Jack Spratt

Success! Thank you sincerely to everyone who contributed by offering constructive comments about my steering wheel problem.I am grateful for the efforts that members undertook to assist me including the taking and posting of photos. I called at a local garage in Fairfield and the mechanic produced a Posilock Gear and Bearing Puller Model 104. Unlike the pullers that I had tried from Sydneytools and Bunnings this was a commercially produced puller specifically designed for multiple uses, one of which is solving my problem. Steve Beckwith of Remake Garage (94824022) did a superb job and had the housing off in two minutes flat. The cost? $20! I've attached a photo of Steve so if any Melburnians need work done he'd be happy to assist you. He is an honest, competent mechanic and a good bloke to boot. I was so happy with his service that I've booked my boat in to have the bearings checked later this week. Kind regards

Thanks again for the ongoing suggestions as to how best solve my problem. I'm consulting a local mechanic this afternoon to see if he can assist.

Can do. I'll try my luck tomorrow by ringing around. Regards

Thank you. Early doors I called my usual motor mechanic and he advised that he didn't get involved in marine matters. I hadn't thought of others so will seek out a few tomorrow and see whether they can assist. Many thanks for your suggestion. If they too are closed then I think that I'm in a bind.

Hello again Trial and error have shown that the appropriate puller is 50mm or less and unfortunately they do not appear to be made in that size. It seems that I am left with two options. The first is that I wait until the Victorian Premier decides that small business including marine mechanics can again function as they should and no one knows when that will be or I try and cut the offending part away from the threaded shaft. It may be that someone has actually faced this predicament and may be able to offer more advice than has already been provided. That advice has assisted me to get to this point but now I’m stuck. The difficulty with attempting to cut though the remaining metal fixture is that I have very little room to move and I will need to avoid cutting into the thread or I am cactus!

Morning all, I'm still working on it. As mentioned I'm not the world's best handyman but have now stripped the surrounds down to the shaft with a circular housing remaining by drilling holes in the bakelite surround. Once I "joined" the holes drilled, I was able to dismantle the housing. Please refer to two attached photos. The gap between the base of the surround and the "dashboard" is 10mm or 1 cm thick. My immediate problem now is that neither a 75mm nor 100 mm gear puller arms will fit so as to allow me to pull the remaining housing away from the "whole." As a layman it seems to me that the larger the dimensions of the puller the less likely the "grippers" will fit between the bottom of the housing and the "dashboard. Apologies for the strangled language but that's the best I can do. Ultimate question is ...am I on the right track or right out of whack? An alternative already suggested is that I use a grinder and remove it that way. Angry51 suggests the 150mm would be suitable but as I've indicated I am unable to fit the 75mm or the 100mm so I don't see how the 150mm would fit. By the way, I've applied WD40 liberally to no effect.

Afternoon all, I'm still working on it. As mentioned I'm not the world's best handyman but have now stripped the surrounds down to the shaft with a circular housing remaining by drilling holes in the bakelite surround. Once I "joined" the holes drilled, I was able to dismantle the housing. The gap between the base of the surround and the "dashboard" is 10mm or 1 cm thick. My immediate problem now is that neither a 75mm nor 100 mm gear puller arms will fit so as to allow me to pull the remaining housing away from the "whole." As a layman it seems to me that the larger the dimensions of the puller the less likely the "grippers" will fit between the bottom of the housing and the "dashboard. Apologies for the strangled language but that's the best I can do. It seems to me that I need to exchange my recently purchased 100mm puller for a 50mm puller and if my man doesn't sell 50mm pullers I may have to look at cutting the surround off. An alternative already suggested is that I use a grinder and remove it that way. By the way, I've applied WD40 liberally to no effect Ultimate question is ...am I on the right track or right out of whack?

Many thanks to the two parties who responded immediately. I'm grateful for your suggestions and will take them into consideration. Kind regards

Morning all, My bakelite steering wheel on my 4.7 metre Sea Breeze has fractured after earlier having a spoke break away from the wheel. In attempting to remove it, the wheel pretty much came apart in my hands. I am now wanting to replace the wheel but with the virus, all marine repairers are closed. The nut holding the wheel is a 15/16th inch which I have been able to easily remove. The wheel surround is proving more difficult to remove. My request is what size "Gear Puller" should I use to separate the housing from the steering column. (Apologies if my terminology is out of whack. I'm the world's worst handyman.) The circumference at the base of the steering wheel is 11 inches or 28 centimetres. Two Gear Pullers (see photo) that are available to buy come in 75mm and 150mm sizes. Is anyone able to advise what size Puller would be most suitable to separate the housing from the steering column please?