help removing steering wheel 2001 alero

[royals1969]

my horn is malfunctioning in the 2001 alero...it seems the round metal board that the spring contacts is damaged. So i am trying to replace this part. Its a round plastic part with a thin metal on top of it. In order to get at this part, i need to remove the steering wheel from what i can tell...I already have disconnected the battery and removed the air bag. Now i removed the big nut on the steering column, but the steering wheel will not come off. what is the next step to remove the steering wheel...please help

[royals1969]

is there anyone out there who knows hpw to remove the steering wheel from this car? i am riding around without use of my horn. please help if you can...regards..royals

[BNaylor]

For GM cars including the Alero you will need a steering wheel puller tool to remove the steering wheel from the shaft.

Steering Wheel Puller J-1859-A
Steering Wheel Puller Legs J-36541

[royals1969]

well i tried a standard steering wheel puller with nuts and bolts on saturday and the steering wheel did not budge at all...i stopped because the only thing that was happening was the center bolt on the column was getting damaged/smashed. The puller i used was not with those special legs. don't know if it matters much using those special legs...anyway i thought maybe there was some step i was missing. So you say after i remove the nut on the steering column, just use the puller and the steering wheel should come off? how much force is needed to remove the darn thing anyway? royals

[cooter2]

I had the same problem when trying to replace my dash. I ended up taking the car in after 3 weekends of hell. I literally cracked my steering wheel in half trying to get it off (got a new one off a junked car).

Some tips:
1. Put pressure on the wheel with the steering wheel puller then hit the wheel collar with a punch/hammer to "Shock" it.
2. Try harder with the puller.
3. Heat it up. (not highly recommended)

I talked to a olds dealership mechanic and he said that some of them get siezed on and he has seen them shatter when pulling them. Not like the old cars that are easy to work with.

Just be careful and if you go for this prepare to replace the steering wheel as it may just be siezed on and there is nothing easy you can do to get it off.

[royals1969]

cooter2: thanks for the info...i will give it another attempt this weekend. i can't keep driving without a horn. I thought i was missing a step, but i guess not...Just need a lot of force to remove the steering wheel. like you say, there is a chance it will break, but lets hope not...as for using heat, well there are to many plastic parts in the area that prevent me from trying heat ....i'll just use some brute force with the puller , something has to give...lets hope the steering will comes off in one piece...thanks