Non-adjustable steering wheel removal/adjustment

[BN1L_156424]

Yesterday I tried to replace my non-adjustable steering wheel. According to my shop manual, I just have to remove the trafficator, stator tube, and the large nut. If the wheel is seized on the splines I need a puller to get the wheel off. After I removed everything, my wheel seems like it has a grub screw or something holding the wheel back, as it moves about half an inch on the tube, but then catches on something and wont come out any further. Any ideas?

Also when tightening down the olive nut, is there any way to keep the trafficator centered?

-j

 

[Dave Russell]

Re: Non-adjustable steering wheel removal/adjustme

I had the same problem. The splines in the wheel hub extend below the shaft splines. The bottom of the hub splines was burred so that when the wheel was lifted far enough to engage the shaft splines the burr at the bottom of the hub prevented further travel. Since I didn't care about the wheel I just cut the hub apart. No small job itself.

The factory shop manual shows an elaborate three leg puller & I don't know if something else will work. It's hard to get a solid bearing surface on the back of the wheel

Caution - The upper part of the shaft where the nut goes has much thinner wall thickness & is very easy to bend, thus distorting the threads on the outer diameter. I would machine a "plug" to fit inside the top of the shaft & bear on the thicker smaller diameter of the steering shaft. This plug would allow a puller to bear on the steering shaft without putting pressure on the thin threaded top section.

Pics of the burred hub & the factory puller are attached.
D