Steering Wheel Restoration

[Rick Iverson]

Gents;

Changing from one steering wheel quick release manufacturer to another. I have a new Momo steering wheel that has holes to be filled. Any help?

[tlracer]

Holes = lightness!

Alternatively maybe the sort of push-in plastic blanking plug used on the ends of metal tubing, eg:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/304566321094

[Earley Motorsports]

Have someone just tig them up and grind the excess metal off and redrill. That would be the easiest if you don't want the holes.

[billtebbutt]

My welder refused to do this same job for me. No way. Not gonna touch it. Thin alloy of unknown origin, in a stressful application.

Lest you think he doesn't know what he's doing, he's the same guy that fabs up formula car chassis, a-arms, rebuilds broken gearbox adapters, fabs up entire IMSA cars, etc. But he looked at this and thought welding it was a baaaaad idea....

cheers,
BT

[Jerry Kehoe]

Probably the diameter of all of them are similar so make up a thin washer that covers all of them, paint or polish it and the unused holes are covered.

[Steve Davis]

Best idea might be to use the original holes that are there .. and weld a new mounting adapter to have your input steering shaft where you want it when the wheel is where you want it.

I would worry about too many holes in such a small area as the center of a MOMO wheel. I have seen the results of a failed steering mount and it leaves a bed taste in your mouth...

Steve

[Earley Motorsports]

Delete my comment about welding it up. It was just a thought, haven't done it. As you were

My welder refused to do this same job for me. No way. Not gonna touch it. Thin alloy of unknown origin, in a stressful application.

Lest you think he doesn't know what he's doing, he's the same guy that fabs up formula car chassis, a-arms, rebuilds broken gearbox adapters, fabs up entire IMSA cars, etc. But he looked at this and thought welding it was a baaaaad idea....

cheers,
BT

[DaveW]

Gents;

Changing from one steering wheel quick release manufacturer to another. I have a new Momo steering wheel that has holes to be filled. Any help?

I would make a small disk of similar thickness to the wheel center which covers the current holes. Then when you make the new hole pattern, bolting it down will keep the center strong and fatigue-resistant in fore-aft bending. Torque loads, IMO, should not be an issue as long as the new holes are separated from the old ones since most steering wheels are very strong in the circumferential direction.

Having said all that, I have had 2 hole patterns in several steering wheels (w/o the above-mentioned disk), and subsequently bent them in incidents. Never had one break or even crack, and they were able to be straightened and be used just as if they were never bent. I never even thought of welding - never necessary.

[tlracer]

Holes = lightness!

Alternatively maybe the sort of push-in plastic blanking plug used on the ends of metal tubing, eg:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/304566321094

In my earlier post I had assumed there were the usual 3 holes and quite small.

How many holes do you need to fill, and how close to them would the new ones need to be?

Some years ago I had a similar problem - the three column flange holes were on a slightly different pcd from those in the wheel. I solved the problem by:

- Turning the column through 180 so the flange now had one upper hole and two lower
- Machining an adapter with 6 holes, three on either pcd

Then it was just a matter of bolting the adapter to the column and the wheel to the adapter - problem solved, no welding, no redrilling and no additional plates!
IMG_20220824_094702.jpg

[Rick Iverson]

Gents;

The bolt circle of my current RaceTech quick release is 2.0”. The bolt circle of the SPA is 50mm, the difference is nearly negligible.

My problem is the single lower hole. Screwed the Pooch and misdrilled it by a country mile. Now that hole is 0.3125 OD for a 10-32 screw. $***, I can not believe I am revealing this.

I can massage the top two holes, as the difference is minuscule. But can I fill the lower hole with JB Weld, smooth, and redrill?

Thoughts?

[Lotus7]

Is there a sentimental or historic aspect to this that stops you buying a new wheel?

the time spent so far, and in any future welding/drilling/agonizing, must be a wash by now ?

[swiftdrivr]

Not a machinist or engineer, so this may be way off base, but why not machine a plug, light press fit, fill the hole with the plug and re-drill. Then if desired for extra security, make 2 thin discs drilled correctly and sandwich in the plug when all bolted together?

[tlracer]

^^ This, if it is only the lower hole.

Make certain the oversize hole is perfectly round, turn a disc to fit and use bearing retaining compound. Drill in the correct place then use an oversize washer under the retaining bolt. If you feel all three should be identical then washers on all of them.

There should be enough overlap onto the hub behind the wheel to provide clamping between that and the washer(s) to prevent movement.

[Rick Iverson]

I would make a small disk of similar thickness to the wheel center which covers the current holes. Then when you make the new hole pattern, bolting it down will keep the center strong and fatigue-resistant in fore-aft bending. Torque loads, IMO, should not be an issue as long as the new holes are separated from the old ones since most steering wheels are very strong in the circumferential direction.

Having said all that, I have had 2 hole patterns in several steering wheels (w/o the above-mentioned disk), and subsequently bent them in incidents. Never had one break or even crack, and they were able to be straightened and be used just as if they were never bent. I never even thought of welding - never necessary.

Dave;

Working with a MILSpec Engineering business partner on this exact project. I anticipate both 50mm and 2.0” bolt circles centered on a 1.375” radius disk. Thought on 6062-T6, say 0.062”?

I am supremely confident I am not the only guy to screw the pooch on this, so we will make a batch of each.

[teamwisconsin]

March cars always had little aluminum discs on the wheel. I’ve made lots of them over the years to cover up multiple hole patterns. Like when cars come into the shop and they are using a cheap q/r and we replace it, or if the driver has a hard time lining up the indexing spline so we want to flip the hub 180° to make it easier for him to get the wheel on and it requires redrilling the wheel. They only take a 30 minutes or so to make, less if you want to make them out of black delrin. Covers all manner of sins, and looks nice.

[Jim Nash]

Nice solution Ethan! Alternatively, additive machining could be used.

Jim

[Rick Iverson]

I would make a small disk of similar thickness to the wheel center which covers the current holes.

Gents;

In the absence of someone calling me out on this, I will consider:

• fill the holes with JB Weld
• smooth both front and back surfaces
• re-drill the three (3) holes, CORRECTLY
• epoxy two (2) predrilled 0.080“ 6061-T6 discs to both front and back sides.

Thoughts?

[jrh3]

A picture would be very helpful

[DaveW]

Gents;

In the absence of someone calling me out on this, I will consider:

• fill the holes with JB Weld
• smooth both front and back surfaces
• re-drill the three (3) holes, CORRECTLY
• epoxy two (2) predrilled 0.080“ 6061-T6 discs to both front and back sides.

Thoughts?

.080 is much better than the .032 you 1st mentioned.

[Rick Iverson]

.080 is much better than the .032 you 1st mentioned.

Dave;

I stood in the corner for a minute and thought about it. Size matters, although I believe the potential for torque load displacement will be nonexistent. Permit me to explain, please?

Since the top two 10-32 holes are on a 2.0” bolt circle, the new hub is 50mm BC (1.969”), the difference is 0.031”. I could probably get away with “massaging” the top two, and filling the way oversized bottom single. The near perfect fit of the top two holes, and the addition of the two plates ought to provide enough structural integrity to support the filled bottom hole.

But in the interest of doing it right (read: better), I will fill all, surface, re-drill, and use 0.80” sandwich plates on both sides. I am supremely confident this will be a satisfactory and safe solution. Thoughts?