Re: Re: steering wheel hell

[George Graves <gmgraves@domain.elided>]

On Monday, July 22, 2002, at 11:35 AM, alfa-digest wrote:

> Date: Mon, 22 Jul 2002 14:30:01 -0400
> From: "John Hertzman" <johnhertzman@domain.elided>
> Subject: Re: steering wheel hell
>
> Joe Elliott asks about what else he can do to get his steering wheel 
> off,
> after stripping threads, retapping, hammering, probably cursing and 
> perhaps
> praying. One resource he hasn't mentioned is heat. There are many small,
> inexpensive (like $19.99 from Northern Supply, a Harbor Freight clone) 
> torches
> that offer pencil-point flame at a couple of thousand degrees f with 
> butane
> cartridges, and there are insulating pastes bodymen use to localize 
> target
> areas and protect surroundings. Depending on the configuration of the 
> wheel
> one could move the car away from house and other flammables, reread the 
> fine
> print in the insurance, protect surroundings, apply tension, and add 
> heat
> judiciously on the wheel hub. Expansion can do wonders on tight tapers,
> splines, threads, etc. One can of course use a larger torch if 
> available.
> Flame should not be the first resort, but it often makes a damned good 
> last
> resort. Some people find a torch every bit as useful as a four-pound 
> ball-peen
> hammer, a.k.a. the Ford wrench -
>
> John H.
That might work (although it didn't on my car) but I really don't 
recommend it unless you really know what you are doing. Too much heat 
and you risk damaging the plastic parts on the steering column just 
under the wheel (such as the column shroud or the stalk switches).



George Graves
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