need help removing the steering wheel!

[superzonwer]

hey guys, i need some help on how to remove the steering wheel on my Z

its a 76 280z, and i have no idea on how to take it off.

i need it off to restore my dash :classic:

can anyone help me out here?

please and thankyou

[LeonV]

(1) Remove horn pad

(2) Loosen nut

(3) Remove wheel

All is described in the manual and in countless threads.

[Montezuma]

You might need to get yourself a steering wheel puller. I had to do that to my 78 back in the day....you might be able to get one on loan from Kragen, O'Reilly's or Autozone.

[Zed Head]

I've managed to pull and wiggle two steering wheels off, once I removed the horn button and nut. It did take some effort though.

[Powderkeg]

Remove the fuse to the horn first or disconnect the neg battery cable. This keeps the horn from going off when you remove the horn pad.

Make sure your wheels are pointing straight. Make a note of the position of the steering wheel. This helps to make sure the wheel is positioned properly when you go to put it back on. (You'll know if you get it wrong..it's no big deal though).

Remove the horn pad. Push it in and turn. It should come right off.

Loosen the large nut but don't remove it..it acts as a safety block. You'll understand in the next step.

GENTLY tap the back of the wheel with rubber mallet or with your hands toward you. This is where the nut acts a s a block to keep the steering wheel from attacking you!

OR use a steering wheel puller. If you use this method, you can remove the nut.

Don't worry, this is really easy. You ALMOST can't screw it up. Just be careful with the steering wheel column threads.

Make sure to torque the wheel nut to the proper specs. It's 29-36 ft/lbs for my 76 280Z.

Dave Ruiz

[olzed]

Well i've been trying on and off for years to remove the steering wheel on my 72.I tugged and tugged that sucker and attacked the wheel with a hammer. No Joy. Ive hit the sucker while tugging, and still it won't budge. There does'nt appear to be any way to fit a puller withought doing some damage, so she stays put for now. I am probably lucky it didn't come off because I had taken off the nut. It would have laid me out.

[black gold man]

Try this. Nut on First two threads to protect the threads. Left knee behind bottom of the wheel,left hand top of wheel.

While pulling with hand and knee hit the nut with brass hammer hard.

It should pop off.

[Jetaway]

Well i've been trying on and off for years to remove the steering wheel on my 72.I tugged and tugged that sucker and attacked the wheel with a hammer. No Joy. Ive hit the sucker while tugging, and still it won't budge. There does'nt appear to be any way to fit a puller withought doing some damage, so she stays put for now. I am probably lucky it didn't come off because I had taken off the nut. It would have laid me out.

Assuming that the steering wheels are the same on your and mine 1972, you should be able to find a puller that can hook around to grab the spokes while centering the driver on the column. If not, you could try this less elegant method.

Remove the fascia around the steering column. I recommend also removing the combination switches, if for no other reason that to get the out of harm's way. Get a piece of lumber, a 2*4 or a 2*6 about one foot long. Position the wood as close as possible to the column to catch two of the wheel arms. Somewhat fancier would be to carve out a bit so that the wood catches a bit of the flat lip and the arm. What you are trying to do is have the impact as close as possible to parallel with the steering column. Start with a force that you are sure couldn't possibly loosen the wheel. You'll probably be right but then you can gradually escalate with each round. Take a small sledge (I have a 4 pounder) and using the _underside_ of the sledge head pull the sledge towards you striking the lumber. Do that 2 or 3 times, then move the wood to the other arm and repeat. Give the wheel a tug. If it still doesn't budge, repeat the wood and sledge routine. You want to start gently and escalate force gradually because the one thing you _don't_ want to happen is having a mighty whack dislodging only one side, which in the course of its forward motion will pivot on the stuck side, causing all sorts of havoc on the splines and in the worst case, producing a force-fit made in hell.

Chris

[olzed]

Thanks Chris.A bit like a slide hammer. Mine is a stock plastic/wood wheel..I must have another go as I want to refurb it.I wonder how the guy who started this thread is getting on with his wheel.

Brian.

[Reverend]

Is it really that stuck? Well guess i was lucky then, only a gentle pull and it came off..

[Bonzi Lon]

I had to use a 3-arm wheel puller on mine for the first 5-10mm, really tight, then it slid off. What I should of done was mark, ('Sharpie') the shaft & housing before removing the wheel. After 3 attempts to get the splines right, I'm still 1 spline off.

Bonzi Lon

[Zed Head]

Try this. Nut on First two threads to protect the threads. Left knee behind bottom of the wheel,left hand top of wheel.

While pulling with hand and knee hit the nut with brass hammer hard.

It should pop off.

I like this idea, if it's really stuck good. There's enough slack in the steering shaft linkage that the shot with the hammer will knock the steering shaft down away from the wheel, while you have the wheel pulled up with your knees. Once it breaks the bond from being on there so long it should come off pretty easily. A few hard taps would probably get it done.

If you don't have a brass hammer, using a punch in the center of the shaft or an old bolt, to avoid damaging the threads,would probably work too.

Even using a puller, this is still worth doing. The shock will get it started.