Wheel removal

[mite66]

Hi all,

I tried for several minutes today to remove my wheel :bang: to get rid of an auto-pilot ring installed by a previous owner but could not take it out.

I removed the holding nut and pulled hard on the wheel but I can only move it by about 1/8". It does feel loose but something is still holding it there.

Anyone has a clue of what's happening ?

 

[Benny]

Is that the key sandwiched there at the the 2 O'Clock position? If it is, it may be jamming the wheel to the shaft. If it is a light reflection showing in the photo disregard the following. Would have recommended to bust up the AP plastic ring for removal but now it seems it would be best to remove the wheel. Try tapping the wheel back into position and rotating it clockwise to align the key with the slot of the wheel so it can be easier to pry out. Be gentle turning once that wheel hits the rudder stop by applying pressure gradually. A little lubricant may help.

 

[Steve Dion]

This is very common. Try some PB blaster or WD-40 in the area around the shaft and keyway. They get rusty and can be very difficult to remove.

Once you get it off, be sure to use some lubricant and remove the wheel once or twice a year.

 

[mite66]

Thanks Steve and Benny for the feedback.

Benny: The AP ring is made out of some heavy casted material and I'm pretty sure that it would be hard to cut out. Also, I already tried to turn the wheel one way or another once I reached the stopper but did not want to force it too much and I did not get the feeling it would do anything.

So I will try again to remove the wheel using some lubricant but I would really like to know what is holding it there first. Is there a removable key in the keyway ? Do I need to remove it first ? By the front or by the rear ?

 

[Steve Dion]

It is probably rust. If PB or WD does not do the trick, you need a wheel puller. There is a key in the keyway and that is what probably caused most of the rust buildup.

 

[Bill1565]

Try heating the wheel hub to expand the hole. Repeat heat and PB Blaster. Repeat Repeat. Once took me 5 days to get a wheel off, but a Hair dryer and a can of PB Blaster were all I had to work with. Do not apply much pull or you will screw up the bearings holding the shaft in place

 

[mite66]

Thank you Bill, good idea. I do have an heat gun so I definitely will give it a try.

 

[Warren Milberg]

Although this looks like a pretty typical Merriman wheel setup, which includes a key that fits into a keway and is removed after you slide the wheel aft, the picture seems to show what looks like a circlip around the center shaft. If so, that may be holding the wheel on and may need to be removed with circlip pliers first.

 

[mite66]

Thanks Warren,

the hub does indeed have a circlip on the back but I couldn't find one on the front. Also, I would not think that it would be needed at all since the big casted nut that I removed is normally holding everything there.

 

[mite66]

I looked at my picture again and and I think that it's the shaft thread that give this circlip illusion. The picture was taken with my phone so sorry for the bad quality of it .

 

[Benny]

Yes a removable key is present to aling the wheel to the shaft but in order to remove it you need to remove the wheel first. The key sits in a slot in the shaft and aligns with the slot on the wheel hub. In your case the key has been pushed out of the slot and has jammed between the wheel and the shaft. The idea is to get the wheel back into position to where the key may be aligned back in the slot. Add a lubricant to the shaft and wheel, tap the wheel back in and turn it until the key aligns with the slot. The wheel needs to be pulled straight back with no side motion to remove. Bear in mind that that key may now be deformed and it may not fit well into the slots but the jamming should be reduced. Use patience, lubricant and pull on the wheel straight out. Oh, the AP wheel is plastic and with a hex saw you could cut right through it. Just look at the positive side that once you get the wheel off you can replace the key and lubricate the hub and it will be cinch to remove it after that.

 

[mite66]

It is removed.

Nothing fancy was found, no clip, nothing. Just a matter of putting some oil and pullling hard.

Thank you all.