OEM Steering wheel; issue

#21

I’ve got an '87 and the steering wheel lock is the same–it’s cast into the ignition somehow. I, too, spent a long time with my cage builder fiddling with it, removing the key cylinder, and using dentist-type tools. Finally I told him to #$%@ the finesse and grind the sucker down, which he did in short order. WARNING: He ground it down and reassembled everything without removing the remaining stub. Several weeks later while driving the car, the stub fell down in its guide hole and rotated, jamming up the entire works and precluding the key from turning. Luckily I had my tools in the trunk and nowhere to go in a hurry, so I disassembled the steering wheel column and fixed the problem. Moral of the story–grind or hack-saw the pin so it’s a little shorter. Then, push it down through the hole and grab it with a needle nose pliers. It should come right out since it only has a little bird’s mouth that engages the end of the activating lever arm. Good luck.

Sasha

#22

smdubovsky wrote:

[quote]FARTBREF wrote:

[quote]Re- removing front spring

what about buzzing the nut off with the strut still in the car then jack it up and take everything apart…

AL[/quote]

Thats how we’ve done it on the E30 (works on every vehicle I’ve ever owned). There is actually enough space you can remove the upper strut bearing and get the strut insert out though that hole, leaving the strut attached to the control arm, brakes, & tie rod. Take off old spring, insert new spring, insert new strut insert, tighten, put cabper plate/bushing back in. Takes <30min/side for the fronts.

The trick for the rears is to disconnect the shocks and get the suspension to full droop (the control arm will hit the subframe.) Then plazma cut MOST of the way through the springs (again, do at your own risk). They will sag, hit them w/ a hammer to break the slag, and they just fall out in 2 pcs. The new rears springs are short enough to drop right in. Of course, you have to take the rear subframe out when you want to do the bushings, but it you aren’t going that far yet then this is the easy way. Again, <30min/side.

SMD[/quote]
You can yank/pry the rears out without cotting them with the susp. at full droop. the rubber spring pads are all that are holding them in there.
You had room to turn the nut at the top of the strut tube that holds the insert in?

#23

I am not sure what the problems you guys had with the steering lock are… maybe my mAd sKiLLz made it easy but it literally took less than 5 minutes

#24

I had problems with my lock, too. I agree with cutting as much off with a hacksaw as possible from the engagement pin. I tried force, and ends up I now have to manually return my key to run from start. the spring-back doesn’t have the oomph.

For struts, I used the method Fartbref stated. I was able to turn the coller off the strut from between coils of H&R sports once I had zipped off the top nut and carefully lifted the car.

#25

Hmmm… I did not end up using any cutting tool when I removed ignition lock from my 87 is (non airbag). After I removed the pin with needle nose pliers, I used punch and hammer, and from bellow, just drove out (or up) the little notch that sticks out and engages the steering wheel (to lock it). I’ll see if I can find andy picture and post it later.
Igor

#26

Here are the steps that I was talking about
-getting the pin

  • driving the nub with the punch( blue thing in the pic)
  • pin and ‘nub’

Post edited by: igor, at: 2006/05/23 20:31

Post edited by: igor, at: 2006/05/23 20:32

#27

stub

#28

removed parts

#29

Once I removed the pin, slide over to the right as in the pic posted by Igor, the lock itself was the trouble maker.

Using the center punch and a plastic hammer, I was able get the lock at the correct angle to remove. There was a metal spring below it. I used needle nose pliers to bend it inward, so it was behind the lock, allowing the lock to be pushed far enough in.

Removing the front lugs is much more fun now without the lock.