Am I being silly

[Shaggy]

Ok my steering wheel, I got the center nut off and hit it so many times with a big hammer, am I missing some i thought it would just come off with a little strugle

 

[pete nice]

Sometimes they are stuck on good. I destroyed my old '68 wheel getting it off!

 

[Shaggy]

ok well I will get a bigger hammer WOOOOOOO!

 

[Justin & Muttley]

I asked a wheel supplier about this a while ago and he said there is a special tool to do it - that's why so many (including mine!) get mashed around the centre!

 

[rob-stone]

keep the nut on whilst tugging/bashing/pulling the wheel.

If its fully off and the wheel suddenly releases, it may end up hitting you.

not that its ever hapened to me :wink:

 

[lobus]

keep the nut on whilst tugging/bashing/pulling the wheel.

If its fully off and the wheel suddenly releases, it may end up hitting you.

not that its ever hapened to me :wink:

Another sure way would be to undo the nut then drive down a windy road.

Bound to end in tears, but the wheel will be off!

A safer aproach is to put a bit of 4 x2 timber in as a lever, about a few inches wider than the wheel to give you a bit of leverage, then work your way around and around. It will budge eventually. I found the lever much more effective than the hammer. Easier on the knuckles too.

 

[speedwell68]

To do it properly you need one of these...

 

[Justin & Muttley]

Whoohoo! I've got three of those (different sizes) - I knew they'd come in handy one day!

 

[Shaggy]

Where do I get one of those claws from

 

[Justin & Muttley]

Where do I get one of those claws from

I think they're actually called 'Pullers' - but I prefer Claw now you mention it!

Any tool shop can supply them (MachineMart etc) - or try your local tool hire shop if it's a one-off, shouldn't cost you more than a couple of quid for a days hire.

 

[lobus]

Not Claw; CLAAAAAW!

 

[Shaggy]

Wooo just got a CLAAAAAAAAAAAW off ebay

 

[Fraggle]

I used heat!!

 

[Shaggy]

your on heat

 

[dropgates]

I have used the pullers (2 arm and 3 arm) with varied success. Sometimes the bakelite around the base of the horn button is so brittle that the stress of the pullers will crack the entire area.
A fellow samba.com member has started making these, hopefully in mass if there is enough of a want to do a production run. Very nice and would eliminate any chances of cracking due to the design.

What do you guys think?

 

[Justin & Muttley]

Looks great - how much $$$?

 

[Shaggy]

Those are great im scared about using mine now :shock:

 

[dropgates]

Looks great - how much $$$?

J&M,

It's hard for him to base a price at the moment due to it being a one week old prototype and seeing how much of a "seller" it would be in the VW community. Other variables exist, such as materials and labor costs to mill it and weld it together. I am hopeful that this will be a quality tool and not chinced together like you see in many of the VW magazines today.

 

[Justin & Muttley]

Looks great - how much $$$?

J&M,

It's hard for him to base a price at the moment due to it being a one week old prototype and seeing how much of a "seller" it would be in the VW community. Other variables exist, such as materials and labor costs to mill it and weld it together. I am hopeful that this will be a quality tool and not chinced together like you see in many of the VW magazines today.

Fair enough!
Perhaps if ends up pricy (but very useful) we could all club together and have a collective tool?

 

[dropgates]

I will definitely keep you and the rest of the early bay crew updated on its production progress and eventual pricing .