|
The steering wheel is fitted to splines at the top of the steering shaft. There is no "index" to mount the wheel on the shaft in only one postion--it can be mounted in as many positions as there are splines. You also have splines at the two flex joints in the steering shaft in the engine compartment--so there is the possibility of slight variation from car to car. With the steering rack itself centered the position of the steering wheel may not be perfectly centered--it may take moving it one or more splines--or--if it is off by less than one spline's worth the choice then is to leave it as is on the shaft and center it by fudging a little at the tie rods--the rack will then be slightly off center but the small amount will not affect performance in any way. If your car is late enough to have an airbag, removing the wheel will require following a procedure to preserve the airbag works (disconnect the battery before doing anything with an airbag equipped car's steering shaft/wheel). I've never had a wheel off an airbag equipped car so I can't describe the procedure -- you'll find that in the repair books. On a non-airbag car all that needs to be done to remove the wheel is lift off the horn pad--loosen the nut holding the wheel leaving it on the shaft a few turns--grasp the wheel at opposite sides and using a fair amount of muscle and a side to side alternating pull motion the wheel will pop off the shaft---the nut you left on the shaft will keep the wheel from springing up and smacking you in the mouth. -- Dave
|
