Steering wheel removal

[Tony]

Hi there,
Do I need a special steering wheel puller to remove the wheel on a 60 cadillac or can I just force it off by hand??

Tony

[The Tassie Devil(le)]

Hi there,
Do I need a special steering wheel puller to remove the wheel on a 60 cadillac or can I just force it off by hand??  Tony   

G'day Tony,

Yes, you do need a Puller to remove the wheel as the splined centre is also tapered, and will be tight.

Plus, if you hit down on the shaft, you will destroy the hole for the horn wiring in the centre of the shaft, as shown in the picture.

The Horn wire pulls out so remove it before you apply the puller.

The Puller is a simple tool to make yourself.   As can be seen by the picture, I made up a multi-use Puller, out of a piece of 1 1/2" by 5/16" steel, drilled and tapped a central hole to suit the pressing stud, which in my case was 2" x 3/8" UNC square head high tensile locking stud.   Then drilled two holes to match the distance apart in the Steering wheel hub.   These bolts are 5/16" UNC by 2" long.

To protect the Steering Column, I placed a 3/8" UNC Nut on the pressing bolt, and installed a heavy duty washer to spread the load over the outer diameter of the hollow shaft.

Once the 2 outer bolts are threaded into the steering wheel hub, and the washer centred, simply screw the central pressing bolt down, and the wheel will pop right off.

Make sure that you make note of where the Wheel is positioned on the shaft, so that when you re-install it, it won't be out of position.

Bruce.

PS.   Make the puller strong enough, and it will last you a lifetime.   The extra holes are for different applications requiring different spaced bolts.

[TJ Hopland]

Now days with 'imported' tools you can just buy the set.   This one includes the tool to remove the locking ring found on the 70's and up cars.  $16 from harbor freight.  Many parts stores also stock cheap sets.  If I had to use it every day I would buy a better set but for the 1 or two times most of us need such things they works.  I have found a bit of grease on the main screw makes them work much better.  Also check your local parts stores, many of them have some sort of 'rental' program, some like the napa by me its free, you just pay for the tool and when you bring it back they refund the full amount.

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=42031


With the non locking type you can also use a puller set like this that also does things like balancers.

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=37824