Steering wheel probs

[deg61]

Hi all new to the mr2 world ,great site

Anyway tried today to take my steering wheel off must have spent a good 4 hours before i gave up.(sore arms)

Is there a trick to it?

[JDM-MAT]

Just keep pulling, try lifting the steering wheel as you pull. put the nut back on a few threads or you will end up smashing your self in the face.

[deg61]

Its is only the nut that holds it on? pulled wiggled even tried a crow bar but just broke a piece of plastic off my steering coloum.

[JDM-MAT]

Yeah its very hard to get off. You just need to keep pulling. Take the nut off then put it back on a few threads or you will end up with a broken nose.

[cvega666]

wd40 might help, mine came off very easy, but as JDM-MAT says - DONT take the nut off completely, otherwise you will take the wheel off along with some bones in your face.

[JDM-MAT]

It different from car to car, my skyline took a hell of a lot of effort and attempts to come off but my mr2 didn't seam to take as much effort. It will come off you just need to be the hulk at times.

[Slarty]

I often find that it needs a "shock" to get the tapered spline to release. And by shock I don't mean telling it that the Pope is gay

With the nut left on a few turns as others have said, put your hands about 3-4 inches away from the back of the wheel and bang on the back of the wheel/spokes. It "should" pop free.

Failing that you can make a tool up to remove them consisting of a piece of flat metal bar, drilled at either end to fit into the threads you'll find on the steering wheel and the drill & tap a thread in the middle of the bar. Wind a bolt down the center hole and it'll jack the wheel off of the splined shaft.

[JDM-MAT]

[quote="Slarty"]I often find that it needs a "shock" to get the tapered spline to release. And by shock I don't mean telling it that the Pope is gay






Haha that made me giggle

[fearless]

i know on some fords you had to have key in the ignition and key turned to first click to remove steering wheels, as steering lock would hold it on just a thought ive never removed a steering wheel from an mr2 so cant really comment but just a thought.

[cvega666]

nah, you dont need that. Just "gentle" pulling (although a good jolt will just do it). Key in ignition wont change anything.

[ancient mariner]

try putting the nut back on,
get a socket that fits on the nut without going over the flat sides,
give the socket a sharp blow with a mallet.
this method has worked for me numerous times.
as allready said,its the shock that does it . paul.

[deg61]

Will tackle it tomorrow with all the tips from you guys cheers

[fearless]

ive done the steering wheel in the face before not nice at all, a lovely cut nose and a nearly black eye, i done it in a scrap yard as i found a quite rare steering wheel as a youngster and really wanted it a 3 spoke ford rs wheel it was and was in good condition, i used a wheel brace as didnt have a socket and ratcket at the time things you do when your desperate but was worth it as i got it quite cheap as owner didnt know its value, would be worth a fortune these days.

[deg61]

Its off

Finally damn it was hard. Worst thing is i had to put it back on as i couldnt work out the horn lol

I will take soon pics soon to see if anyone can point me in the right direction

[cvega666]

i spent half an hour honking like crazy because i got the cable on the button in reverse order. Was funny, my neighbors came up to me asking if I was ok lol

[deg61]

Ha had that prob b4 an my rs turbo, horn went every time a turned a corner

[RST]

If it's not coming free don't continue to wrench otherwise you'll do yourself potentially and the steering rack some harm! You should be using a puller, You screw the 2 bolts into the tapped holes in the original wheel frame (the ones either side of the centre nut) then undo the centre nut (or just remove it) and screw down on the centre puller bolt with a ratchet or spanner which'll locate in the little dimple in the middle of the steering column shaft.

Having had neck and shoulder problems after following internet how to's I bought a puller (borrow one if you don't want to buy) and I haven't had any problems removing wheels using it since then.

(I think my puller is a laser line kit, think it's a bearing separator / puller but for steering wheels I don't use the bearing clamp parts and just screw the bolts into the wheel frame. I found the ends of my 3 legged pulley pullers won't fit around the back of the wheel frame)