Removing steering wheel, 2500m?

[solo II]

Color me overcautious but as I have no shop manuals for reference I'm gingerly trying to remove my horn pad to dismount my steering wheel. Have any of you done this before? I would appreciate some guidance with this little project.

[richard sails]

Do you have an original wheel or an aftermarket one?

With the original you can lever out the centre with a small screwdriver, many aftermarket type's are the same.

Don't forget to scratch a mark onto the wheel centre and shaft to enable you to replace the wheel in the same alignment.



>> Edited by richard sails on Wednesday 23 April 13:09

>> Edited by richard sails on Wednesday 23 April 13:09

[solo II]

Thanks for the reply Richard. I have what appears to be an original steering wheel. In the center of the horn pad is a little blue 'TVR' decal sort of thing.
At this point in its life it is a bit dog-eared but still, I'm trying to salvage it as much as possible. Beneath the horn pad is a spring which then appears to rest in the steering wheel hub. The steering wheel itself bolts to the column in a manner similar to a Nardi or Momo steering wheel, six concentric bolts fastened with nuts on the back. Do I understand you to mean I should pry (prise) the pad's spring out of its seat in the hub? Seems simple enough to me.
Again, thanks for your reply. A friend in need is a friend indeed, as the saying goes.

[richard sails]

The whole plastic thing in the middle is removable in one piece. Under it you will find one big nut that holds the boss onto the splined shaft. The boss had six holes on its rim which attach the wheel to the boss.

The decision to remove the boss from the shaft or just the wheel from the boss depends upon why you want to remove the wheel!

[solo II]

So I'm going to put a lever against that horn pad spring and pop the whole thing out of the hub. Sound right to you? My purpose is to fit a steering wheel with a larger diameter, possibly D shaped. I find the original wheel a bit too small for my liking. I have raised the steering column as much as is possible to gain clearance for my hands as I turn the wheel. It was too close to my legs for comfort initially. Also, the spokes and center of the wheel are too flat for my liking. I have a wheel that has spokes which bring the rim of the steering wheel closer to me. All this in a effort to optimize the driving position. Also part of this effort is the lowering of the driver's seat. I have found that the seat rails sit on 1" thick wood strips. Removing these will gain more room between my legs and the steering wheel as well as more headroom. I have even toyed with the idea of moving the pedal box further to the right as on a left hand drive set up, one's feet are awkwardly off the the left. I have mostly gotten used to this though, so probably won't go to such lengths. Practicing heel/toe shifting and generally driving the car in earnest have improved my technique and I now have a much better feel for the car.

[richard sails]

Does your new wheel come with a new boss or will you be keeping the old boss? Most wheels use the some set of six mounting holes. If you are keeping the old boss you only need to remove the six nuts and bolts that secure the wheel to the boss.

On my cars I now find that I have fogotten the offset pedal position and find it easy to use, I am always surprised when I look under the dash and find out just how far offset they are.

I agree with you on the steering wheel size, I fitted a quicker rack to one on my cars and found the steering very heavy. My other car has a inch bigger wheel and a standard rack and is much easier to turn the steering wheel. Both cars have the Woolfrace 14" x 7" wide wheels fitted with 225 wide tyres so the difference is all in the rack and steering wheel.