Steering wheel removal tips/tricks?

[Ypsik10]

My truck had a hideous aftermarket wheel on it wen I bought it(79) I removed it and replaced it with a slightly different from stock wheel maybe from an 81-87 truck? Installed it thought it was set perfect but it's way off! As in wen front wheel are strait steering wheel is way off ... I got it on but cannot for the life of me get it back off!! I just keep bending all the steering wheel puller bolts! Wheel won't budge and to make matters worse I snapped one of in the wheel today! Any tips/tricks of getting it back off?

 

[Georgeb]

Can you get the snapped off bolt out first? Then go get some grade 8 or better bolts to use. Tighten up the center puller bolt but not so tight that it bends or starts to pull the bolts off then give the center puller bolt a good sharp smack with a hammer.

Alternatly you can take off the horn cup, thread the wheel nut on until the shaft is flush with the face of it. Pull up hard on the wheel and give the shaft and nut a sharp smack with the hammer.

I prefer the first option but use the second mostly in the salvage yard so I can travel without my puller.

 

[chengny]

Or - if the steering wheel refuses to come off - you could do this procedure to align it with the front wheels:


If you have a 4WD truck and your steering wheel is offset (either CW or CCW) when traveling straight ahead down the road- it can be easily trued up by shortening or extending the effective length of the steering rod connecting link. This link connects the pitman arm to the steering arm and is shown as item 17 below:

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Basically, this is done by turning the adjusting sleeve - shown here:

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The sleeve is threaded onto the male threads of the two connecting rod ends - items 40 & 41 in the dwg (GM calls them "sockets" but they are basically just tie rod ends). I generally do this with a 18" pipe wrench - but that is way overkill. It can be done with a pair of 420 Channnelocks. PBlaster applied the night prior to the job helps considerably.

As you turn the sleeve, the steering wheel will rotate one way or the other. I can't recall which way the wheel moves when the connecting rod is shortened/lengthened. But you're a smart guy, you'll figure it out. This is not a long involved process. The steering wheel indexes a surprisingly large amount in response to even a small change in connecting rod length. I would say a 1/4 - 1/2 turn of the sleeve will true you up. Here is the procedure:


Just glide to a stop with your hands off the steering wheel. Your tires will be pointing straight ahead. Leave the steering wheel unlocked. Climb under the truck and loosen the clamps on the adjusting sleeve.

Then with an assistant watching the steering wheel, slowly turn the sleeve. The wheel will turn (either in the correct direction or not) if it gets worse, turn the sleeve the other way. It only takes about a 1/4 turn to move the wheel spokes about 45 degrees.

BTW - this procedure will have no affect your front end alignment (both tires move in unison) - only the index of the steering wheel will be changed.

 

[Ypsik10]

Or - if the steering wheel refuses to come off - you could do this procedure to align it with the front wheels:


If your steering wheel is offset (either CW or CCW) when traveling straight ahead down the road- it can be easily trued up by shortening or extending the effective length of the steering rod connecting link. This link connects the pitman arm to the steering arm and is shown as item 17 below:

You must be registered for see images attach

Basically, this is done by turning the adjusting sleeve - shown here:

You must be registered for see images attach

The sleeve is threaded onto the male threads of the two connecting rod ends - items 40 & 41 in the dwg (GM calls them "sockets" but they are basically just tie rod ends). I generally do this with a 18" pipe wrench - but that is way overkill. It can be done with a pair of 420 Channnelocks. PBlaster applied the night prior to the job helps considerably.

As you turn the sleeve, the steering wheel will rotate one way or the other. I can't recall which way the wheel moves when the connecting rod is shortened/lengthened. But you're a smart guy, you'll figure it out. This is not a long involved process. The steering wheel indexes a surprisingly large amount in response to even a small change in connecting rod length. I would say a 1/4 - 1/2 turn of the sleeve will true you up. Here is the procedure:


Just glide to a stop with your hands off the steering wheel. Your tires will be pointing straight ahead. Leave the steering wheel unlocked. Climb under the truck and loosen the clamps on the adjusting sleeve.

Then with an assistant watching the steering wheel, slowly turn the sleeve. The wheel will turn (either in the correct direction or not) if it gets worse, turn the sleeve the other way. It only takes about a 1/4 turn to move the wheel spokes about 45 degrees.

BTW - this procedure will have no affect your front end alignment (both tires move in unison) - only the index of the steering wheel will be changed.

Wow never thought of that! I would much rather do this than keep trying to get the wheel off! I'll try sometime this week! Thanks you both for the good info!

 

[Camar068]

yeh takes like 5 minutes to adjust it.