separate.
trying to ice down the whole thing would be an interesting effort tho I doubt any movement . The shaft would need to be cooled and the wheel housing heated, I would try a very hot soldering iron moved around the housing, heating that component and trying to keep the shaft cooler,
OR you could just purchase my Argosy moho and have a lifetime supply of parts.

[cwf]

Let me do a better job of explaining my "dry ice" (cold) theory.

If the cold is applied to the center shaft applying the pressure. This center cooling should allow some shrinkage of the wheel shaft.

Then I would use an air impact set beliow the limits on the puller (don't want to break ) the impacts plus cold had worked for me before on other "interference fit" items like this.

Hope that helps.

[jdalrymple]

Don't wack the steering wheel with the hammer.

With the center bolt of the puller tightened as much as you dare, strike a solid blow on the center bolt of the puller.

Or, maybe two.

Regards,

JD

[Smartstream]

As a machinist who has assembled and disassembled many interference fits heat is your friend. Cold helps in assembly but is very difficult to effectively apply to an assembled unit. Heat the hub of the wheel. It will also heat the shaft but not as fast and sometimes it is just enough to break it loose. Also several heating and cooling cycles can help a stuck joint. Another thing is forget the impact wrench. Draw the center bolt of the wheel puller tight and then smack it firmly straight on with a large hammer. That is the impact that the joint will "feel" and break it free.

Draw the puller center bolt up tight, heat the wheel hub and strike the puller center bolt. Let cool and repeat. You don't really need a lot of heat. A small pencil type propane torch applied right at the joint will do the job. The joint is designed to come apart without heat but the rust and corrosion formed over the years is your problem and the heat and cooling cycles will help free that up.

Also the puller shown by Robert is common but there are also many with three legs rather than two. It depends on the wheel which you need. And forget the jack, you will damage the column and not help get the wheel off. Good luck.

[cwf]

Originally Posted by Smartstream

As a machinist who has assembled and disassembled many interference fits heat is your friend. Cold helps in assembly but is very difficult to effectively apply to an assembled unit. Heat the hub of the wheel. It will also heat the shaft but not as fast and sometimes it is just enough to break it loose. Also several heating and cooling cycles can help a stuck joint. Another thing is forget the impact wrench. Draw the center bolt of the wheel puller tight and then smack it firmly straight on with a large hammer. That is the impact that the joint will "feel" and break it free.

Draw the puller center bolt up tight, heat the wheel hub and strike the puller center bolt. Let cool and repeat. You don't really need a lot of heat. A small pencil type propane torch applied right at the joint will do the job. The joint is designed to come apart without heat but the rust and corrosion formed over the years is your problem and the heat and cooling cycles will help free that up.

Also the puller shown by Robert is common but there are also many with three legs rather than two. It depends on the wheel which you need. And forget the jack, you will damage the column and not help get the wheel off. Good luck.

Better solution? Thanks!

[cwf]

Originally Posted by cwf

Better solution? Thanks!

Oops!
I did not mean to post the above with a Question mark....

I absolutely agree the last full post was excellent,,,,

thanks for allowing me to correct my error...

[Smartstream]

Originally Posted by cwf

Oops!
I did not mean to post the above with a Question mark....

I absolutely agree the last full post was excellent,,,,

thanks for allowing me to correct my error...

Not to worry, my poor old eyes never noticed the ? My problem is that my two finger typing is so slow that in the time it takes me to type a response two more people have already posted the answer. All we can do is put forward our best efforts and hope it helps somebody as much as other people have helped us.

[ROBERT CROSS]

How about a vertical photo of your puller set-up?

That may help....

Bob

[Gregsch]

You mentioned that you are using WD40 to help breakdown the rust. I have had much better luck with PB Blaster. I would put PB Blaster on it for a couple days.