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Another Steering Wheel Question

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stretchit2

stretchit2

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Fellow Healeyites,

I am preparing to get a new interior in my Healey, and a new steering wheel, including getting my Trafficator reconditioned. I therefore want to remove the whole enchilada, including the stator tube and the wires. It appears that the wires go straight through the steering box. I am guessing that once I have disconnected and properly labeled the wires and disconnected the trafficator I can simply pull all this stuff directly through the steering column. To do this to properly do I simply loosen the nut and "olive" on the steering box.

I have a lot of information on the removal of the Trafficator, but not so much on pulling the wires through the steering box. A little help?

Thanks,

Jeff
 
It was a long time ago and someone else did most of the work so all I remember is that you definatly want to tie a line or the new wires to the old ones before you pull the old ones out.
 
Unless you are going to replace the stator tube there is no need to remove it. If you loosen or remove the olive you'll lose the steering box oil. Disconnect the trafficator harness from the main harness at the steering box end and pull it through. The ends of the trafficator harness should be staggered for just this reason. Or, you can release the trafficator from the steering wheel hub and pull it out far enough to unscrew the harness terminals (there should be enough slack at the steering box end). Either way, make a note of the connections before you disconnect.

If you do pull the harness out, you can tape or wrap a length of wire, string or fishing line to the end to use as a fish line to pull the harness back through (though you can always run some wire down the stator).

If you have an adjustable steering wheel and the trafficator rotates much when you turn the wheel then the slot in the stator tube probably has stress cracks at the corners, a common problem. If that's the case you may want to replace the stator tube while you're at it.
 
There's a great article link posted on the other current thread about steering wheels explaining the whole process (minus pulling the stator tube).
rich
 
Bill,

I haven't noticed if the Trafficator rotates much when I turn the wheel, but I do know that if I grab the housing I can easily (with no resistance) rotate it about an 1/8th of a turn, does that help indicate that the Stator Tube needs replacement?

Jeff

P.S. Thanks to all who have replied so promptly.
 
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