Steering wheel won't come off... LOSING PAITIENCE.

[dieselfuelonly]

OK so long story short:

Warning lights (Water temp and Oil pressure) are not working. I pulled the plug off that goes into the dash. Hooked it up to a test lamp. Then it works fine. Had one heck of a time tracing around the tractor with my voltmeter/continutiy tester/lots of other fucntions... thingy... and have narrowed it down to that area. I've tested the bulbs too by the way.

So from what I understand I need to take the dashboard off. I undid the screws/bolts, disconnected the compression release, and was all ready to go until I got to taking the steering wheel off. It will NOT come off.

I popped the cap off and took the bolt and lock washer off.

I have:

• Stood on the tractor and pulled on the thing so hard that if it would pop off I would backflip on to the concrete
• Pryed from the underside of the steering wheel with a screwdriver
• Hit the steering wheel with a rubber mallet
• Attempted to drive the screwdriver under the steering wheel and shaft with the mallet

I have had NO LUCK.

Am I missing a hidden screw or something somewhere?

I seriously think that that steering wheel is on there so tight that if I chained a come-a-long to to the steering wheel and started pulling up it would probably pick the tractor up off the ground until something snapped and... everything exploded.

Please help me before I lose my temper. I just want to get these idiot lights fixed, I've run the tractor for a few hours without them (not any heavy bushhogging or anything) and I don't like doing it, and I just want to be able to fire it up and not have to worry! I also don't like that I can't see when to stop cranking with the compression release pulled so I start with enough oil pressure.

 

[jimmer2880]

From what I remember about boats, etc, is that you will need a wheel puller to get it off. I think something like a 3-jaw puller.

I'm sure someone will come along soon that actually knows what they are talking about

 

[hosejockey2002]

Like he said, you need a three-jaw steering wheel puller. That's probably the only way you'll get it off there in one piece.

 

[2manyrocks]

Just been through this steering wheel biz. Here goes.

Spray the top and bottom of the steering wheel spline at the steering column with a good quality penetrating oil. Kroil oil was highly recommended to me, but I couldn't find it in the store. Since then, I learned you can order direct from the mfg. http://www.kanolabs.com/ I used PB plaster and it worked for me. Others may have their own opinions about which oil to use and which ones not to use. Let it soak and penetrate.

Unless you want to buy a puller to have for your own use, you may be able to borrow or rent one from you local auto parts store. There are pullers specifically designed for steering wheels so as to not mess them up, but you may not find one. The next choice you might find would be the kind of puller that is basically a straight bar at the top with three holes: one in the middle and one at each end. The middle hole lines up with the steering column and has a threaded rod in it.

You put the steering wheel nut back on to protect your steering column, but loose enough that the puller will pop the steering wheel off the column.

The bolts at each end of the puller bar thread into what some people call a bearing puller that you place at the bottom of the steering wheel. It's purpose is to spread out the force of the pulling around the entire bottom of the steering wheel so you don't wreck it getting it off.

Once you get the pullers in place, you tighten the center bolt and hope it pops loose. If it still doesn't pop loose, spray it again and wait.

Took me two weeks....when it finally got the wheel off, I saw there just enough rust to lock the wheel splines to the column.

Unless you want to buy another steering wheel or possibly mess up the threads on your steering column, patience will help.

 

[choffman41]

Well, back in the old days when we couldn't afford or borrow a steering wheel puller we used the farm method. Put the nut back on until it is flush with the top of the threads. Position your legs in a way so that you can apply up-pressure on the steering wheel with them. Get a good brass drift and lay it on the nut and whack hard with a large hammer. Sometimes they will pop off with the first hit. The big thing to be careful about is to not mess up the threads on the shaft. I've done it dozens of times and it has always worked.

 

[Grrrr]

I would do it like the last poster said... with lots of brute force

 

[Tom_Veatch]

I picked up a cheap set of 3 jaw pullers at HF and was able to pull my steering wheel with one out of the set. Don't recall which size came closest to fitting. A little soak with penetrating oil (Kroil, PB Blaster, etc.) might make it a little easier. The only thing holding mine was the nut you see when you remove the center medallion from the wheel.

 

[kenmac]

Some auto parts stores will rent you the tool for a deposit fee. B-4 you put it back on , be sure to apply some anti seize to the shaft incase you ever need to remove it again

 

[Underwaterdog]

Are you sure you need to take the dash off and steering wheel off? I'm pretty sure the oil and water pressure lights work as a switched ground. Power is applied to the bulbs. The wires that are leaving the ILA lamps go to the individual sensors. When the sensors close and complete the circuit to ground the lamps light. Did you use the test lamp in place of the ILA, or did you just use it to check for power there?

 

[dieselfuelonly]

Ok since you seem to know a lot more about how those lights are wired up than I do maybe you could clarify whether or not my understanding of how they work is correct or not:

There is a 6-hole plug that runs from the wire harness up into the dash board. On my tractor that plug only has 3 wires running to it:

A wire for the water temperature sender, a wire for the oil pressure sender, and a positive wire.

Up under the dashboard there are 6 pins that the plug "plugs" in to. 3 of those pins are not used (though there are spots for 2 more warning lights, but those are capped off). One pin is ground which runs to the oil pressure light, one pin is ground to the water temp. light, and the other pin is for the positive wire. Both the oil pressure and water temp. light share the same positive wire, which is the positive wire that is connected through the plug. (Sorry if I have this the other way around).

Anyway, I tested this by hooking up a 12v light between the positive wire and the wire that runs to the oil pressure sender. Turned the key and sure enough it lit up. Did the same with the water pressure light, but I had to pull it off the sender and touch it to one of the brush holders with the Phillips slot in it on the starter on the tractor to get it to light up (which makes sense, so the sender is functioning correctly).

So to me that says that all the wiring is correct (though my explanation may not be!) and that the problem lies within the "area" of those bulbs and those 6 pins that the plug goes into.

I have no idea how this works because I cannot see it well due to the fact that there is barely room for me to get my hand up under the dash.

So, any other ideas?

I thought about just hooking up 2 12v lights, but then I though, no, I should figure out what is wrong instead of drilling new holes and adding new wires all over my tractor!

Thanks for any help!

NOTE: I KNOW VERY LITTLE ABOUT ELECTRICTY, I JUST UNDERSTAND HOW A VERY BASIC CIRCUIT WORKS, SO SORRY IF I USED SOME TERMS INCORRECTLY!!

Dennis