Steering wheel removal - different result

[toynrnd]

Rus, thanks for the info. I did read that link for pulling the steering wheel. I bought the bearing puller and it worked as outlined in that article...sort of.[ch128514]

I�ll try soaking with penetrating oil. I have had my sons stand on the wheel (like you suggest) as I have tried pulling up on the tube - no luck. I wiggled the tube side to side, but I don�t know how far the tube is in to the wheel I didn�t want to break the wheel.

[Rus Curtis]

I measured my spare steering wheel.  The backside indent is about 1/2" down to the spline insert.  Not sure if your column goes all the way down.

It sounds like maybe the upper bearing may have fused itself to the wheel splines and the column.  If you do force it apart, be ready for the ball bearings to go flying.....

[toynrnd]

I�ll be ready, thanks. The main thing is getting the wheel off intact.

[athawk11]

I am wrapping my head around this.  So, when you turned the wheel to steer the Willys, the outer tube would also turn...right?

The joint between the tube and wheel on the underside of your wheel looks full of something...where I would expect to see a gap.  Is it possible the prior owner misunderstood the steering system and filled the gap with epoxy or some other adhesive?  If so, maybe you could carve out the adhesive with a sharp knife or chisel?

[toynrnd]

athawk11, No sir. The Jeep operated normally before, the tube was bolted at the box and dash and did not rotate. The steering shaft rotated as it should.
Now that the wheel and tube are removed from the Jeep, the wheel rotates (on the bearing) and the tube is stationary.
I assume anything is possible. I�m just not sure why the wheel is stuck to the bearing.

[1955CJ-5]

Still thinking about this....

If you look through the wheel spline at the bearing and turn the wheel while holding the tube steady, do you see the bearing cup turn or is it stationary? The cup is a hand-tight press fit into the tube and shouldn't move, the inner part of the bearing moves with the shaft and keeps it centered...

So if the bearing cup doesn't move, then the lip on it must have worn a groove into the wheel, and maybe that is holding it in place...

I'm interested to learn what you find when you eventually get the wheel off. I sure hope you are able to save the wheel......

[athawk11]

Almost makes me want to pull my wheel real quick and take a look.

[Bruce_W]

  There's a spring under there, or at least there should be. The steering wheel pushes down on the spring, which holds the bearing in place. If everything is there, the steering wheel should not be able to get that far down, or the outer tube that far up.
  It also seems to me that the tube is normally bigger than the opening in the bottom of the wheel. If the tube somehow worked its way in there, it would be a tight fit.
   Here's a thought - if it got so far that the steel hub or the steel spokes rubbed on the top of the tube, the tube may have gotten flared. As it gradually became flared, it wore clearance for the flare inside the wheel, and now the end of the tube is bigger than the hole it needs to come out of. Reaching? Maybe.   BW

[Bruce_W]

I had to go take a look. The tube measures 1.5 inches on the outside, and the hole in the bottom of an original steering wheel measured out at 1.540 inches or thereabouts.   BW

[toynrnd]

Thank you for the input everyone.� I worked on this thing for an hour and a half last night...
The bearing cup was rotating inside the tube.
I used a 1-1/2" wood dowel to try and knock the cup, bearing and wheel off the tube, no luck.
I cut the tube off near the wheel and started cutting things with a Dremel tool.� A portion of the cup, the spring, and the ball bearings are out. Whew!

[toynrnd]

Getting there...

[Rus Curtis]

Thank you for the input everyone.� I worked on this thing for an hour and a half last night...
The bearing cup was rotating inside the tube.
I used a 1-1/2" wood dowel to try and knock the cup, bearing and wheel off the tube, no luck.
I cut the tube off near the wheel and started cutting things with a Dremel tool.� A portion of the cup, the spring, and the ball bearings are out. Whew!

What a mess!  I'm looking at this small picture trying to understand what I'm seeing.  The outer column and the inner Tube and Cam should only have air in between.  What are we looking at here?  What is the material you ended up cutting through?

The second image looks awfully familiar. 

[1955CJ-5]

Isn't that interesting....like Rus I'm not entirely sure what I'm looking at...

I'm curious about the apparent thick wall of the steering tube in the picture in post #24...is that some sort of packing material?

More will be revealed!

[toynrnd]

Sorry for not clarifying, the picture in post #24 is the steering tube and the bearing cup. The material between us part of the wood dowel I tried hammering the bearing, cup, and wheel off the tube with. The dowel got hammered into the cup, so part of the wood went to the center of the cup, and part of the wood filled the space between the cup and tube. When I cut the tube, the dowel was still wedged in there, so I cut through all of it. When the wheel was free oof the tube, the wood from the center of the cup fell out but the rest stayed put and I prayed it out with a screwdriver. Sorry for the long winded explanation. I�m trying to make sure I give all the details.[ch128578]

[athawk11]

I'm even more mystified.

Picture in Post #25.  I assume the outer cut steel wall is the outer tube...that spun freely on the wheel prior to disassembly.

The inner wall is the bearing cup...?  If so, I'm still not understanding what is holding the tube to the wheel....?