Steering wheel - Wood or AMG?

[jaymanek]

The wood one looks like it was bought from www.gericia.com

To be honest, im pretty sure it came from KMS in birmingham... it came with the car and looks almost new..

 

[Brian WH]

Mine is half wood and I have gotten used to it now. My original thoughts was that it was going to be cold and slippery, but it is OK. I must say I prefer mine to yours Jay - sorry.

But I prefer your existing wheel to the new one.

 

[television]

I would agree 100% with Brian's post

 

[A-AvantGarde]

Brian, that's the design I prefer, mine in the W203 is like this, it's leather rimmed with wood inset:

 

[Howard]

I just voted AMG , if i can't buy it for a good price , you might as well put it on the SEC

Seriously , it's the nicer wheel , and has that 'old skool' touch about it ....

 

[jeremytaylor]

I voted AMG, because unlike most here I don't like wooden wheels, especially the one on the SEC at the moment. Not that I like the AMG that much, it's just better than the wooden wheel.

I DO however like Brians wheel - the dark silk finish to the wood is very tasteful. But I would still prefer to hold leather

 

[Mudster]

The AMG wheel is the correct one for the car, they did an option of that AMG wheel with a wood rim, very rare.

If you decide not to go with it I'm also interested, will do you a deal on some side skirts.

I also have an earlier AMG steering wheel, the type fitted to the series one SEC, I think that would work better in the W123, much smaller centre boss=more instrument view.

 

[jaymanek]

right well some muppet, whoever fitted the wooden steering wheel pre my ownership, thought it would be a good idea to round of the hex nut that holds the wheel on..

so my attempts with the correct hex socket and ratchet last night just made matters worse as it is very very tight..

im going to have to try a long tyre lever bar on my socket and if that doesnt work i guess im going to have to find a long metal drill to destroy the head of the bolt???

Malclom - any clever ideas here, its so far recessed its difficult to work the bolt..

have ordered a new bolt anyway..

 

[IanA2]

I like wood and leather too...looking for one for me 60......although your wood wheel might not match your interior wood exactly, methinks it has a lot more class.

 

[television]

I would like to see a picture of it.

Since we are not worried about how tight the wheel is on the spline, then maybe a can of plumbers freeze would shrink the top sufficiently to release the grip. heat is the wrong way to go, the bosses are normally alli, so quite a rapid action.

 

[jaymanek]

plumbers freeze? i can get this from a plumbing shop presumably?

cars in the garage at home, im going to bring it to work tomorrow as it was a bit of a trick trying to hold the steering wheel tight with my feet and trying to keep the ratchet centred... so another pair of hands and some more brutal tools may be needed...

 

[television]

plumbers freeze? i can get this from a plumbing shop presumably?

cars in the garage at home, im going to bring it to work tomorrow as it was a bit of a trick trying to hold the steering wheel tight with my feet and trying to keep the ratchet centred... so another pair of hands and some more brutal tools may be needed...

Its also sold now by Motor factors as an alternative to heating exhaust bolts

Thinking on this it would also be OK to freeze the bolt as well as the boss

 

[Will]

You'll need a big breaker bar and a very good socket, I think it's something like 10 or 12mm from memory.

Even when they're on normally they're extremely tight, you'll need an assistant to hold the wheel very strongly. Then make sure you keep the socket very straight and get some decent leverage on the bar.

The bolt is thread locked and possibly tapered from what I remember, about £2 or £3 for a new one.

I've got a strong 2ft snap-on bar and socket which was very useful for this on one of my 190s.

Will

 

[whitenemesis]

right well some muppet, whoever fitted the wooden steering wheel pre my ownership, thought it would be a good idea to round of the hex nut that holds the wheel on..

so my attempts with the correct hex socket and ratchet last night just made matters worse as it is very very tight..

im going to have to try a long tyre lever bar on my socket and if that doesnt work i guess im going to have to find a long metal drill to destroy the head of the bolt???

Malclom - any clever ideas here, its so far recessed its difficult to work the bolt..

have ordered a new bolt anyway..

When I had my Linguatronic fitted it took two guys to get the steering wheel off!

I would suggest using a slightly smaller socket, tap it on over the bolt. Get some one to steady the wheel and using a long lever on the socket ease the bolt loose.

Check the correct torque for fitting the new 'wheel. I had one come loose on me whilst trialing my Imp round Cornwall many years ago! Scary

 

[jaymanek]

You'll need a big breaker bar and a very good socket, I think it's something like 10 or 12mm from memory.

Even when they're on normally they're extremely tight, you'll need an assistant to hold the wheel very strongly. Then make sure you keep the socket very straight and get some decent leverage on the bar.

The bolt is thread locked and possibly tapered from what I remember, about £2 or £3 for a new one.

I've got a strong 2ft snap-on bar and socket which was very useful for this on one of my 190s.

Will

Thanks mate, its 12mm and its because the plug is rounded that im having the issue... im not sure there will be enough left on the plug bolt thing to get it off in one piece...

 

[jaymanek]

I would suggest using a slightly smaller socket, tap it on over the bolt. Get some one to steady the wheel and using a long lever on the socket ease the bolt loose.

It wouldnt be so much of an issue if it were a bolt head, its one of these and its rounded off:

 

[whitenemesis]

Bro'inlaw had a special tool to deal with those, a sort of serrated star hex (if that makes sense!) you drive it into the hex with a hammer. I think it was from Snap-On...

 

[television]

What would I do, I would drill a hole where I have marked, about 1/4"

then I would get a piece of wood with a U in the top that would wedge on top of a piece of 4 x 2 spanning the floor and jam it under the steering wheel to take out any bounce.

Then I would freeze it well as this is also considered to be shock.

Then take a large punch with the point ground off that fitted in the drilled hole, and one good blow from a 2lb-4ld hammer would undo it, by drilling the hole near the edge you are effectively doubling the torque ratio as from using the center.

It will work

 

[whitenemesis]

With 80Nm, that's going to take some shifting. I would be worried about damaging the steering column striking it hard enough to shift that. Never mind the possiblity of slipping off the bolt and damaging the steering wheel!

 

[television]

With 80Nm, that's going to take some shifting. I would be worried about damaging the steering column striking it hard enough to shift that. Never mind the possiblity of slipping off the bolt and damaging the steering wheel!

With a support under to take out the bounce, thats half the battle, you cant slip with the chisel if you hold it correctly, plus if it did not work, no further damage to the center hole