MKII Steering Wheel Removal

[Ronsson1]

I am a second owner of an MKII and want to remove the FFR steering wheel to gain access behind the dash panel to change some gauge wiring. I have pulled the decorative FFR cap and removed the shaft bolt. There are 6 phillips screws holding the steering wheel to the shaft collar. These scews turn, but do not remove. I assume they are nutted behind the collar flange - which I won't have access to until I remove the steering wheel. Without a way to bolt a puller to the steering wheel/collar (with the screws in place), what is the easy way to remove the steering wheel? I have tried to strap the puller to the wheel and this allowed some tension on the shaft and collar, but I am concerned about bending the wheel or damaging the collar (should the screws be threaded into the collar) with too much tension. Any ideas?

[Brian Z]

The nuts that are on the back of the screws should be exposed and easy to access. You should be able to get a wrench on them without much trouble.
It is possible that the person who built the car puched the steering wheel in farther than usual. The dash should still have some give to be pressed in alittle to fit a wrench over the nuts.

Best regards,

[Jeff Kleiner]

If you just trying to remove the dash you can keep the wheel assembled to the hub and remove them from the steering shaft as a unit. After popping off the center cap off loosen the center bolt securing the hub to the shaft a few turns, then while applying upward pressure (pulling the wheel towards you) give the head of the bolt a few solid whacks with a hammer and it should pop loose. This is easier to do if you have 3 arms or a helper!

Jeff

[Ronsson1]

The nuts that are on the back of the screws should be exposed and easy to access. You should be able to get a wrench on them without much trouble.
It is possible that the person who built the car puched the steering wheel in farther than usual. The dash should still have some give to be pressed in alittle to fit a wrench over the nuts.

Best regards,

Thanks Brian. The collar depth is 3" and has about 1/4"gap between the dash and collar edge. I can't feel any nuts inside the collar. I'm going to retrace my previous attempt and follow Jeff's hammer recommendation. My primary concern was whether or not I was going to pull the aluminum threads out of the collar sleeves if they existed, or if there was some other form of attachment I needed to know about. Thanks.

[Mark Dougherty]

jeff nailed it.
screww the bolt all the way back in then back it out 2 turns
pull hard on the wheel.
while some one else whacks the center bolt with a hammer.
wal la a loose wheel.

[michael everson]

Sounds like you might have some type of aftermarket turn signal that is obscuring the nuts. FFRs steering wheel boss is no where near 3 inches thick. Maybe 1 inch.
Mike