Steering Wheel Replacement

[Jeff S]

I am replacing my stock steering wheel with a 22" wheel. Additionally I am replacing the now stiff rack and steering cable.

I have a steering wheel puller and a lock plate puller, but the Mac wheel looks different and I don't see any holes to put the steering wheel puller bolts into. What did others do here to remove their wheels? Is there some special tool that works on Macs? I suppose I could just angle grind the whole thing off, but I would like to keep the wheel and cable intact if possible.

Any suggestions, tips, experiences would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Jeff S

[Moe]

I use a Craftsman two-arm gear puller, PN 46905, with the ends of the arms under the outside of the hub.

--
Moe

[vatalon]

Jeff,

I did not need any special tools to remove my wheel (also a 22 inch). Contact me off-list and I''ll e-mail you all the pictures I took of the procedure. [email protected]

[Catigale]

Jeff - have you tried backing the nut off, leaving it on the head of the shaft, then 'light tapping' with a mallet or small hammer to loosen the Key?

Then wiggle on the wheel with two hands...

worked for me, no tools.

Blue wheels spin faster??

[Jeff S]

Ok, I got it off. Thanks to all. The shaft was corroded, including the "key" portion. A little PB, a Tap with a mallet, some wiggling and it came off. A little different than car steering wheels for sure, didn't want to break anything.

Now...Cutting the hole- I will have to buy a hole saw- the Pedestal is pretty thick at the wheel with balsa. My little jig saw wasn't doing so well. I did route the Teleflex 10' steering cable- now I think the 9' would have been easier for tidiness underneath.

Jeff S

[tidalwave]

I tried putting my RayMarine ST4000 autopilot on my factory 15 inch
wheel...so little room for my fingers that I can only grip the outer rim.
I tried different mock-ups of wheel diameters (used circular cardboard cut-outs)...I felt that 20-22 inches was too much wheel to walk around...
So I ordered an 18 inch...

Removal of the factory wheel was really tough...ended up using quite a large three prong 'pulley puller' to break it loose (I had to drill a small
dimple on the outer end of the center 3/4 taper to keep the puller
from sliding sideways. After slow cranking the wheel came off.

I don't want to go through that again!

Would it be okay to coat the taper with anti-seize compound, to keep
the metal-to-metal contact from being so tight...
Or is the metal contact important to keep the taper tight to the wheel?

[kmclemore]

Would it be okay to coat the taper with anti-seize compound, to keep the metal-to-metal contact from being so tight... Or is the metal contact important to keep the taper tight to the wheel?

Sure, you can coat it with a light dose of anti-sieze if you like - the woodruff key is what keeps the wheel in place, not the resistance of the shaft on the wheel. Just be sure you don't overtighten the wheel's center nut.