OK-What's the trick? -- Steering

[lakelover]

I'm trying to remove the steering wheel here on an old pulley & cable system. Never having done this before, I thought I'd remove the nut and it might pop right off. Nope. Is there a trick or does it just involve WD-40?

 

[Rickairmedic]

Re: OK-What's the trick? -- Steering

Lake Lover try rocking it from side to side as you pull and throw away that WD 40 and go get some PB Blaster or if you can find it Kroil to spray down in there . Then if all else fils go to the auto parts store and get a steering wheel puller . WD40 is usefull for getting water out of your distributor beyond that I really havent found much use for it .


Rick

 

[lakelover]

Re: OK-What's the trick? -- Steering

I didn't have my glasses on before, is that a fastener of some sort that I need to remove by the arrow? It has a square recess in the head. Has that got to come out? Still no luck, all I have on hand right now is WD40 and I'm leaving for vacation tomorrow. Just puttering today when I have a few minutes here & there.

 

[Rickairmedic]

Re: OK-What's the trick? -- Steering

LL I dont think that screw is whats holding you up . The shaft should be tapered and keyed . I would just keep soaking it with WD if thats all you got and rocking it side to side then top to bottom as you PULL on it . The easiest way to get it off will still be a steering wheel puller and be carefull pulling on it ( when it comes loose it will do it all at once and you will roll over the transom headfirst if your not ready for it ) .


Rick

 

[zach103]

Re: OK-What's the trick? -- Steering

take the tscrew out.. it could be holding you up.. i just took mine off and i have a screws in there.. try it out.. tell us if it works or not

 

[mickarch]

Re: OK-What's the trick? -- Steering

Get a friend to pull on the steering wheel as hard as he can, while he's doing that, take a big hammer and give the shaft a sharp whack. May want to thread the nut on a little to prevent damaging threads and save your friend of smacking himself in the face when the wheel pops loose.

 

[Rickairmedic]

Re: OK-What's the trick? -- Steering

Get a friend to pull on the steering wheel as hard as he can, while he's doing that, take a big hammer and give the shaft a sharp whack. May want to thread the nut on a little to prevent damaging threads and save your friend of smacking himself in the face when the wheel pops loose.

LOL yep that one works too .


Rick

 

[singinout]

Re: OK-What's the trick? -- Steering

Yeah I tried popping mine bak off like a day after I put it on and it was TIGHT!! For a while i didn't think it was eva coming off. I pushed hard on the center pin while pulling out on the wheel. Eventually it popped loose. If yours has been on awhile I doubt that would work. If you don't have any special tools I would go with the idea of screwing the nut on a bit and using lubricant. Gud luck!

 

[North Beach]

Re: OK-What's the trick? -- Steering

Rick that's an old pulley system. I don't think it's tapered like ours.

Wally, take a look from the backside also.

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: OK-What's the trick? -- Steering

they are tapered. put the nut back on. scrunch down with your knees behind the wheel giving pressure on the wheel. couple of good whacks with a hammer on the nut, and the wheel will pop off.

 

[Knotty1]

Re: OK-What's the trick? -- Steering

I'm trying to remove the steering wheel here on an old pulley & cable system. Never having done this before, I thought I'd remove the nut and it might pop right off. Nope. Is there a trick or does it just involve WD-40?

Hey - I don't imagine there's too much "trickery" involved... Try taking that screw/bolt out and see but I think (as noted before) you might want to give it a little rap with a hammer to loosen it. Then side to side - or if you have a small bar that can fit behind, try slowly wedging it ... Should not be that hard.??

 

[lakelover]

Re: OK-What's the trick? -- Steering

WD40 is usefull for getting water out of your distributor beyond that I really havent found much use for it .


Rick

Agreed, but it's also real good for thawing frozen car door locks in the winter, I keep a can under the seat!

I'll get some PB and keep working on it today.

Thanks for all the suggestions.

 

[CheapboatKev]

Re: OK-What's the trick? -- Steering

I tried all of the above as well..Guess I didnt have a big enuff hammer..

Finally went to the local autozone and rented a gear puller..Not a standard steering wheel puller for a car, but a good gear puller..

Wheel was off in 10 seconds...

HINT
When you get the wheel off..make sure you dont loose the alignment key that is in the shaft..

 

[lakelover]

Re: OK-What's the trick? -- Steering

I learned a few things this morning:

1) The screw is not a screw, but is molded into the plastic, so is not a concern.

2) It looks as though someone has had a steering wheel puller on it before, there are marks near the hub on the back of the stalks that go out to the wheel.

3) It's too damn hot to work on it any more today. So I guess it will be soaking for a while.

Time to relax!

 

[bigredinohio]

Re: OK-What's the trick? -- Steering

Agreed, but it's also real good for thawing frozen car door locks in the winter, I keep a can under the seat!

Wouldn't that suck if you're locked out?

 

[lakelover]

Re: OK-What's the trick? -- Steering

Wouldn't that suck if you're locked out?

That's my second can for preventive spraying. You learn these things when you drive a car with 195,000 miles on it!

 

[lakelover]

Re: OK-What's the trick? -- Steering

OK, I feel like an idiot.

After several sessions of pulling and tugging, trying not to break anything, I finally decided that this ain't right! So I got my glasses and my 1,000,000 candle power flashlight and crawled up under the bow deck for the umpteenth time and found a snap ring holding everything together. Removed it, gave the back of the shaft a couple sharp taps with a metal bar and hammer and everything popped apart.

You can see why I put what I did in my signature!

Now I can move on to working on the transom.

 

[wademcarthur]

Re: OK-What's the trick? -- Steering

I ran across this post this morning because I was having trouble with the wheel on an older bayliner center console.

The hammer worked like a charm, thanks guys.

Now to the boat shop to get a quote on replacing the deck.