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Stripped steering wheel bolt

Th3BobbyHill
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Mac-427 Enthusiast

Mac-427

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The problem with using a screw extractor is the chance of breaking it.  If that happens, drilling will be impossible because screw extractors are made of extremely hard steel and won't drill.

Th3BobbyHill Enthusiast

Th3BobbyHill

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The thing is I don’t have any of those tools available I’d have to go buy some but I’m honestly afraid I’d screw it up even more. My appointment with local dealership is Thursday but I’m starting to think they might not even be able to get it out or want to mess with it 

Th3BobbyHill Enthusiast

Th3BobbyHill

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I actually had a buddy I work with used an air chisel to get it out but I think it may have pushed the shaft down a little bit because once the new steering wheel was on it rubs against the plastic that goes around steering column and I took the steering wheel back off and put old one back on just to see if it would rub as well and it did so I’m kinda just dealing with it right now thinking of putting a washer on the shaft between the steering wheel to push it out so it won’t rub

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Mac-427 Enthusiast

Mac-427

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In addition to an air bag, modern cars and trucks have crushable steering columns as a safety feature to prevent the driver from being "speared" in a head on collision.  Hopefully the use of an air chisel has not affected the column's ability to collapse in a wreck. Rather than using a washer to fix the problem, you might want to get the column checked out by a professional.

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Transient Senior Enthusiast

Transient

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On 11/29/2021 at 1:02 AM, Th3BobbyHill said:

New Philadelphia, Ohio

I was hoping to help, but you're too far away.  Sorry. 

c0ld29 Enthusiast

c0ld29

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On 11/30/2021 at 11:20 AM, Th3BobbyHill said:

I actually had a buddy I work with used an air chisel to get it out but I think it may have pushed the shaft down a little bit because once the new steering wheel was on it rubs against the plastic that goes around steering column and I took the steering wheel back off and put old one back on just to see if it would rub as well and it did so I’m kinda just dealing with it right now thinking of putting a washer on the shaft between the steering wheel to push it out so it won’t rub

Check that the plastic pieces around the column are snapped in properly. When I replaced the cluster/wheel I had this same thing happen, but the plastic just needed to be seated better. 

  • 2 months later...
Dthissen Enthusiast

Dthissen

Posted
Posted
On 11/30/2021 at 12:20 PM, Th3BobbyHill said:

I actually had a buddy I work with used an air chisel to get it out but I think it may have pushed the shaft down a little bit because once the new steering wheel was on it rubs against the plastic that goes around steering column and I took the steering wheel back off and put old one back on just to see if it would rub as well and it did so I’m kinda just dealing with it right now thinking of putting a washer on the shaft between the steering wheel to push it out so it won’t rub


I just got mine on and it also is rubbing. Not going to look at it tonight, but what did you end up doing about it?

yofxr Enthusiast

yofxr

Posted
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Use a left hand drill bit, large enough so the point tip just fits in the hole , smaller than the tread diameter . use a slow speed 1/2 " drill in reverse mode with a lot of downward pressure . Make the bit "catch" and don't allow the drill to twist out of your grip. The bolt will pop free.

  • 11 months later...
Beyr New Member

Beyr

Posted
Posted

A bit late to the conversation, but for anyone looking for answers, new Milwaukee hard metal bits and a Ryobi extractor worked just fine. 

  • 4 weeks later...
The Raven Enthusiast

The Raven

Posted
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So here's what I did - I had this problem on my CTS because they put far too much threadlocker on the steering wheel bolt (in addition to the dumb idea to change the bolt to a torx bolt at some point - older ones are hex).  I put a cutoff wheel on my dremel, covered the entire driver's side of the interior in towels, and cut the top and bottom edges off of the bolt head - I cut it down just enough to hammer a universal socket on.  Before I hammered the socket on I heated the crap out of the bolt with a heat gun.  Then I attached a 24" breaker bar, with another 24" extension, held the steering wheel in place with a 2x4 propped underneath the left spoke, and put all my weight on the bar while basically jumping up and down...after the fourth try it finally moved.  It was a fight but I finally got it off.  I then chiseled as much threadlocker off of the new bolt as possible...they REALLY cake it on there.

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