Traction Help Removing Steering Wheel - GC1700

[Nacademus]

I contacted my dealer to see if they had any pointers.

They said to use an air hammer with blunt chisel on underside to drive wheel off from the bottom-or tap on the bottom of the wheel with a hammer taking care not to ruin it.

Just in case, I had them quote me parts...

Complete Dash(6259635M91) - $431.00 or just the
Just "Glass" on the top side(6257518M1) - $92.00.
Steering Wheel(7074290M1) - $96.84.


Yikes.


I'm doing all this because a lot of dirt is getting into my gauge cluster and would like to clean it and make sure the seal around the cluster is in good shape.

 

[madhatter]

I was going to upgrade to the deeper dish wheel on my 1710 and tried everything thing i could think of to remove the steering wheel. Eventually gave up.

 

[Nacademus]

Father-in-Law tried helping me remove it today. Dude is 300lbs and all muscle. He pulled up on it while I gently taped the shaft with a hammer.

Didn't budge. This is a little ridiculous. It's been soaked and resoaked in PB B'laster for a few days, now and hasn't budged. I'm going to have to grab the 3 jaw puller and figure something out for it to grab onto.

 

[ray66v]

As you've seen, PB Blaster isn't going to do jack.

It's either got to be heat, or muscle.

Since heat is not an option, that only leaves force.

I take it you don't have an air chisel?

If you have access to one, the next thing I would try would be having the big guy pulling, while you run the air chisel on nut screwed on to the end of the shaft.

 

[Harold1]

I had the same problem with my massey, got a bearing splitter and used a puller, took a lot of force to break it loose. will put neversize on spines when I put it back on.

 

[Harold1]

Put a bearing splitter under the wheel and use a 2 hook puller to it and put a breakover bar to it, it will come.

 

[DMW]

There has to some type of loctite on the shaft. I couldn't budge mine while pulling up and tapping. Eventually removed the steering valve bolts, and tapped it down ( the valve won't fall due to the hoses). Came of quite easily, and could remove /replace it easily afterwards with no binding. I was changing the rubber mounts, so had to remove the bolts anyway
.

 

[ray66v]

There has to some type of loctite on the shaft. I couldn't budge mine while pulling up and tapping.
View attachment 626182.

It wouldn't make a bit of sense to use Locktite on a spline shaft with a nut on it.

If there is a thread locker, some heat on the shaft would break the bond.

They probably wound up with a tighter fit than they expected, and they are forcing them on, which stretches the wheel.

My zero turn mower has brake drums with a tapered spindle. They put them on so tight, it took a 1" impact just to get the nut off. If you do manage to get the drum off, (it took 3 days of intense effort including a lot of heat), You can't get it back on as tight as they had it, and then eventually it loosens up. Which ruins the drum and the spindle, because you don't notice it's loose.

 

[Chewwy]

Does the shop manual show any special tool for removing the steering wheel? My Kubota shop manual lists one and it’s available for only $800. Wouldn’t pay that, but it might give you an idea to put something similar together. The Kubota puller is just a three leg puller with a circular slotted plate that fits under the steering wheel.

 

[def38]

So, any luck? Is it off? If so, how did you do it? I will be removing my wheel soon to rebuild it and cover it with leather.