All,

I have had my steering wheel on the column ever since I bought new and I must admit I have never removed it. It came mounted on the column and I fitted it with the wheel on. How do I go on about removing it?


Description


Once its removed I would like to replace it with something a little nicer and more classy. The current one flexes when I haul on during slow manoeuvres. Is there a specific bolt pattern I need?

Cheers all

Pop out the horn push, undo the nut underneath part of the way and pull the wheel loose; then remove the nut and pull the wheel the rest of the way.

It may be very tight in the first place and leaving the nut on but loose stops you being hit in the face as the wheel comes free.

You'll find that the shaft is hexagonal or splined underneath and you'll need to buy both a wheel and the correct adaptor for it.

looking at it, it is more likely to be a large(ish) Torx bolt than a nut. AND the other thing you WILL (probably/most likely) have to do BEFORE trying to pull the wheel off (without twonking your self in the face) is put the key in the ignition and turn it to release steering lock (as this engages into a recessed stepped ring in the wheel hub).

Tbh I'd keep it... it's a damn site safer than many aftermarket designs and imo looks perfectly fine. Having personally turned a wooden steering wheel into a warped banana in a crash, stiff steering wheels are a bad idea.

Seems that being boshed in the face is a common problem. Does the horn push just lever off then?

I am a bit nervous of changing it as in a crash it would probably be the best option. But it feels horrible, it looks horrible IMHO and it flexes really bad.

Whatever you do, make sure whatever you replace it with is a quality wheel. Avoid anything that is a copy etc.
Proper OMP, Momo, Motalita etc are great quality. Heard bad things about the recent Mountney wheels (like the rim breaking away from the spokes when turning a corner, luckily slowly. Nearly new wheel, chap declined a replacement and got a refund)

Watch out though, loads of stuff on ebay has OMP labels etc on them, but are fake.

Back to removal. If the wheel is stuck and not wanting to move on the shaft, my technique is to (1) undo teh nut so it is flush, or slightly proud on teh shaft. (2) use a knee and one hand to pull wheel firmly towards you . (3) smack the nut with a hammer.
Not failed me yet.

If you are going to replace your wheel and this is going spare I would happily take it off your hands as I need a Sierra wheel for my IVA test.

To remove the wheel start by putting the steering in the straight ahead position, remove the center cap or horn push , slacken off the securing bolt or nut , release the steering lock then give the end of the bolt a tap whilst pulling the wheel towards you , when loose remove bolt and steering wheel

Here's a photo of a Sierra steering column with the steering wheel removed.



On my car I wired the horn to a different switch. If your steering wheel centre push is still the horn you'll need to re-wire the horn to another switch.