Steering wheel broken.

[Kaiser2boy]

I know Im putting on some weight but ,,
I was getting in and used the steering wheel to pull on and it broke. It had a small fracture on it but now its broken.
I have looked at a few of the normal sites to get one and did not see one listed at any site.
Anyone have an idea where I can get one? I looked at VPW and Mid West and a few others with no luck.

[Desoto61]

If it's just the exterior plastic they can be repaired. There was an article in PWA a little while back, though you can probably find others online. Quick version is to grind out the crack(s) so you can work some epoxy into them, sand it to shape and then a good automotive paint. There are a few places that can re-cast them but it's $$$.

If they're the same as the civilian PW I have the one that came off my truck, I think it was in good shape, but I'd have to remove it which can be trouble.

[tuko]

call up john at midwest mil, he had one on ebay a week ago new production 175 bucks or so.

[Kaiser2boy]

One other question I had but forgot to post was ,, I know there is steel inside of the stuff the wheel is made of but does the steel rods extend all the way from the hub to a large ring that runs around the entire steering wheel.
I ask because I can sort of pull the crack apart and look inside and I see a stump of a rod that only runs up the broken spoke about an inch or so from the hub/horn area. That is where it snaped.

I have some industrial grade black epoxy and I am going to open up the crack and pack it with epoxy and cross my fingers , then go back to searching if it wont hold.

[Cheyenne Dave]

One other question I had but forgot to post was ,, I know there is steel inside of the stuff the wheel is made of but does the steel rods extend all the way from the hub to a large ring that runs around the entire steering wheel.
I ask because I can sort of pull the crack apart and look inside and I see a stump of a rod that only runs up the broken spoke about an inch or so from the hub/horn area. That is where it snaped.

I have some industrial grade black epoxy and I am going to open up the crack and pack it with epoxy and cross my fingers , then go back to searching if it wont hold.

The three steel spokes are welded to the hub and the outer wheel. If you plan on using epoxy, you should brake away the plastic so you can weld the broken steel back together first. The epoxy alone will not hold.

cd

[Kaiser2boy]

Ouch thats what I thought. I can see the stump and it looks very neat and clean, not like a break . It has a small amount of light rust on all the parts I can see if it is a broken spoke it has been broken for a while.

I called VPW and they do sell a replacement wheel . It is not an exact replacement. It is made of plastic but looks like the original. $195.00 another ouch.
I am going to attempt a repair and if it fails I guess its bite the bullit and buy another wheel.

[Kaiser2boy]

Ah Ha.. so its not me getting to fat. Started cutting out the crack and what do I find ?? PINK CRAP. It seems the wheel was broken some time in the past and who ever just stuffed Bondo in there and sanded it and painted it.
I checked the other spokes and , YEP all three have been gyped up with body filler.
The steel spoke on one , the one that popped is broken so It will be a bit more of a job.
The prior owner that did the bondo job did a good job of hiding the repair but bondo has very little strength. If he had used a good grade industrial epoxy I may have never known about it. But thats the old , IF story.

[Cheyenne Dave]

A couple of years ago, I broke a steering wheel spoke in Moab. The wheel still worked pretty well, but the flex would spook me at times.

While thinking about how I would effect a repair, I managed to break a second spoke. This was in the middle of winter and I was only about 30 miles from town, but I was 4 miles from a road. Lots of drifts, blowing snow, freezing temps., and a busted steering wheel. Swell

It was a thrilling ride back to town, hoping I wouldn't need to limp back using vise grips as a steering wheel. At least now I had the perfect excuse to tear into a wheel and see if I could fix it.

I started by scoring the outer coating where the spokes meat the outer wheel, right down to the steel with a die grinder. The I broke of all the coating inward to and including the hub. It was all full of cracks and I knew I would need to start from scratch. The outer wheel coating is cracked but that can be easily filled.

With all the coating removed, it was very simple to repair the broken spokes at the hub, and then reinforce each spoke to be stronger than original. The basic top, bottom, and middle outside diameters of the original features of the hub have been duplicated using steel rings. I have not yet decide how I will cover everything back up, but I have narrowed my choices to wood, fiberglass or leather.

[Kaiser2boy]

Wow not hard to see why they crack. The welding hardens it at the weld and then beyond that point there is a long section that can flex. Bad set up. They should have been heat treated after welding to relieve the stress and brittleness.

Yes trying to recoat the spokes would be a real test of your sculpturing skills.
Blending in a few inches OK , the entire spoke ,,not so easy.

[Desoto61]

If you can get access to a good original wheel should be fairly easy to get a mold of it, from there it wouldn't be too hard to rebuild the old one with a newer/better resin. There are companies that already do this.

[gusbratz]

wow, you know you need power steering when people are busting steering wheels! lol.

[Cheyenne Dave]

Metal fatigue, the sleeping menace...

cd

[Cheyenne Dave]

If you can get access to a good original wheel should be fairly easy to get a mold of it, from there it wouldn't be too hard to rebuild the old one with a newer/better resin. There are companies that already do this.

It would not even need to be in good shape structurally. You would only need to repair it cosmetically, if it is only to be used for a pattern. The real issue is the armature. and that can't be any bigger than the original or it won't fit inside the mold.

Fun!

cd

[Desoto61]

Either way the repairs are almost better looking than the stock wheel. Maybe you need to paint it and re-coat the middle in a clear resin.

[bobyepsr]

Kiser2boy, I sent you a message through the forum. I may have a wheel for you.
bobyepsr khill10(AT)juno.com