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Re: [oletrucks] 54 Chevy truck - steering column

To: Lee Glenn <lglenn11@home.com>
Subject: Re: [oletrucks] 54 Chevy truck - steering column
From: Mark Mintmier <tenisguy@gte.net>
Date: Thu, 02 Aug 2001 19:41:26 -0400
Ideally, I would be using a custom ididit or Flaming River or something, but the
budget is probably going to talk me into using a late 70s GM van column from a
junkyard.  It's not a huge concern for me right now, though, because I have a 
while
before I have to decide.

Mark

Lee Glenn wrote:

> Wow, what a story!  I've gotta ask though, what are you going to use as a new
> steering column?
>
> I've gotta figure out something fast for my '49.  I don't have my old one, but
> that's okay as I would like key in the column, intermittent wiper and signal
> controls as well as column shift.  Anybody have any suggestions?  What is too
> long/short?  Where do you measure?
>
> THanks a bunch.
> -Lee
>
> Mark Mintmier wrote:
>
> > Yes, get a wheel puller.  I wish someone would have impressed this upon me 
>when
> > I removed my steering wheel.  I recently finished removing EVERYTHING from 
>my
> > 1950; it's down to a frame and wheels.  Over the entire project, removing 
>the
> > steering wheel was probably the most difficult step.  Granted, I made it
> > infinitely more difficult than it should have been, but I still wish I would
> > have just purchased/borrowed/rented/etc. a wheel puller to start with.  I
> > shouldn't tell anyone this, but at the risk of being laughed off the list,
> > here's what I did.  After removing the nut from the steering column, I 
>tried to
> > pull the wheel from the column.  I'm a pretty strong guy and the seat and
> > everything was out, so how difficult could it be?  Well, apparently I'm not 
>as
> > strong as I thought because the wheel wouldn't budge.  Next, being the 
>frugal
> > (read that as stupid cheapskate), my next bright idea was to make a "wheel
> > puller."  I found an old door hinge that had holes about the right distance
> > apart.  I thought that I could put two bolts down through the holes in the 
>hinge
> > into the threaded holes in the steering wheel and as I tightened the bolts, 
>it
> > would pull the wheel up.  In theory, it's not a bad plan.  Too bad I wasn't
> > removing my steering wheel in theory.  I didn't take into account what might
> > happen when the bolts reached the bottom of the tapped hole in the steering
> > wheel.  What actually happens at this point is that the bolt snaps off in 
>the
> > steering wheel.  I suppose at this point that I could drill the bolt out and
> > then get a wheel puller, but there has to be an easier way, right.  Now no
> > longer a cheapskate but still stupid, I go to the auto parts store and buy 
>the
> > wheel puller that I should have purchased in the first place and a set of 
>screw
> > extractors to remove the broken bolt.  In case you're not familiar with 
>screw
> > extractors, they are supposed to grab on to a broken bolt or screw because 
>they
> > are counter threaded, but in reality, they are a cruel, cruel joke.  I 
>drilled a
> > small hole in the broken bolt and then tapped the smallest extractor into 
>the
> > hole.  When it was tight, I put a wrench on it and started to turn it.  Of
> > course the screw extractor broke off in the hole that I just drilled in the 
>bolt
> > that broke off in my steering wheel.  Thinking that maybe it was my fault
> > because I didn't drill the hole deep enough, I drilled another deeper, 
>longer
> > hole down through the broken bolt and a piece of a very hard screw 
>extractor.  I
> > tapped a bigger extractor into the new hole, put a wrench on it, and 
>started to
> > turn it to work the broken bolt out of the hole.  Even though I'm the only 
>one
> > in the whole world who didn't know what was going to happen next, I'll tell 
>you
> > anyway.  The bigger screw extractor broke off in the hole in the bolt that 
>had
> > broken off in my steering wheel.  After calming down to the point where my
> > vocabulary returned from incoherent random words mainly consisting of four
> > letters, I decided that maybe it was time to try the wheel puller.  I 
>proceeded
> > to drill out the broken bolt, but this was now a problem because the the 
>bolt
> > had already been mostly drilled out, and now I had to drill through a very 
>hard
> > broken screw extractor.  There was no way to get a hole started in the 
>middle of
> > the screw extractor, so the new hole that I drilled was slightly off center 
>from
> > the old hole.  The next order of business was to thread the new hole that I 
>just
> > drilled.  It's worth mentioning that the metal in the steering wheel is very
> > hard, and I have a very inexpensive tap and die set (see cheapskate note
> > above).  Of course my tap would not cut threads into the hole that I 
>drilled.
> > After much effort and several different methods, I was able to get one of 
>the
> > steering wheel puller bolts to hold in the new hole.  The problem now was 
>that
> > since the two holes were no longer lined up, after a few cranks on the 
>steering
> > wheel puller, it would slip off the steering shaft.  At this point I may not
> > have been thinking clearly, but I whipped out the reciprocating saw.  As I'm
> > sure you've now come to expect, all I had was a wood-cutting blade.  Now
> > encouraged that I finally have an idea that might work regardless of the 
>cost, I
> > head off to WalMart to buy some metal-cutting blades.  I came back to the
> > garage, fired up the saw, and cut through top of the steering shaft and 
>most of
> > the steering column.  I knew that I wouldn't be re-using the original 
>steering
> > column, but somewhat regret that I destroyed it.  After I got the steering 
>wheel
> > off, it still had a small length of the steering shaft in it.  I put it in a
> > vice and tapped on it with a hammer.  Obviously it popped right out.  The 
>moral
> > of this long-winded story?  Get a wheel puller.  After my ordeal, someone 
>told
> > me that I could have tried putting the nut back on the end of the steering 
>shaft
> > and pulling on the wheel with all my might while someone else smacked the 
>nut
> > with a rubber mallet.  They said that sometimes the jolt is enough to 
>loosen the
> > wheel while pressure is being applied.  I guess I'll never know if this 
>really
> > works.  I almost hope that it doesn't, though.
> >
> > Mark Mintmier
> > 1950 3100 (down to the frame, but missing a steering column)
> >
> > Eugene Powell wrote:
> >
> > > Hi,
> > > Can anyone tell me if I have to use a puller to get my steering wheel off 
>the
> > > column?  My son and I are trying to get the truck ready for sand blasting.
> > >
> > > G. Powell
> > > 54 Chevy truck
> > > oletrucks is devoted to Chevy and GM trucks built between 1941 and 1959
> > oletrucks is devoted to Chevy and GM trucks built between 1941 and 1959
oletrucks is devoted to Chevy and GM trucks built between 1941 and 1959

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