Steering Wheel Stuck, Need Help

sonrider657

Registered User
I'm trying to remove the steering wheel on my 97 Mark VIII. It is on crazy tight. Using a wheel puller I completely stripped the both bolt holes, retapped them a size bigger and stripped them too. Now the bolt holes are worthless. Any ideas on how to get this steering wheel off?
 
that's pretty odd..i've never had bolts strip. In junk yard situations when I don't have a puller I reinstall the center bolt about 2- 3 turns and maneuver my knee under the wheel to create a pulling effect on the wheel (or have someone pull up on the wheel) and give a solid whack dead center to the bolt/ shaft with a medium sized hammer...with the shock and pulling force it pops off. that's not the ideal way to do it for obvious reasons but looks like your options are getting slim. try some WD-40 too..good luck
 
Thanks. I tried that today. It won't budge. I think someone put some loctite or something in the spline. This thing is TIGHT. I also tried heating it up with a heat gun to no avail (don't want to risk using a torch).

All suggestions appreciated. I really don't want to have to cut it off and find a new (used) steering wheel.
 
You don't seem to be the first to end up sacrificing the holes for the puller bolts.

I would have put it under stress w/the puller, soaked it w/WD-40 etc. and let it sit over nite, even putting a load on it from below, but too late for that now, so...

Maybe you can find someone to weld aluminum so you can add something to the wheel face and get another bite on it...liable to be messy, tho. If you do that, try drilling some stress-relieve holes next to the shaft, then add some penetrant, then heat. You could try heat/cold shocking it...use that lock freeze spray in a can on the shaft. Anything to encourage the two metals to de-couple.

You might be faced with removing the column from the car. See https://www.lincolnvscadillac.com/f...he-lincoln-mark-viii-tilt-steering-column.21/

Probably would involve destroying the steering wheel, at a minimum.

Might be easier at this point to find another column and swap it for your old one. You just need the upper section. That might also fix whatever the reason was for pulling the wheel in the first place. If you get another one, be sure you can remove the steering wheel from it before you put it in.

Good luck.

Ken
 
As I recall, you can sneak a 2 jaw puller in there... Tighten the main screw until it is firmly seated, then gently tap the end of it with a hammer 8-12 times... then tighten it a little more, and then tap it again, and tighten it a little more, and repeat, and repeat, and repeat. It should work its way off.
 
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