Steering wheel removal - different result

[toynrnd]

Yes, I�m not not understanding at all either. When I went to remove the wheel, the bearing press I was using as my wheel puller was not contacting the tube. It would rotate with the wheel. Perhaps when i has to reset my puller to get that last little bit of the wheel off the splines a caught the tube and jammed it into the underside of the wheel? I�m hoping to get some more garage time to finish the removal before vacation.[ch129310]

[toynrnd]

I'm back!  After a week of vacation, a week of catching up at work, and a forum upgrade...the results are in (sort of).  After another couple hours of work, in the end I had to cut the tube off.  I got as much tube metal as I could from inside the wheel, and ground it flush with the bottom side of the steering wheel metal hub. 
Picture 1: steering tube cut off.  I knicked the underside of my steering wheel a couple times with the Dremel tool.
Picture 2: The leftovers from the tube, the spring, the bearing cup, etc.
Picture 3: A little closer look
Picture 4: Cleaned up(?)
Picture 5: My replacement column with the remnants of a steering wheel still on it.
Picture 6: My guess is my original steering tube somehow made its way up to the small groove in the steering wheel hub and flared over it, locking it on the steering wheel.  Who knows?
Picture 7: Steering wheel hub off my replacement column.
Picture 8: Replacement column needs a little cleaning up.
New bearings, cup, seals, etc. arrived today from Kaiser Willys.  Hopefully I can get some garage time in this weekend.   

[1955CJ-5]

Thanks for updating and I'm glad you finally got it apart....you are now an expert on steering wheel removal!

Randy

[Rus Curtis]

Amazing! 

[toynrnd]

Got some time to work on the steering again today.  And just when you thought it could not get any stranger...check this out.
Picture 1: The steering shaft in my other column is a bit ragged near the end, close to where the upper bearing will ride.
Picture 2: I pulled the steering shaft out of my original steering box, and find this tube/dowel/whatever sticking up.
Picture 3: It extends down through the box...
Picture 4: Past the lower bearing...
Picture 5: And through the plug at the end of the steering box.  What kind of voodoo is this?     Any thoughts?
Picture 6: At least my original steering shaft is in good shape.

[Rus Curtis]

That shaft sticking up is the "Cover And Tube" found in GROUP 23-02 - STEERING GEAR ASSEMBLY.

It's function is to give you a conduit for the horn wire to exit out the bottom to connect the horn button to the horn while keeping the gear oil inside the housing.  That cap on the bottom should seal and the tube is long enough to be above the top level of the lubricant.

Dave shows how to make one of these:
https://cj3apage.com/Forum/index.php?topic=4031.msg34344#msg34344


It can be tapped out from the inside, but if it's not leaking it could be left alone.