Removing teleflex steering wheel

[Mike B]

Not sure if this is of any use to anyone and is probably common knowledge but it took me a bit of time to find the answer so thought I'd share it so its stored on the forum.

I needed to remove the steering wheel on my cable telflex steering over the weekend in order to fit a stereo.

After removing the hub cover and the main shaft nut the wheel wouldn't budge. Just prior to heading off to the car accessories shop for a steering wheel puller I thought I'd have a trawl on the net.

Sure enough after a while, on a water skiing site, I found the answer I needed.

"Give the end of the shaft a reasonable clout with a hammer"

Sure enough two or three wacks later wheel slides off easily !

Bit of drilling, cutting and swearing later stereo and waterproof front plate in place and looking great.

Cheers

Mike

[Dirk Diggler]

You ought to use a "drift" or centre punch, or you'll knacker the threads. And don't hit it to hard or you'll murder the plastic bush and/or push the shaft through the unit.

[Andy]

This problem occurs a lot as the steel shaft and the aliumimum wheel react together and effectively weld themselves together - Not sure how but it happens. The only way is a puller which solves the problems easily, providing you can get the puller under the steering wheel which is not always easy. I have had to modify the plastic covering on my Ribtec, to allow the puller access to the metal parts of the wheel. I have also had to fix steering at sea a few times and this problem can stop you from getting anywhere.

Also, some of shafts need a woodruff key to lock into the steering hub. This can slide and stick, and yes a firm hit with a hammer can help. But hitting the shaft too often can damage the internals of the helm.

The easy answer is, to take the wheel off, clean and re-grease once a season along with your regular maintanence stuff. So that it comes off lots easier ....

[Mike B]

Thanks Andy.

Will strip it down again tonight and grease it up .

Cheers

Mike

[nik]

One way of protecting the threads is to run the nut up so it is flush with the end of the shaft and you hit the shaft and nut together thus spreading the load.
When I have worked on cars and wanted to protect threads from corrosion I have used copper grease. But I was wondering how that would work in a marine enviroment, could it add to corrosion problems rather than prevent them???
Nick.

[Paul F]

Just a tip if really struggling, put nut or bolt in a couple of turns cos if you are yanking on wheel you could end up wearing it in yer face.oouuccchh

[Daniel]

Originally Posted by Andy

The easy answer is, to take the wheel off, clean and re-grease once a season along with your regular maintanence stuff. So that it comes off lots easier ....

Mental note made. Good advice.

[tue]

Originally Posted by nik

When I have worked on cars and wanted to protect threads from corrosion I have used copper grease. But I was wondering how that would work in a marine enviroment, could it add to corrosion problems rather than prevent them???
Nick.

The problem with copper grease is Electrolisis. The phenomina mainly found in saltwater that attacks metal. That is the reason we have anodes on our engines/drives and why we don't paint said engines/drives with copper based antifoul. The problem is the electrolisis attacks the weakest metal. Zinc is weaker than aluminium so we use zinc anodes, aluminium is weaker than stainless steel (why we have anodes in the first place) and as copper is the stronger of all if it is put with any of the above they will be corroded (sometimes with disasterous consequences).

I have seen engines which have had copper grease put on gearbox screws where the aluminium has almost all been corroded away around the screws.

[jwalker]

Originally Posted by Andy

The easy answer is, to take the wheel off, clean and re-grease once a season along with your regular maintanence stuff. So that it comes off lots easier ....

If it works, there is a fault. This is a morse taper. It's purpose is to jam solid! However, in practise, I agree because marine streering wheel bosses, in general, are crap quality. This might also explain how water can enter the taper.

If you want to do it without damage and especially if you feel you may need to do it at sea, a bit of preparation at the outset will help, although it can be done later. Drill and tap the boss each side of the centre hole. Make a wee strap, with two clearance holes using the same pitch as the tapped ones, which can be put across the top of the shaft. Tighten a couple of screws into the tapped holes to draw off the wheel. It should be done in manufacture in the first instance.