Remove Steering Wheel of '83 240D

I have been trying to remove the dash panel from this car and it cannot come out with the steering wheel in place.

The steering wheel is the type with the countersunk hex screw and I have just spent 1/2 hour trying to remove it. I have the 10 mm hex wrench but unfortunately it is about 1/4" too short to come well clear of the wheel itself because the screw is way down in a hole in the column- under the MBZ badge.

I attached a piece of pipe a litte less than the radius of the steering wheel to the end of the wrench and whacked it many times, cclockwise - assuming the screw is right handed. Why would it need to be left handed in that situatiion? I then tried going the left handed route but it won't budge that way either. I used some easing oil around the screw but it didn't help.

Another disadvantage is that the depth of the hole in the screw for the hex key is only 1/4".

Should I drill the brat out?

TIA

Reply to
RF
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Hate to state the obvious, but standard screws loosen by turning anticlockwise.

You can get a hex head driver of the required size to use with an extension and ratchet.

TFN

Reply to
TFN

The screw is the regular type, i.e. clockwise to tighten and counterclockwise to loose. It will be difficult to remove because it has the high strength of "LocTite" applied on the thread: driving with steering wheel coming out should only happen in cartoon, not in real life :-)

I use the impact wrench to remove it.

RF wrote:

Reply to
Wan-ning Tan

I mentioned cclockwise = counterclockwise = anticlockwise

The depth of the socket in the screw is only 1/4" and it keeps pushing the hex bar back up, when I try to push down and turn. I have an impact driver but no robust 10 mm socket. I also need a short piece of 10 mm hex bar or I'll have to cut a piece off the usual bent 10 mm hex wrench.

Reply to
RF

That was what I guessed in my post. The word cclockwise fools some people.

Believe it or not, I removed that steering wheel about 10 years ago and I had far less trouble at that time than now and I never added LocTite when I was re-assembling. That area never had any water so the screw cannot be rusted in place.

The screw kept pushing the hex wrench up when I tried to turn it, and that's when I thought about the impact driver but I didn't have the adapter for it. This morning I'll be out shopping and I should be able to whack it out when I return.

Thanks for your comments and have a great weekend :-)

Reply to
RF

I hadn't used this impact driver for years so I lubricated it before starting.

Removing the screw wasn't as easy as I thought. I have the adapter - just a robust 10mm socket and a short piece of 10 mm hex bar. With the complete unit assembled I put the hex end against a workbench and the front part rotated slightlly cclockwise when I pressed very hard against the other end. so the unit was set to unscrew the countersunk hex screw. Then I tried the tool in the real screw and whacked hard four times with a 2 lb hammer. The screw never moved.

Could it be a left hand thread?

Reply to
RF

Are you positive you got the right hex bit for that steering bolt? It is critical you get the right size. Do not try to unscrew using the steering lock... you must turn the steering wheel all the way counterclockwise before attempting to remove the screw.

Otherwise, you practically damaged your steering lock mechanism.

Reply to
Tiger

The 10mm hex bit is an excellent fit. If I press it down into the screw and then try to rotate it in the screw's socket there is no play.

I moved the car a little in the garage by pushing and pulling and the steering lock was not engaged. That's when I made my first attempts with the impact driver.

Following your suggestion, I jacked up the car and turned the steering ALL the way to the left. At one point the steering lock clicked into place. However, I noticed that there was still some springiness in the steering when I turned cclockwise. By hand I could rotate it cclockwise by a few degrees and it sprang back when I released it.

I forcibly rotated the steering wheel all the way to the left and tied it in place with a rope. Then I gave the impact wrench 4 more very strong whacks with a 2 lb hammer. That old screw still won't budge.

Fortunately, the lock is fine.

Thank you Tiger for your contribution.

Reply to
RF

Mmm... with a breaker bar...and 1 1/2" pipe that is 6' long should be able to persuade the bolt to loosen up.

Reply to
Tiger

Reply to
Wan-ning Tan

Years ago I had the same problem with a steering wheel on a 115. I attached a long bar to the steering wheel and used a long extension to the wrench. It is cheaper to replace a steering wheel with a used one than the steering box or other expensive components. With some effort the bold came loose (steering wheel undamaged). With my newer cars removing the steering wheel was always easy (I never over tightened it). Always leave the key in ignition and the steering lock unlocked.

Rob

Reply to
RobP

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