# Car Steering Wheel



## mercman1951 (Jun 13, 2011)

Ever since we were given our old Craftsman Lawn Tractor, I have thought that the dinky plastic steering wheel reminded me of a child's toy. I have several 'real' steering wheels off some cars and trucks, and was wondering if anyone has adapted one to their lawn tractor. 

Seems to me a bigger radius wheel makes more sense than a smaller one. I constantly saw the little wheel back and forth to maintain a straight line on our rough lawn. A larger wheel would minimize the amount of this back and forth movement.

I have this late 80's GM S-10 wheel in mind...anybody have pics of a conversion? The shaft that comes out of the tractor isn't even close to mating up with the wheel alone.


----------



## ErnieS (Jun 1, 2011)

I'm thinking if you got hold of the steering shaft that fits the wheel, you could transplant the spline onto the tractor shaft.


----------



## mercman1951 (Jun 13, 2011)

That's a great idea. However, the steering wheel I have is just that, a steering wheel. I don't have the part that mounts the wheel to the GM column itself. I do have an old GM column laying around...and I could use that for the splined shaft...I was thinking more along the lines of some sort of adapter to mate the wheel to the existing shaft. I know I could buy the part I need to mount the wheel to the GM column; but I was trying to adapt it without having to and was looking if anyone else had any thoughts.


----------



## jhngardner367 (Apr 5, 2011)

The Gm shaft should fit the steering wheel.put the wheel on the GM shaft,then cut the shaft 3" below the steering wheel.Get a 3" length of pipe that fits over it ,and weld it on.Slide it over the tractors shaft,and drill through it, for a bolt and nut.That way, you can still remove it to service anything below.


----------



## mercman1951 (Jun 13, 2011)

Right, I understand how to mate the shafts. But what I am saying it the s-10 wheel itself is of a 2 piece design, the wheel bolts to the part that has the splines that slips onto the column shaft, and I don't have that secondary part. This is basically how it looks, although the design of the actual wheel is a bit different:


----------



## jhngardner367 (Apr 5, 2011)

Can you make a plate that will bolt to the center of the new steering wheel,and mount the piece of pipe to it?


----------



## stevewatr (Oct 8, 2011)

mercman1951 said:


> Seems to me a bigger radius wheel makes more sense than a smaller one. I constantly saw the little wheel back and forth to maintain a straight line on our rough lawn. A larger wheel would minimize the amount of this back and forth movement.


Two things to sonsider:
A larger diameter wheel will not improve the constant back and forth jockeying, it will make it worse. The force required to turn the wheel will be reduced, but the amount the wheel is rotated will be increased. Check for worn steering components in the linkage, that may be why it has trouble staying on a stright line.

Also, before you mount the big wheel, consider the reduced amount of clearance between the seat, and wheel. I'm over 6', and my knees are right there to the sides of the wheel on my JD rider. If I had a larger wheel, I'd have to keep my legs spread awkwardly, and getting on and off the machine would be a pain.

Regards,
Steve W.


----------



## dangeroustoys56 (Jul 26, 2010)

You could mock it up and see how it works first - like with a piece of wood connected to the steering shaft - before making something out of metal .

Best bet for an adapter would be to search thru TSC - they have alot of adapters/splined pieces to come up with something- maybe an old deck pulley or something.


----------



## mercman1951 (Jun 13, 2011)

dangeroustoys56 said:


> You could mock it up and see how it works first - like with a piece of wood connected to the steering shaft - before making something out of metal .
> 
> Best bet for an adapter would be to search thru TSC - they have alot of adapters/splined pieces to come up with something- maybe an old deck pulley or something.


This is a good idea. Both of them. In fact I now have an idea for an inverted shaft plate to mate both.

I'm not huge by any means, but it makes sense to check for clearances. Also - I have tried to peer into the housing that surrounds the shaft linkage/gear. Seems to be moving out of place sideways a bit, so I will definatly take it apart before making modifications...but in general, I think the gearing is off by design...making for sloppy steering in general. Much too much movement on the wheel before the wheels turn. Looks like it's a worm gear-type setup.

I guess I'll just have to try things to see what works best. I thought inherent 'slop' was expected on these things, and I was trying to re-engineer it; this tractor tracks like a bias-ply-tired '58 Impala at 60 MPH with bad ball joints...it likes to wander without CONSTANT input.


----------



## dangeroustoys56 (Jul 26, 2010)

If the bushing thru the dash is all worn , you could either use a generic plastic bushing ( with old hole bored out a bit) or get a bering kit ( like a pillow block) - its a bit overkill, but itll take the steering shaft slop out and turn smoothly.


----------

