pulling steering wheel

[cbford]

What other creative methods have you guys used to remove steering wheel?

I have tried:
- standard puller (broke the puller body at edge of center press bolt)
- second standard puller, Matco brand (broke 2 pull bolts in 2 tries)
- third try with Matco puller - drilled and tapped 2 more holes in outer ring to have 4 puller bolts. Rounded off hex on end of press bolt using a 1/2 inch breaker bar with impact socket.
- hit end of press bolt while under load with BFH, really hard, several times.
- worked on end of press bolt, and perimeter ring of steering wheel with air hammer while puller under load

I got nothing, it wont budge.
I thought about heat, but don't want to melt the plastic stuff in the column.

Any other ideas?
Thanks

 

[IAFFCJ]

Soak it with your choice of penetrating fluid for a day or 2 reapply often.

 

[CJ7Pilot]

At this point, you might have to apply heat.

Have you soaked the splines overnight with PB Blaster (or something similar)?

If so, I'd try putting plenty of tension on it with a puller, and slowly heat things up until it comes loose.

You took the nut off, right...?

 

[jammer1]

If you don't want to try heat. First try soaking it like said above. At same time hook up the puller and put tension on it. Not enough to break anything, enough so that if it starts to loosen it will start pulling. If done a night, come back in morning and try to tighten a little more. Also make sure you have the bolts evenly spaced so it pulls straight off, not pulling more on one side than the other (which would wedge it tighter to the shaft).

 

[certifiablejeep]

Just to be clear, you removed the nut first, right?
If that is off and all the methods don't work, I have hit it with a hammer to shock it... larger diameter socket over the threads onto the column... yes you are hitting it the wrong way, but if it is rusty build up, it will crack it.

cb

 

[cbford]

I won?

Well, I got it off.

What worked: Penetrating oil. Put the second wheel puller on, again, the one where you already turned the press bolt so hard you rounded the hex corners off the drive end. Spray the joint with penetrating oil some more. Put the 14inch pipe wrench on the press bolt and turn it so tight that you snap the jaw off the pipe wrench. More penetrating oil. Then, heat the wheel with a combination of anger and the torch until everything around it is smoking and it reads 400F on infrared thermometer. Then, hit the press bolt on the puller - really, really, really hard with a 18oz ballpeen about 5 times. Be sure to use the right combination of swear words, and....
POW!
Like magic I tell ya.

Carnage list:
2 wheel pullers
1 14inch pipe wrench
plastic lock plate cover
plastic trim ring under wheel
horn contact button and insulator
turn signal cancel cam

 

[trust]

No wonder Ive procrasinated taking mine off for a couple years..... the liberal and effective use of verbal encouragement is what did it