steering wheel removal...?

[hysteria]

so the car i am modifying came with disgusting brown interior. so i bought a second car that had flawless interior and i stripped both and am replacing and cleaning everything (man carpets are gross.)

so the steering wheel on the donor car is in much better shape. i removed everything around it and the middle bolt. should come off but it doesn't. so i used a universal steering wheel puller that has three grips and then a center bolt that you tighten in order to get leverage on the steering wheel and make it come off. well the middle plate that the three grips attach to started bending and the stupid steering wheel wouldn't come off.i tried making another thing to try and pull it off. i got a few metal plates and put holes in them and then tried to basically do the same thing as the universal puller. tightening bolts into the plate that the horn and everything are attached to and putting pressure on the center spline to get the thing offstill won't budge.what should i do?i'm gonna spray wd40 on it and let it soak, but aside from this i am out of ideas... i have to get this stupid thing off. it's so much nicer than the one in my car. mines all destroyed and it flakes off on your hand and everything. it's a piece of crap. and even when i get this one off i still have to get the one in my car off too. i'll try and get pictures up if no one knows what i'm talking about. any help would be appreciated. thanks.

[slydin'240]

Some are easy to get off, some are hard. You are on the right track though. I pulled off the one in the junkyard with no problem. The one in my car on the other hand was a PITA. I bent both bolts trying to get it off. When I was about ready to give up, it popped off. Keep trying man it will come off.

[SeVa-S13]

I've found the steering wheels are alot like the stock shiftknobs: some you can just muscle off without too much problem but some will NEVER come off. My friend's stock S14 shiftknob we utterly destroyed with vise grips and every tool imaginable to try to get it off. I think in the end we had to replace the whole shifter.

As for the wheels, most of the time I can just stand on the driver's seat and yank with all my might with my hands ate 9 and 3 o'clock, and kinda try to rock it back and forth til it breaks free and I nearly fall ou of the car, making an *** of myself. Other will simply come off with a good whap. Basically just stick with it and get a freiend stronger than you to help. Good luck.

[GhostDriver]

Damn....I've muscled off the wheels from an FC and my S13 but if it won't budge with a puller then you have yourself a problem. Wait and see how that WD40 works out. Anyway, get ready for some frustration and more pulling.

[hysteria]

thanks for the support... i mean if it comes to destroying them then i'll just leave em in place, and deal with the crappy one i have on my car right now. i have no problem trashing that one really, but i have to have 2 functional wheels to put back on both cars.anyway i'll keep at it. thanks again

[Dano]

ive done a number of em, if u have an s14, you'll need to get a T55 tamper resistant torx bit to remove the airbag (MAKE SURE you disconnect the battery for at least an hour to drain the capacitor charge for the airbags (it stores a charge for a while after the battery is disconnected) and once u get those out, carefully remove the airbag and remove the main nut, then pull from the top, pulll from the bottom, shake vigorously or watever u got to do, just dont turn it and strip the threads, lol. I've done a number of wheels and never required the use of a puller... just muscle it. S13 is just the nut, no airbag... Best of luck to u!

-Dan

[hysteria]

yeah i have an s13.thanks

[hysteria]

ok THANK YOU ALL VERY MUCHi got it off with your advice. thanks it looks and feels much better on my car now.