The very first time I tried to pull the wheel off of Old Sadie, dad kept telling me there was absolutely no way I'd be able to do it without a puller. I tried it anyway and with a couple tugs, it was off. :mrgreen:
But 99.9% of the time, you're going to need a puller.
I removed the torq screws to pull the wheel off, and then 1 giant nut, and my wheel slid off on its own as there was a large spring behind the wheel that sort of naturally pushed it off. I assume this is a good thing since it did not require anything special to get it off but does it mean that something is missing that should be holding the wheel on stronger?
I had to put two threaded bolts into the holes in the wheel and use a puller to get the original wheel off of my 68. Better to use a puller than beat on the wheel and risk damage to any part of the assembly. Good Luck. Tom
You can also get lucky and back the large nut off to the end of the shaft to protect the threads, then apply steady pressure to the back of the steering wheel with your thighs and tap on the shaft (with the nut flush with the end of the shaft) with a mallet. If you have a brass or synthetic hammer all the better. The wheel will usually pop off without any problems. I used to do it this way untill I got a steering wheel puller awhile back. You can also use a harmonic puller if you have one.
...make sure you leave the nut on a few turns. The 'wheel can stick on the splines, and when you got all your effort into it, it pops off and smacks you in the face.