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MG MGA - new steering wheel

I just received my new steering wheel. My husband is looking at it thinking he might need to rent a steering wheel puller. I checked with Moss Motors and they only show a puller for MGBs and MGCs. Has anyone changed their steering wheel? Did you need a special tool?

This may seem crazy, but when I had my first MGA (in 1967 and I was 16) the steering wheel came off in my hands as I was driving. Given that it's held in place by a big nut I can't imagine it would take a special tool to get the old steering wheel off. It came off awfully easy to me!

Any help out there?
Jacqueline Peabody

Jacqueline, remove the center MG it will pop up use a thin object to lif with (evenly)and remove the large NUT from the steering shaft, you may need to leave the nut in place after loosening it and usr a plastic hammer and pull on the outer of the s-wheel and hit the center until it comes loose.
hope this will help: Cliff(SC) 57coupe

Jones

Thanks for your suggestions. The steering wheel is on pretty securely. We've put a lubricant on to try and break through the rust. We're going to give it overnight to work. It looks as though this is the first time in 50 years that anyone has looked below the emblem. Just needs a bit of time to work- and a bigger socket wrench than we currently have. A trip to Sears in in the works too.
Jacqueline Peabody

Jacqueline,

I just replaced the upper part of my steering shaft because the DPO had drilled a diagonal hole through the steering wheel nut and shaft. I am not sure why, but the end result was that the end of the shaft was stripped (see photo). Thankfully the steering wheel did not come off as you experienced.

Getting back to your issue of removing the steering wheel. The nut is 1 5/16”, and will be hard to find that size in a ½” drive. My solution was a 34 mm deep impact socket (1/2” drive) from e-Bay. The 34 mm socket is just a tad larger than the 1 5/16”.

The nut should only be torqued to 500 inch lbs, or about 40 foot lbs. So once you have the correct socket it should be relatively easy to break the nut free. The steering wheel itself is a tapper fit on the steering wheel shaft. If you are lucky and the existing steering wheel can handle it, try rocking the rim back and forth. Otherwise It may take some blows with a rubber mallet to get the steering wheel hub to loosen. Try alternating blows from each side.

Good luck, John


jjb Backman

I purchased a 1 5/16" socket with 3/4" drive and a 1/2"-to-3/4" adapter for the job. Worked great. After I had fitted a new steering wheel, I decided to remove it to install a new telescoping spring and found that the new wheel didn't want to come off. As the new wheel was expensive, I didn't want to pull or bang on it too hard, so I applied some penetrating oil and wrapped a wet hot towel around the base of the wheel to heat it and expand it relative to the shaft. The wheel the came right off. When I re-installed it I lubricated the mating surfaces with Permatex Anti-Seize compound 133AR to help prevent corrosion between the steel shaft and aluminum hub.
Steve K

Jaqueline

If its an adjustable column, you can remove the wheel and top part of the shaft from the car quite easily.

loosen the clamp at the top of the column(remove the bolt completely, plus remove the spring, and rotate the clamp and you will see a small slot with a woodruff key. Remove the key, and you can then withdraw the wheel and short top shaft.

Now you can take the wheel and top shaft to anywhere that has a press, or alternatively place the shaft between the jaws of a vice (DO NOT CLAMP IT), loosen the steering nut a couple of complete turns so that the top of the shaft is protected. Put a piece of material over the nut (something like a square of kitchen chopping board (even the plastic ones) and use a HEAVY hammer lightly on the nut, and the shaft wil come free
dominic clancy

A version of the hammer technique described by Dominic may be seen being practiced by John Swift of University Motors on YouTube. The link to the video is http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=lwf2BDC5DMo
Steve K

OK - my method with adjustable steering columns, once the nut is off:- Slack off the clamp; get your attractive assistant to pull the wheel steadily towards him (by the hub), and tap the end of the column.

Oh, I forgot to say put the nut back on a couple of turns first, to avoid the attractive assistant getting the steering wheel in the teeth.
Nick

Years ago, when I had to remove the steering wheel on my MGB, I just loosened the nut a couple turns (*not* removing it) and drove the car around for a few days. The wheel finally loosened up so I could pull it off.
David Breneman

To Steve, my husband bought the socket and adapter as you describe. Bloody wheel still does not want to come off and this is after it was left to sit overnight with a penetrating lubricant. Hmmmmmmmm, seems like Diana (that's my car's name)doesn't want to give up the old steering wheel. I couldn't find a wheel puller anywhere for an A, lots of advertisements for pullers for Bs and Cs, just not As. I guess they're supposed to come off more easily than the more recent models. I think it's just going to be a question of penetrating oil, a little heat and a lot of body strength to get the wheel off.

I'll check out John Twist's example of how to remove a steering wheel. Thanks everyone for all the suggestions.
Jacqueline Peabody

Jacquelin,
The suggestions here are all very good, and you should be successful in due course. However, be careful when removing this original steering whheel - good ones are hard to find as they have a tendency to crack around the outside rim, or have broken "spokes". So a good used original wheel is worth a few "bob", and you might want to offer it up on e-bay, once the blighter has been shifted.
Regards, Peter.
P.S. Diana is a beauty.
P. Tilbury

There's a small circle above the word "Shelley" and inside the circle is the letters BS, I think, it's so small and hard for me to see.

Jacqueline Peabody

I know how expensive new steering wheels are-I bought one! It's just like the original one. The steering wheel currently in the car has cracks at every junction of the 4 metal sections meeting the round black wheel proper.
Jacqueline Peabody

I made a split plate that I could fit under the steering wheel and then used a puller attached to the plate. It's much like a bearing puller support plate, it has a hole in the center that fits around the steering column and threaded holes for my puller to attach to. You put the two pieces of the plate under the steering wheel and around the column and bolt it together tightly. Then you can pull on the plate which in turn pulls on the underside of the steering wheel.
Ed Bell

Jacqueline

What are you using as a lubricant/penetrating oil? From many previous threads PB Blaster and Kroil appear to work far better than most other options.

Suggest using one of these two (daily applications) and follow David's suggestion. Should come off cleanly.

FWIW

Larry
58A
Larry Hallanger

What a timely request. My steering wheel was stuck fast.
I tried several of the pull and bang attempts.
But I think Nick's idea is the best.
I pulled out the key, removed the wheel, replaced the nut, but not all the way. Put the wheel of something to support it near the hub. Banged a few times with a wooden mallet.
Worked like a charm. Thanks Nick.
Jonathan
jonathan eagle

Excuse me. That actually was Dominic's idea.
It only took a few minutes, too.
thank you Dominic.
Jonathan
jonathan eagle

Dominic, Any tips on how to get the key out ?
Mine seems to be jammed in.
David
D C GRAHAME

David,
I used the fine point of an exacto knife to "tip" it up. I then just grabbed it with some needle nose pliers.
Now I suppose yours could be really jammed in there.
So this may not help.
Jonathan
jonathan eagle

If the key is really rusted in place, then a punch and a heavy hammer usually seems to to the trick. As David says, the trick is to tip it (it's semicircular) so that you can grab it with something.
dominic clancy

Sorry, it's not semicircular, it's a small slug of metal (in my car it's actually a stub of a 1/4" bolt), so if you can get the stering colum to slide, it's just being held in place by the outer column, you need to get something underneath it (a scribe or pick of some sort) and just lever it out.
dominic clancy

This thread was discussed between 22/09/2007 and 30/09/2007

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