The 'E' Type Forum

Hi

Today's job was to refurb the steering wheel. So I diligently checked the diagrams, previous posts etc. First I removed the three grub screws and using a palette knife started to easy the central motif forward.

Snap.

Instead of just the central motif, the whole plastic centre came away - motif and the motif mount. I'm now left with 2 rivets on a metal piece in the centre preventing access to the nut.



Should this metal piece just come out? I can't get it to move.

Thats a bugger.

With the three grub screws in the side of the steering wheel boss backed off, your horn push should have slipped out, as you know.

The bottom of the horn push has lip on the outside edge, onto which the grub screws locate.
As the scews have been removed, i suggest that the base is not circular and is jammed.
It is knackered in any case, so nothing to stop you getting rough

My steering wheel is bolted to the boss. So i just unbolt the six small nuts, after removing the horn push.

Good luck

mark10337 wrote:Hi

Should this metal piece just come out? I can't get it to move.

Yes it needs to come out. With the grub screws all out is should be loose.... if not you will need to gently lever it out.

Once it's out you will be able to Araldite it all back together.

http://jollyrogersmotors.com/store/p/10 ... -Type.html has pics of what it looks like underneath.

any ideas how to get this out. It doesn't seem to want to move. I've tried hooking round behind it with allen keys through the centre. has someone got a clever idea? I haven't got any pullers or anything, just a basic tool set.

Hi Mark...you removed the 3 grub screws...but just check if you csn what else is in the holes the screws came out of.....did the whole grub screw come out.....if no screws left in then can you twist the metal piece with the rivets on......it should just slot in twist to get it into position and fit the 3 grubs to hold the lower lip in place....possibly glud in by previuos owner ? You can see at about 2 o/clock in your photo the hole where one of the screws is out

Hi Mark,

Used a slide hammer, the part get off.

Mich

found what the problem was. A PO or his trusted garage must have been missing a 3rd screw and had inserted a pin and some glue into one of the holes. Shame it caused me to break the mounting. Another item for the order list.

mark10337 wrote:found what the problem was. A PO or his trusted garage must have been missing a 3rd screw and had inserted a pin and some glue into one of the holes. Shame it caused me to break the mounting. Another item for the order list.

I'd suspect the threads that the missing grub screw would have wound into. If they are useless or completely gummed up with araldite or whatever, a new hole and thread will need to be cut. I don't know if your basic tool kit runs to a set of taps. If not and you feel inclined, beware. There are a lot of very inferior taps on offer through eBay and other on line sources. Quality is essential. And costs.

Thanks Chris. Good pointer! I do have some taps but nothing that size. I need to invest in a set of the smaller ones. Any recommended makes? In fact, this could be a good FAQ - recommended tools. I got a slide rule that David recommended on one thread and am very pleased with it.

Mark,

Start by trying to dissolve or pick the glie out first.

Greenfield, Butterworth were the names, but I'm not sure if they are still making their own stuff or if the small ones are made under license (special cat hair and snot alloy). If you are at a show like Fribourg, or Morges (Which was this weekend) here are some rules of thumb for spotting a decent tap set:

The only black part will be the square bit of the drive end. Everything else will be ground.
4 straight flutes
3 taps in each size (2x ground pointed end, 1x flat end) these will be marked with 1, 2 or 3 rings on the shank
crisp laser markings of the size and pitch and Mfr name. Even better if the alloy is also marked.

With Al, similar to the red metals, you don't want a brand new perfectly sharp tap.

For the moment if I were in your place I would look for a local classic car garage and stop by there at lunch. They will probably have inch taps (the grubscrews are #8 or 10 NF, but NOT Whitworth!), and the guy will probably clean the glue out for you if you put 10 or 20 CHF in the Kaffeekasse.

Starting a tap in a hole that is already threaded, particularly in a soft material, and a small NF hole at that is about the steepest part of the learning curve.

Ask him where you can get good taps and dies locally, or wait until the next car show and look there, or order from the UK.

Actually, you don't need a Tap and Die set unless you are making parts from scratch. What you really want is called a thread chaser set. These are sort of like taps and dies, but they are only designed to clean an existing thread of rust, dirt, loctite, paint etc. These are not widely known in the German speaking world. Unfortunately the smallest size of chaser I have ever seen is 1/4, below which you end up using a tap or die again. I use cheap blackened metal import taps for chasing really small holes - these are too crap for tapping a hole from scratch in anything other than cheese, but they're not bad for chasing a hole.

So... after all that - go into Migros, Jumbo, Obi or Coop, sometimes they have metric sets which include the small imperial sizes, but you have to look carefully to make sure that it includes the sizes you need.