Steering Wheel - Horn Pad Removal?

[Katapl]

Update, decided to give it some force and go for it. It came off completely, leaving that nut exposed. I tried torquing that out, and no go so far.

I'll be working on that for a while now.
Modified by Katapl at 4:09 PM 11/7/2006

[rotorific]

Best thing is to use a breaker bar or something longer than your standard ratchet. OR you could just use an air gun.

[dickie]

i slipped a large adjustable wrench handle over the socket wrench handle for some more leverage when mine was stuck.

[calico]

what are you trying to do here? what step are you at? i just got done removing my steering wheel yesterday and could probably help out or at least tell you what i did. i had to replace the spiral cable so my horn would work....

[Fenvy]

you got to do those crazy yank really hard with a breaker bar.. my breaker bar is 2 or 3 ft so it was easy as hell for a skinny asian like me

[calico]

if you're trying to get the 19mm center nut out, i just put my ratchet on there and banged it with a hammer. it was too hard to torque out with my hands since i had a small *** ratchet. try to find a hollow bar to use as a breaker bar if you can, it'll be a whole lot easier

[Katapl]

Oh, just an FYI, I've already gotten the center nut off with a breaker bar and the wheel off with a puller. Sad thing is, I actually had to machine some of the puller out so it would fit.

[rotorific]

All you should have done was bang the top and bottom of the wheel a couple times with your fist then manhandle it. Theres probally nothing wrong though.

[carcrazyguy]

what are you trying to do here? what step are you at? i just got done removing my steering wheel yesterday and could probably help out or at least tell you what i did. i had to replace the spiral cable so my horn would work....

Sorry to bring back an old thread. Anyway, Did you mean you ordered a new spiral contact plate? If so, how much and where? My horn and cruise would not work, so I knew right off hand it was the contact points. When I looked at the little round spiral plate with the 3 contact areas, I noticed that where the steering wheel sits the most, it had worn an indention in the contact strips. So I definately need a new spiral plate, but may even need the little contacts...did you? Mine were sticking at first, but I put a little dielectric grease on them and they moved freely. Still however, the horn only works in some positions, so I still at least need the contact plate.

On another note, I have removed more steering wheels that I can count. I have never had any problems with it, regardless of the car, yet on forums people always have horror stories about doing it.Anyway, if it helps, I simply use a wrench with lots of leverage, and simply lock the steering wheel (remove the key). I use a 4 way lug wrench that has 19mm and 21mm so it will pretty much take any steering wheel bolt off without much effort. Then once the bolt is off, I simply wiggle the steering wheel with both hands - one at 9 o'clock the other at 3 rather than pull straight back and it will nearly fall off...total piece of cake...seriously and I have pulled easily 20+ steering wheels over the years without the first hint of real effort using these methods.

[calico]

i got a spiral cable at the junkyard. I got two of them actually because the first one I put in messed up a couple months after I put it in. Horn, cruise, and airbag wasn't working. I'm not too sure what you're talking about though. I'm guessing you have an S13? The S14 is a plastic enclosed unit that looks like a square. It has a screw at each corner to keep it on. The inside of it has a ribbon cable (kinda like you see in a computer if you've ever taken one apart) that allows it to spin around. There's no rings or contacts or anything like that.

[carcrazyguy]

Yes, I have an S13. It has a round plate that looks like a spiral. It has 3 tracks that make contact with 3 pins on the steering column. These are for the cruise and horn.I guess I will get one at the junkyard and try it. However, I may price this part new and if it isn't much, I will just buy a new one.

[bone_stock_240]

Quick question. The horn wire is the green one and the cruise are yellow and white ones?? I am having trouble relocating my horn button. I spliced a button into the green wire, and grounded the other side of the button. It does not work. Before I switched steering wheels, it worked fine, but now, nothing

[bone_stock_240]

never mind. I figured it out. I was looking at the harness on the steering position sensor upside down, so I spliced into the wrong wire on the steering column side. Stupid me. I will fix it tomorrow morning while I am waiting for the car to warm up. That super winter storm that rolled through parts of the nothern states was soft as hell by the time it got to Toronto, Canada. I thought I was going to have a snow day, but now it turns out I have to work

[Wakedrifter]

the spiral part is called a clockspring.