Forest Find 1961 Mouse Grey 11-Window Standard

[swiss_bulli]

I was in a similar situation as you. Only heat was helping. Use a heat gun and heat from the top directly into the wheel center. It should pop off in a few seconds, if enough heat is present. Please be careful and make sure the steering nut is on the threads, so that the wheel is not going anywhere.

[crukab]

[BarryL]

Knock er Loose still sold. Never tried her.

[Longmont1302]

I cut two new washers. I'm cranking on it pretty hard with the breaker bar:

I've tried spraying this penetrant at the top and underneath, and have heated the nut until the penetrant has heated up and undoubtedly shortened my lifespan:

No success yet. I also whack on the top of the puller with a hammer every so often. I'm a little hesitant to crank too much harder on the breaker bar. Is that wise or chicken?

The nut doesn't have a lot of available thread. It seems like a fine line between not having a lot of wiggle room for the wheel to release, and having very few threads holding that nut on while I crank on the breaker bar or bang it with a hammer.

[BarryL]

Heat the hub of the wheel. At some point of too much force the nut will compress and expand the shaft tube as well as smish the threads. I've see some pretty thrashed keyed shafts repaired to safe conditions though.

[Z]

I never tried heating anything for removal with a heat gun. Think it gets hot enough? Seems like it would heat everything more evenly, instead of heating/expanding JUST a nut or shaft, etc.

Got a propane torch, ?

[cdennisg]

I would guess that if the hub is getting hot enough to bubble the penetrant, it is getting hot enough to expand the hub, which is what you are after. The only reason I didn't recommend flame as that it will likely ruin the wheel. IF you don't need to keep the wheel (it doesn't look that great) you may be able to use flame.

I also wonder if some whacks with a hammer and drift from the underside of the hub may help loosen that sucker, especially while there is tension on the puller from above.

The nut only needs to be backed off a little bit to allow room for the wheel to release. As I mentioned, when it goes, it will likely go with a BANG.
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nothing

[Longmont1302]

All week I cranked on the puller with the breaker bar, sprayed more penetrant, and applied heat. Nothing budged. I cranked so hard I worried something would explode. Friday I texted my friend Bill to ask if he'd look at my shoulder in case I was missing something like a woodruff key or something else that was keeping the wheel on. He said he could come by Saturday morning.

In preparation for his visit, I took the puller off, so he could watch the whole process; loosening the nut, spraying the penetrant, attaching the puller, etc... just to see if I had missed something.

Bill came over this morning and as he walked over to look at the wheel I closed the garage door. When I walked back across the garage he had the wheel free in his hands. All we can figure is that like someone loosening the lid on the pickle jar, and then next person opening it, he was just at the right place at the right time. He confirmed I was setting the puller up right. Go figure. Problem solved.

I do have two questions about reusing this wheel:
1. In removing the cancelling ring i broke not one but two screws. Any tips? Use a tiny screw to drill these out? Do they make taps that small?

2. I'd like to try to patch up the wheel a bit with some epoxy putty. My biggest concern is the part of the wheel around the horn where some large pieces have broken off.:

I'm wondering if anyone has had success reusing broken off parts like these, and if so, if they reattached them by means other than epoxy putty (which doesn't really seem like it's intended to be an adhesive). Here you can see the two pieces in place:

At any rate, thanks to everyone for all the helpful suggestions that resulted in getting the wheel off.

[sled]

heres how you fix that wheel...you buy a better one

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/detail.php?id=2147987

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/detail.php?id=2205915



the time you will have invested into your original wheel is not worth it.

time MUCH better spent elsewhere on the project.
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drive your split.

[Longmont1302]

Hi Sled,
Thanks for the undoubtedly good advice.
Doesn't it look like my wheel was originally white? This is the backside that hasn't been painted Batman black by teenagers (unlike most other surfaces of my bus):

Should a 1961 standard bus wheel be black? My steering wheel tube is white, too. Is that a clue?
It's not like I'm planning to restore it for the Palm Beach Concours, I'm just curious.
Scott

[EverettB]

White column = white wheel
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[BarryL]

[Culito]

I've been through your exact steering wheel pulling frustration. I had my buddy build this badass thing:

I've pulled two stubborn wheels without issues. Basically it's a piece of steel tubing that fits around the column, and I use it in conjunction with my harmonic balancer puller.
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Copyright CJ Industries, Inc.
'64 standard w/2.0L type 4
'62 bug

[Longmont1302]

[Skim]

[Longmont1302]

[EverettB]

[Longmont1302]

Thanks again, Everett.

[Longmont1302]

I made some headway on front floor removal.

As noted by others, I am having a lot more success using vise grips to wiggle the welds loose than using a spot weld remover bit. I found myself feeling sorry for anyone who has to remove a floor in one piece. That would be a drag. I was surprised that both the clutch and brake pedal nuts came off without a fuss. Today is a good day.

[Longmont1302]