Removal of stock steering wheel - hints?

[Malibyte]

Hey all -

I got another Nardi wheel for the red car, so will be swapping the one that's now in the red car into the blue one. I have the adapter and necessary hardware, and a TSRM....so I'm simply requesting any hints or tips that you can offer to make the job easier. Since the stock wheel has been in place since birth, I'm sure it's not going to be all that easy to pull.

TIA -- Bob

[CELICA GTS]

Bob
you mean just pulling it off without the "puller" that the TSRM asks for?...all I did was wiggle and tug it at the same time and it came off without much adu HTH

[ZZT231]

Always remember to loosen the nut but not take it off completely, grab hold of the wheel and pull it towards yourself with a bit of wiggle movement, it should come off and having the nut loose would not make the wheel release and make yourself slam into the back of the chair.

Good luck.

Cheers.

[Phoenix]

Mine was on the car since birth too? I followed the exact procedure and it worked nice :D 8) Except that mine was really stuck on there so I had to whack it a good few times to loosen it up. :wink:

[dogstar]

Always remember to loosen the nut but not take it off completely, grab hold of the wheel and pull it towards yourself with a bit of wiggle movement, it should come off and having the nut loose would not make the wheel release and make yourself slam into the back of the chair.

Good luck.

Cheers.

bwaaahahahahaha or hitting yourself in the face :oops:
lol, the voice of experience there... it hurts, dont do it.

ive learned the ultimate method of removing steering wheels... make glenn do it :D hahahhahah

[SupraWes]

Lean into it so its touching your chest. Then wrap your arms around the backside and rock back and forth and pull and it should pop off and you wont hit yourself with it that way.

[rsdeo]

I always use a puller. The same one I use to pull harmonic balancers off cranks. Easiest and safest way without damaging anything.

I'm so surprised that not many people have this tool. It doesn't cost much and works so well.

[Aktunka]

You are playing with fire if you do not use a puller. Save yourself the hassle that I had and just borrow one from the local parts store or rent one if you don't have one. Here is my story and a good example of why you should do it right...

In my 84 Celica GTS I was trying to swap the steering wheel. I pulled all the bolts off and stuff, but the steering wheel wouldn't just pop off. I tried loosening it up with a rubber mallet but still no dice. Then it just seemed like a matter of applying enough force to get it pulled off of there. Well, I scooted the seat up and braced my feet on the floor, got a good solid hold on the wheel, and used my legs to apply the pressure. For a moment nothing happened, then I could feel some slight movement and figured "Yes, it's working!". Then, all of a sudden, the wheel and I go flying backwards. I figured I was done until I noticed that the wheel was still connected. I was thinking to myself "WTF?". The wheel was still connected to the car but was just flopping around. Well, I limped it into the dealership and had them look at it, and what happened was this. I pulled on the wheel so hard that it actually sheared the pins off on the collapsable steering column. That collapsible steering column is a safety feature so that you are less likely to be impaled in the case of an accident. Anyhow, that was a spending thing, and back in 1991, it was a LOT easier to find the parts than it is now.

So, my advice, borrow or rent a puller. It could save you a ton of hassle and money.

[Phoenix]

You are playing with fire if you do not use a puller. Save yourself the hassle that I had and just borrow one from the local parts store or rent one if you don't have one. Here is my story and a good example of why you should do it right...

In my 84 Celica GTS I was trying to swap the steering wheel. I pulled all the bolts off and stuff, but the steering wheel wouldn't just pop off. I tried loosening it up with a rubber mallet but still no dice. Then it just seemed like a matter of applying enough force to get it pulled off of there. Well, I scooted the seat up and braced my feet on the floor, got a good solid hold on the wheel, and used my legs to apply the pressure. For a moment nothing happened, then I could feel some slight movement and figured "Yes, it's working!". Then, all of a sudden, the wheel and I go flying backwards. I figured I was done until I noticed that the wheel was still connected. I was thinking to myself "WTF?". The wheel was still connected to the car but was just flopping around. Well, I limped it into the dealership and had them look at it, and what happened was this. I pulled on the wheel so hard that it actually sheared the pins off on the collapsable steering column. That collapsible steering column is a safety feature so that you are less likely to be impaled in the case of an accident. Anyhow, that was a spending thing, and back in 1991, it was a LOT easier to find the parts than it is now.

So, my advice, borrow or rent a puller. It could save you a ton of hassle and money.

LOL talk about not knowing your own strencth.

Thats why it's good idea to hit it successively on the ring in a triangular pattern to loosen it up. :wink:

[Phoenix]

I always use a puller. The same one I use to pull harmonic balancers off cranks. Easiest and safest way without damaging anything.

I'm so surprised that not many people have this tool. It doesn't cost much and works so well.

Yeah the puller tool for the harmonic balancer makes sense. There's no way I'm removing that thing again without one.

But for the steering wheel it's big time overkill. Unless you have hulklike superhuman strenght lik Aktunka :lol:

[CJSREDPRA]

<----- Has removed 8 factory steering wheels, 5 of them were stuck on there pretty tight.

Sorry, but for our MKII's, a steering wheel puller IS overkill. The wiggle & pull method works just fine. Using the "plain pull w/ brute strength" method is what's going to kill you. I just recently swapped out the original factory steering wheel on the Redpra w/ a spare that I found a in a junkyard. Had no issues w/ getting it off w/ the wiggle/pull method.

[Digilog]

Kingsoup and I recently pulled my 20yr old wheel off just with a few quick bangs of the fist and one quick yank.

I replaced it with an 89 Celica GT-S wheel, what a differnce, free upgrade, just my turn signals don't shut of automatically, have to rig something up for that yet.

Oh we also used the same method to remove the wheel from the 89 Celica.

Carl

[super7]

Save yourself the trouble and go to your auto parts store and grab a steering wheel puller, it only takes 2 seconds till you hear that wonderful sound "SNAP!!" then it's off easily.

If you're one of those frugal folks just buy it and then return it after use.

[rsdeo]

You know one of the things that seperates humans from almost all animals? We know how to use tools. Not using the right tool for the job is asking for trouble and you won't believe how easy it is with the tool. You also save so much time.

I pride myself on having most of the tools I need at home and at work to get jobs done. Pull and strain as hard as you want, I'll save that for the gym.

[Junkie]

I have the tool and NEVER use it.Go ahead and use one if you like,but by the time you have the tool out of the box,I'll have the steering wheel in my hands.Wiggle and pull.The only time I use the puller is on ancient USDM shit that rusted on cause it's from 1976 or older. :wink:

<----2 full size roll away's,basicaly full,and I use less than 10% of whats in them on a regular basis.

[StanS]

depends on the car. 1 mk2 wheel pops off easily but on the other one i must have puller.

[bracham]

So far I've only just pulled them steering wheels off by hand. Wiggle and pull works just fine, although that steering wheel does come towards your face really fast the odd time! Personally I've found that if I'm having to pull so hard that it'd hit me in the face, just wiggle more and it comes easy.

[trdmkii]

well to keep it from hitting your face, just thread the bolt back on, i've found thats the easiest way, i've never had a problem with any toyota, but i've never taken a wheel off another car.

[Phoenix]

So far I've only just pulled them steering wheels off by hand. Wiggle and pull works just fine, although that steering wheel does come towards your face really fast the odd time! Personally I've found that if I'm having to pull so hard that it'd hit me in the face, just wiggle more and it comes easy.

Exactly! :D 8)

[Phoenix]

well to keep it from hitting your face, just thread the bolt back on, i've found thats the easiest way, i've never had a problem with any toyota, but i've never taken a wheel off another car.

I used the nut too. I heard about it here. It turned out it wasn't necessary in my case. I used a technique posted by someone here, whearby I'd hit the wheel three times in a triangular pattern. Then pull. And repeat untill wheel moves. Mine was stuck on real good and I had to whack it quite a few times. But with that method it came of smoothly and surely, if a little slowly. I did know about the danger of the wheel coming up real fast and knocking your teeth in. So I was cautious and that probably affected the outcome. I still leave the nut on as a precaution when I remove steering wheels. Certainly doesn't hurt. 8)

[dogstar]

i also do it a little differently in the junkyard... stand beside the car and beast it off... works like a charm, and frequently get the added entertainment of nearly throwing the wheel across the yard.

[jjbenzo]

How hard was it for any of you to loosen the steering wheel nut? I cant seem to get it loose. Almost looks like its welded on (I know its not though). Any tips? Thanks in advance.

[supkar]

GEEEZ you guys....you put big $$$$ into your rides and some of you actually don't own a puller? I bought one at Winchester Auto for $16 . Sixteen lousy bucks!
Next time I go the the same store I see one in the $9.99 bin. OUCH!

Just buy itl. It's a must have for HB'S and steering wheels and it is so cheap.

[jjbenzo]

There are two types of pullers. What kind does are car take? I dont want to have to buy both. One is for a locking wheel...something like this. Have many ppl been having trouble getting the steering wheel nut loose at all?

[one2spooku]

Never needed puller. had to replace almost everything on my collum and never needed a puller. Simply Break Nut then rock wheel. it comes right off.
Aquiring the tool is a waste of time. now i will say that for the HB i will never do manually again. Screw that, but steering wheel isnt pressed on at 167 foot pounds. if i can get HB with out tool, Steering wheel should be easy.
will take you more time to go drive and buy then to just simply rock off.



Just my opinion.
If i was Disgusting rich i would still be too impatient to wait for that tool.

[BuddyJ]

Never had problems getting the nut off. A deep socket with a 12" breaker bar took care of everything. Just gotta put some power behind it. Steering wheel removal on our cars isn't a big deal.

[jjbenzo]

Thanks for the help. My socket set only goes up to 16 I believe...so I need ot go buy bigger sockets to get the nut off.

[BuddyJ]

Sounds like a good excuse to buy more tools. While you're at it, consider an impact wrench and a good set of big metric impact sockets ;) They make working on the Supra so much easier.