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Re: [oletrucks] 54 Chevy truck - steering column

To: "Mark Mintmier" <tenisguy@gte.net>, "Eugene Powell"
Subject: Re: [oletrucks] 54 Chevy truck - steering column
From: "tcape" <tcape@weblnk.net>
Date: Wed, 1 Aug 2001 22:34:27 -0400
Mark, best story I've heard in a long time!  Sounds exactly like something I
would do.  And I can especially relate to the "cheapskate" part.  Glad
you're making good progress.  Best of luck as you continue.
Tom Caperton
47-2nd 3100....in Whiteville, NC
tcape@weblnk.net


----- Original Message -----
From: "Mark Mintmier" <tenisguy@gte.net>
To: "Eugene Powell" <epowell@woh.rr.com>
Cc: <oletrucks@autox.team.net>
Sent: Wednesday, August 01, 2001 9:49 PM
Subject: Re: [oletrucks] 54 Chevy truck - steering column


> 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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