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A place for more technical discussions. Please make sure you post in the correct section on the site, this way it keeps the site tidy AND ensures you get a more relevant answer.
Removing the steering wheel
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- Posts: 699
- Thank you received: 114
- Points: 1130.00
07 Jul 2018 07:43 - 07 Jul 2018 07:48 #194079
by Bosanek
Replied by Bosanek on topic Removing the steering wheel
Just to report on the results.
I have successfully replaced the steering wheels. The procedure which I performed was almost exactly how we all described it here. It was quite straightforward.
There was only one major obstacle - removing the steering wheel from the steering shaft. The classic remedy is to do some hammering of the steering shaft to unstuck the steering wheel from it. However, Suzuki's service manual harshly warns against banging the steering column as it is a collapsible modern design. So I did not use the hammer. It took me hell of a lot of various efforts to get it unstuck. Finally I managed to remove both steering wheels after applying several WD40-alike chemicals in a few iterations. But I was certainly starting to lose hope about the ability to perform the removal ...
Suzuki has a "special tool" to easily and elegantly disengage the steering wheel from the steering column, which is nothing more than a piece of thick metal plate with some holes for screws in it. It can be replicated at home if you have a very strong and thick metal plate, a good drill and a metal grinder. But I did not have all those and it would take a lot of time to grind and drill a very thick metal plate.
Another thing to take special care about is not to spin the collar on the steering shaft (it's very easy to accidentally spin it).
The best precaution is to mark its exact position in relation to the fixed parts of the dashboards as soon as you can. And even if it does spin after that, make sure that it does not spin more than one full circle. If it spins more than that, you risk breaking it and also you won't be certain how many full circles (and in which direction) to spin it back, even if you had marked the correct position!
I used the torque wrench to tighten the nut which holds the steering wheel onto the steering column and I recommend its use.
I have successfully replaced the steering wheels. The procedure which I performed was almost exactly how we all described it here. It was quite straightforward.
There was only one major obstacle - removing the steering wheel from the steering shaft. The classic remedy is to do some hammering of the steering shaft to unstuck the steering wheel from it. However, Suzuki's service manual harshly warns against banging the steering column as it is a collapsible modern design. So I did not use the hammer. It took me hell of a lot of various efforts to get it unstuck. Finally I managed to remove both steering wheels after applying several WD40-alike chemicals in a few iterations. But I was certainly starting to lose hope about the ability to perform the removal ...
Suzuki has a "special tool" to easily and elegantly disengage the steering wheel from the steering column, which is nothing more than a piece of thick metal plate with some holes for screws in it. It can be replicated at home if you have a very strong and thick metal plate, a good drill and a metal grinder. But I did not have all those and it would take a lot of time to grind and drill a very thick metal plate.
Another thing to take special care about is not to spin the collar on the steering shaft (it's very easy to accidentally spin it).
The best precaution is to mark its exact position in relation to the fixed parts of the dashboards as soon as you can. And even if it does spin after that, make sure that it does not spin more than one full circle. If it spins more than that, you risk breaking it and also you won't be certain how many full circles (and in which direction) to spin it back, even if you had marked the correct position!
I used the torque wrench to tighten the nut which holds the steering wheel onto the steering column and I recommend its use.
Last edit: 07 Jul 2018 07:48 by Bosanek.
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- Posts: 699
- Thank you received: 114
- Points: 1130.00
19 Jul 2018 07:14 #194446
by Bosanek
Replied by Bosanek on topic Removing the steering wheel
I made a brand new
wiki article
which contains the guide on how to replace a steering wheel, based on this forum topic.
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- Jim Jim
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Public
29 May 2019 15:24 #209185
by Jim Jim
Replied by Jim Jim on topic Removing the steering wheel
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