steering wheel removal nut

[240]

what size nut hold the steering wheel in place? my wheel is off to the right by about half inch and its annoying me as i keep wanting to put it staright and then veer off to the left!!

thanks

[Antz]

I think it might be a 27mm. Just remember when you undo it to leave the nut on a couple of turns when you give the steering wheel a tug because its on really tight and if you give it a good tug you could end up with a face full of steering wheel.

eave the nut on a couple of turns and you will keep all your teeth in place

[stephend]

If the steering wheel has never been removed before, then the reason it's misaligned is because the track rods have been adjusted to be different lengths. The tracking might be "correct" (i.e. showing the correct toe) - but it would be better to have a good wheel alignment place adjust the track rods correctly than to reposition the steering wheel.

[loki_the_glt]

Originally Posted by Antz

I think it might be a 27mm. Just remember when you undo it to leave the nut on a couple of turns when you give the steering wheel a tug because its on really tight and if you give it a good tug you could end up with a face full of steering wheel.

eave the nut on a couple of turns and you will keep all your teeth in place

It is a 27mm, but you'll need a deep socket to be safe. Most standard depth ones will only just grip the nut and you won't get enough purchase to release the nut. Make sure that you've got a decent breaker bar and extension for the job too.

[Clifford Pope]

Almost certainly it's poor steering track rod adjustment not the steering wheel.
If you move the wheel you will mess up the steering., and you won't get the proper lock on each turn.

Set the wheel in the proper straight ahead position, and note whether the front wheels point left or right.
Then loosen each track rod and turn them both by the same amount in the same direction - ie shift both wheels a bit left or right, but without changing the overall tracking.

Start with half a turn and see what effect it has.






If you really want to take the steering wheel off you may get away with an ordinary socket if you put the socket on the nut and then only partly insert the square bar. The projecting end of the column has a smaller diameter and some sockets have more space inside than others, so the end of the column might with luck fit if the socket bar is not clicked home.
I've always managed with an ordinary "lucky" socket.

Leave the nut in place but loose, with the wheel set properly square. Brace your knees against the back of the wheel and pull it hard towards you while hitting the end of the shaft straight on with a heavy hammer.

When the wheel is free, check that it is still straight, then remove the nut, and carefully lift the wheel clear and reposition as required. It is very easy to lose track of where you started if you have allowed the column to turn while withdrawing the wheel.

[Stephen Edwin]

OK so it is a 27mm nut and one might manage with a shorter socket and one really must protect one's face from a steering wheel attack ... &c. Thanks. I have read that and it helps. I am me and I always have questions.

• Some manuals suggest one needs a thin wall deep socket. Is a bog standard Draper hex deep impact socket OK for this?
  
  
• How does one remove the pad that covers the nut, from early large type and from later small steering wheels, to get at the nut? Do the pads simply prise orf? From what direction is best? Are there clips to ease aside or that might get broke? Are there screws to be un-screwed?
  
  
• Are there springs or wotsits to look out for, as one manual suggests?
  
  
• I'm hoping that keeping the steering lined up when changing the steering wheel is not an issue.
  

P.S. I want to see the instruments ... so I'm buying a larger early type steering wheel ...

Stephen

[heckflosse]

A normal deep socket is fine.
The pad pops off- no need to undo anything with tools.
Early one have a small cover over the centre-prise it out with something smooth and blunt.
Later ones are on sprung contacts. A judicious tug will shift them.

Undo the nut most off the way then wiggle the wheel vigorously from side to side to loosen it on the splines.
If it chins you, you can see why leaving the nut on makes sense!

As for alignment, dob the spline with felt marker pen or paint?
I have seen technicians drive up the road and reposition the wheel at the same time. Not clever.

It's not too difficult really.
Have fun!
James.

[classicswede]

Never had a problem with using a impact type socket on them.

The cover does pull off with your fingers, the springs normally stay stuck to the pad.


You might have fitting problems if you try and fit any early dash wheel to a late dash car

[Stephen Edwin]

Fitting problems???

In particular, please ...

[Clifford Pope]

Have you checked the tracking and the individual wheel alignment? I cannot repeat too much that you must do this before deciding to move the wheel on its splines. The rack has a finite movement. If you merely correct the centre point by shifting the wheel then you risk running out of rack in one direction, and ending up with a poor lock one way and risk straining it in the other.
Also the self-cancelling trigger is on the column, not the steering wheel, so you risk putting that out of centre.

Wheels don't shift splines by themselves - someone has adjusted something else to put it off-centre, and you need to find out what that was.

Problems on re-assembly? Not all wheels have the same ridge profile at the bottom of the splines, so do not tighten in exactly the same position. An early wheel has a slight taper, the later ones I think are flat.
This doen't matter except that it moves the position of the horn contact pin, and you may get a poor horn sound. If so you need to adjust the depth of protrusion of the spring-loaded sheeve, with a suitable washer.
Just saying, because I spent a long time looking for a poor horn contact somewhere, until i realised it was in the steering wheel.