removing steering wheel

[Tony S,Fl.]

1931 Coupe. Has anyone removed a steering wheel without taking the steering unit out of the car ?. I did it once many years ago but don't remember how. Tony

[pat in Santa Cruz]

If the wheel is not too tight, you can get it off easily. Remove the horn rod. Loosen the steering wheel nut so its flush with the top of the threads. Pull on the steering wheel while striking the nut with a hammer. If the wheel is loose, this will get it loose enough to remove. Do not strike so hard you ruin the threaded portion of the column. It is delicate. If the wheel is not free enough to do it this way, use a steering wheel puller with liberal amounts of good penetrating oil, and often time, as in let it soak a day or two.. You can get one from most A suppliers. You do not have to remove the column from the car.

[Joe K]

A knock off rear hub puller fits the center thread of the steering column. Care on this though as unlike the rear axle, the steering thread does not totally fill and be reinforced by the knock off puller. Still better than hitting on the thin nut or directly on the threads.

A plywood piece with a notch in it can be used with a bird foot puller to remove the wheel. Harbor Freight has the bird foot on sale right now for $12.99


Joe K

[Gary WA]

Originally Posted by Tony S,Fl.

1931 Coupe. Has anyone removed a steering wheel without taking the steering unit out of the car ?. I did it once many years ago but don't remember how. Tony

Remove rod/bolt sit in car with knees under steering wheel-hands on the wheel try and rock up/down etc with the pressure of your legs/knees/hands. it works last resort-puller.

[Tony S,Fl.]

GUYS !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This is a coupe the horn button and shaft will not come out without bending it. That's my problem. Thanks anyway. Tony

[Joe K]

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You could try unbolting the column at bottom (where it attaches to the frame) and unbolting it at the top (where it attaches to the yoke on the gas tank) and just letting it drop. There might be enough room to make the pull.

Oh, you may have to pull up the cover plate on the floorboard to give it room to move.

Tight cab though. My 29CC pickup is similar but not so much.

If light switch rod/handle is stuck - the best plan may be to remove the floorboards and finish pulling the column to bring it to the bench.

Good luck,
Joe K

[George Miller]

It is not going to come out with out damage to the horn rod. Why not just take the steering gear out of the car. It is not that big of a job. Then you can, check it out, adjust it.

[green30coupe]

Unbolt from frame and gas tank. Remove rear window (or roll down if you have a roll down rear window) Horn rod can then be removed. But, not too much more to remove the whole thing from the car.

[Growley bear]

Originally Posted by Tony S,Fl.

GUYS !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This is a coupe the horn button and shaft will not come out without bending it. That's my problem. Thanks anyway. Tony

On my coupe I have a roll up rear window which allows the horn rod to be removed. I remove tension from gear box to frame bolts and remove the column support clamp to position the horn rod toward the open window. Works well, just time consuming. If you don't have a roll up rear window then the glass can be removed. It IS a process though. Good luck.

Chet

[Quigley1930]

I just took the column out of my coupe and had to remove the starter, clutch and brake pedal. Took a little over an hour.

Sewall Tyler

[pat in Santa Cruz]

Originally Posted by Tony S,Fl.

GUYS !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This is a coupe the horn button and shaft will not come out without bending it. That's my problem. Thanks anyway. Tony

whoops. Sorry, did not get that the first time. Pull the steering. Its not that tough.