48 sedanette hrn ring & button removal ?

[ed931]

how do you get them off didnt want to tear any thing up

[Jay Friedman]

how do you get them off didnt want to tear any thing up

It should be the same as my '49. 

Disconnect the negative battery cable from the battery.  Hold the horn ring out or toward you with one hand and simultaneously press down or in on the horn button.  While it is pressed in or down, turn the horn button about 1/3 of a turn counterclockwise or toward the left.  It should become free so you can take it out.  Note that the conical spring now visible has its wider end toward you. 

The horn ring is held in by the large nut holding on the steering wheel, which has a torque rating so it is very tight.  If I remember, the nut is 15/16" or 1 inch in diameter.  Using a large (½ inch drive) ratchet wrench or, better yet, a breaker bar hold the steering wheel with one hand and with the wrench unfasten the nut with the other hand.  The horn ring can now be removed.

Jay Friedman

[P W Allen CLC# 20193]

Jay gave you good advice, but be advised that sometimes the procedure getting the horn button off can be very frustrating to accomplish. If so, don't get discouraged. Keep at it. Good luck with it.

Paul

[vicbrincat]

One thing you need to be careful of... is damaging the horn contact when you are using a "puller" tool...It will almost be inevitable tha you will need to.

I damaged the first one I ever did .and it caused me no end of grief. So I came up with a make-shift system that seems to work very well.

If you notice, the wide  "nut" that holds the hub down covers (partially) the holes that you would need to install the puller tool. That means you have to remove the nut completely to do the job. The problem is, you must now rest the center of the puller directly on the horn contact. This will absolutely damage the contact.

Here is what I did on my '48:  Pull the nut off the hub. File or grind two opposite sides of the nut just enough to expose the holes in the horn ring base. Re-install the nut..but do not tighten..in fact leave about 1/4" of thread between the base of the horn ring and the nut itself. Align the holes with the two notched edges so that you can now install the puller tool.

Use a socket that is large enough to go over the tip of the horn ring without making contact with it. The edge of the socket will now rest on the modified nut. The but of the socket now sits above the horn contact. The but end of the socket can be used as the pressure point for the puller without damaging the horn contact.   By leaving 1/4" of thread below the nut, you allow enough room for the horn ring base to slide up and "break" the contact from the spline without damaging anything. Problem solved. Works very time.

Vic Brincat

Vic

[Jack Mcilwraith]

Vic- this is exactly what I did some time ago, but I used a spare nut that I had. I also ruined the horn contact the first time before I came up with the "fix".

[vicbrincat]

Jack,

I am disappointed. That's another idea that someone else has beat me to.....;-)

Good show.

Vic