Steering wheel won't come off

[jrt]

I've been where you are with my X. My path forward - which I am not necessarily recommending but just sharing so you have some of the collective knowledge - was to cut the wheel off of the steering column. I sliced away the spokes so I could remove the rim and then carefully cut the center section in a couple of places to free up the splined center of the wheel from the steering column rod. I think I used a grinder with a cutter disc for the big stuff and a dremel too up close. I felt ham-fisted and unsophisticated taking such an approach but saw no other path forward at the time. The alternative I saw after the fact was the complete removal of the steering column from the car with the steering wheel attached. You can then support the non-wheel end of the column on a couple of blocks of wood while you strike the column rod with a hammer and drift. Don't know it that would be similar for the Lancia. Good luck.

 

[ghostdancing]

i had the same problem on the 128 coupe: i got off the column with the wheel on, then sourced a new column for cheap..dont like to use brute force on old things

 

[RJ80]

Success!!

About 30 minutes after my post last night I decided to go back down to the garage for another "spray and tighten" session, but also decided to reintroduce the 20V DeWalt heat gun I'd used previously. This time, I left the heat gun on its highest setting for about five minutes until the PB Blaster around the shaft was smoking. One more little crank on the puller with a 1/2-inch ratchet and CRACK! The wheel finally came loose. Had thought about using a torch as Dean suggests above, but was a bit worried about an open flame inside the car, especially with PB Blaster still present.

I think this was the single most frustrating job I've personally done on the car yet (yes, brake/clutch master replacement included) just because it should have been soooo simple. Instead it took days and I ruined a couple tools, sliced and scratched my hands up, and destroyed the wheel I removed.

Takeaways? I believe heat and PB Blaster were key, but also if you've got a wheel that's really stuck, it's probably worth disassembling the inner horn components as I did to access those three central holes which give you somewhere to pull from and some working space behind the wheel. High-strength M8-size hardware and a steering wheel puller will get you the rest of the way there.

You should be able to reassemble the horn hardware later, I'd imagine, if you want to keep the stock wheel functional -- at least this would avoid bending the wheel to the point where it's junk. I'm not sure if this will apply to X1/9s too, but it may -- I remember the horn assembly looking similar.

New steering wheel install coming later in my #1733 progress thread. And a huge "thank you" to everyone who chimed in with advice and/or sympathy. Hopefully this thread will be useful to others with stuck wheels in the future.

.

 

[Dr.Jeff]

it's probably worth disassembling the inner horn components as I did to access those three central holes which give you somewhere to pull from and some working space behind the wheel

That is a very helpful idea, thanks. I didn't realize there were 3 nice mounting holes hiding behind the horn button garbage. Frankly I'd planned on removing the stock horn button anyway; it is so huge and ugly in my opinion, I intend to make a custom center cap.

As for applying heat, I often prefer using a heat gun as well. It may be a little slower but much safer. That is what I tried on my stuck wheel already, but I'll give it more time to soak and wait for the temp to get higher before I try again...this time with those 3 holes.

Been awhile since I've looked at mine. Is this correct...blue arrow was on top of the wheel and red arrow was in back of it?

And they sandwich the wheel with those three rivets holding them together?
Thanks.

 

[bruakeman]

Glad you succeeded! FWIW I have been in a similar situation and found that using an air chisel with a blunt end against the bolt of your puller shocked things apart rapidly.

 

[darwoodious]

Don't throw out that steering wheel. You (or someone) could hammer the bent center back flat ad repair that think. Not sure about the plastic rim tho.

I wouldn't say that about an X1/9 wheel - there were some 180k of those made. For Scorpions/Montecarlos there were less than 7,800 made!

Glad you got your wheel off. I think the key is time + penetrating oil (and some banging and pulling of course)

 

[Mark]

I installed one on my x1/9 along with the Scorpion shift knob for a retro look.

 

[RJ80]

Been awhile since I've looked at mine. Is this correct...blue arrow was on top of the wheel and red arrow was in back of it?
And they sandwich the wheel with those three rivets holding them together?
Thanks.

Jeff, yep... the little brass (?) ring is on the front of the wheel, the black plastic bit on the rear. You can see there are little copper-like rivets in the plastic piece where it is attached to the three ring attachment points. There are a total of four circular holes in the wheel itself, you can see that two are spaced closely together -- one is for the stock turn-signal cancellation device that you can see on the plastic piece. If you don't want to use a stock horn again, perfect! If you did, you'd have to figure out what to use to reattach the assembly. Glad this is of some help and good luck if you attempt removal again.

Glad you succeeded! FWIW I have been in a similar situation and found that using an air chisel with a blunt end against the bolt of your puller shocked things apart rapidly.

Thanks, that had been recommended, but I don't have compressed air. Sold off my big compressor and most air tools in the last big move, just wasn't using them as much as I'd thought I would and there was only so much space in the moving truck! I did bang on the center of the puller repeatedly with a hammer which didn't seem to do much at the time.

Don't throw out that steering wheel. You (or someone) could hammer the bent center back flat ad repair that think. Not sure about the plastic rim tho.

I completely agree, I find it nearly impossible to throw away anything from these cars. This wheel can certainly be straightened, though it might take a pro (or A LOT of patience) and a re-paint. I'll probably just hang it on a garage wall as a victory trophy for now, but will find it a good home should it ever have to go.