DIY DIY aftermarket steering wheel

DIY aftermarket steering wheel

ok , so i asked this question before i embarked on my mission . nobody really had a very strait answer for me , althought a few members pointed me in the correct direction. so this is a DIY ive came up with to keep on file for future reference.

tools needed:

small channel locks
19mm socket , ratchet , and 6" extension
flat head and phillips head screwdriver
torx 35 bit driver or socket
wire strippers
zip ties
butt connectors
female spade connector
spiral corded phone wire


1. unplug BOTH terminals on the battery , and KEEP them away from making any connection at all while servicing. now press the brake pedal for about 5 sec. now wait aprx. 5 minutes before touching anything. also make sure the wheels are strait , and the ignition is locked , and keys are not in ignition. alldata calls for 90 sec. for the backup battery of the airbag to drain , but we all know not all battery's are created equal , so be safe


2. remove you steering colomn cover by removing the two screws from the bottom . next locate these tabs on either side of the steering wheel , and pop them out from the back using a flat head screw driver.


3.now you have access to the three retainer screws (2 on left 1 on right) that hold in your airbag/ center piece. they take a "35" torx bit.




4.loosen these screws till they dont back out anymore . now use the flat head screwdriver to pull these screws out of their plastic retainers.


5. the airbag assembly should now fallout into your hand . at this point unplug the airbag connector from the airbag.



6.remove your steering wheel shaft nut , i used a 3/4" socket for this , but i think a 19mm will fit better.


7. use a steering wheel puller tool (part #09950-50010 or 09609-20011) or whatever puller you can find to remove the factory steering wheel. i had to cross thread my puller bolts into the steering wheel because i did not have the proper thread pattern for the corolla. also , on a side note , if you get the puller super tight and notice the steering wheel is not sliding off the shaft , hit the steering wheel rim one good time w/ a hammer while there is tension from the puller on it. mine slid right off at this point. you should now bw looking at this:


8. remove the 4 silver phillips head screws shown here.


9.remove the yellow "spiral" plate that you just removed the 4 screws out of.

10. now remove these 2 silver phillips head screws that hold the multi-function switch wire guide, also cut the factory zip tie on the upper end and "un-snap" the clips at the lower end.



11. follow the "yellow" wrapped wire back to the connector in the dash , and unhook it. also unplug the white plug from the yellow spiral cover (and let it hang , this is your horn .then tape up the yellow plug that is still on the car side of the harness. this was for the airbag. 1st pic is were the plug is , 2nd is tapped.





the spriral cover you just pulled off is just for the airbag wire , and horn wire. since your not running an airbag no more , you dont need this , nor can you use an aftermarket steering wheel with it. more on the horn latter.


12. now re-install the plastic wire guard for the multi-function switch wires , be sure you include the horn wire when reinstalling. also put a new zip tie in the place of the zip tie you cut. horn wire will be just hanging at this point.


13. now this is where the instructions that came with your aftermarket wheel comes into play.

the only other advice i offer here is to make sure you mount the aftermarket hub strait up so your wheel is strait. also , YOU WILL HAVE TO TIGHTEN THE PISS OUT OF THE NEW HUB TO GET IT SEATED PROPERLY!!!

this pic below is a pic of the turing signal neutral cam. this must be pushed down by the aftermarket hub.(cam is spring loaded)


14.after installing you steering wheel per instructions provided with it , reinstall steering colomn cover.

now for the horn.

the best way i found to do this , is to connect a spiral phone chord or c/b microphone spiral chord to the green horn wire , you cut from the white plug that WAS connected to the "yellow spiral". coil one or two coils of the spiral wire into the hub , then put the appropriate connector to attach to the new horn button on the end of the spiral wire , in the hub. now zip tie the green wire side under the steering wheel to the multifunction meter wires . the spiral cord should now be hanging freely , and have enough play to turn the wheel full "cocked" in either direction. i will edit this w/ a pic shortly.

should look like this when your done:

I must say, your rolla looks good from the outside, but the inside is another thing

Props for the DIY.

my corolla is trashed right now , because im working out of it.

do you still have the auto-cancel function for your turn signal? I used a NRG hub myself and now I don't have a horn or auto cancel for the signal. Most of these hubs were designed for cars before airbags where there was a round metal contact behind the steering wheel for the horn instead of a spiral cable.

What steering wheels will fit an 8th gen? Will any Toyota steering will work?

yes , thats why you gotta make sure you tighten the shyt outta the nut when you seat the aftermarket hub. gotta ge tthe aftermarket hub on tight enough to push down on the signal neutral cam. did you delete the "airbag spiral cable" too?

yes I did... I had to with the NRG hub, I didn't study the inner workings of the steering column as much as you did since I was in a rush to get it on.. I'll tighten it some more when I get a chance to work on the car

it turns out that in Japan they makes a special hub for Toyotas with airbag and cruise control so you keep the spiral cable in and it comes with a plug for the horn, airbag warning light defeat, and cruise control buttons.

cool . find it

But why delete the airbag? Do you really drive the car aggressive every day enough to warrant a racing wheel?

haha i do!!!

But im safe, I swear.

...no really officer i swear.

Why change out your suspension for coilovers? Do you really drive the car aggressive every day to warrant doing so? Why swap out your stock wheels for "lightweight" aftermarket wheels? Do you really drive the car aggressive every day enough to warrant spending extra money doing so?
Id say its more dangerous replacing OEM suspension and wheels, parts that are used everyday, then a part that may never be used. Im not condoning removing the airbag, but I think its ironic you would ask the question.

Well I put it in this perspective. From the factory, you can request certain upgrades which include the suspension, engine performance, and wheels. That should mean that they don't make the car any less safe. However, removing an airbag is something they never do. They do offer airbag equipped race wheels instead though.

IMO the airbag sometimes contributes to more injuries and a safety belt actually does more and is sufficient enough to protect you from injury or death. It is important to remember that the airbag is a explosive device that does not always function properly especially older designs which were built with less safe guards. Toyota recommend that you have your airbag inspected 10 years from the manufacture date of your car and replaced after 15 years. After that the airbag may malfunction or not work at all. Most of our car are reaching or surpassing these dates. For this reason I don't feel any less safe about removing my airbag.

Here's a example of when a airbag actually caused more injuries to the driver:
http://www.honda-tech.com/showthread.php?t=2370609
I'm not saying this happens all the time but it does happen.

They're manufactured by a company named Works Bell... same company NRG been knocking off all their steering wheel hub products from.

I've never seen anything like that from an airbag before...

Works Bell. Good company. Very reputable. Just ask the guys at club4ag.

Umm...from the factory would be OEM.

Well, I was referring to factory sponsored upgrades, such as TRD, Nismo, Mugen, etc, that come as factory options from the dealer.

2 things , well 3 really .

jspex agreed

when i rearended a minivan at 16 years old in my 94 prizm at 45mph , the airbag never deployed , the seatbelt kept me in the seat , restrained.

about 6 years ago my mother had a mercedes sedan (big , big body)pull out in front of her in a turning lane in her sunfire. she t-boned the guy at about 40 mph. she had a firm grip on the wheel at the 10 and 2 position like any state drivers test requires and sometimes enforces when the accident happened. 2 seconds after impact and the car had stopped the airbag had a late deployment . this resulted in my mothers right hand getting shoved thru the windsheild , shattering 7 bones , 4 in the top of her hand , 3 falanges , busted the vein in her right wrist , and almost severed her ring finger off. her left hand got shoved into half a-pillar and half driver-side window. this resulted in torn ligaments in her pinky and ring fingers , joint damage to her thumb , and a broke wrist. also she suffered from a broken nose . hence my mother is a controller for 3 dealerships , in 3 different locations (dodge , mitsu , and daimler) so you can understand the strain this caused in a large family . (typing , writing , filing , driving required in this line of industry) keep in mind this all from an airbag that didnt deploy when it was upposed to. it blew 2-3 seconds after the accident happened. to this day my mother is still fighting a lawsuit w/ general motors over the faulty equipment.

i know of another instance where if my step father was wearing a seatblet he would have been decapitated. 82 ford f-100 in the rain slid into a roll back wrecker truck , and it took off the a and b pillars on the drivers side. the officer that seen the accident occur thought my stepfather had been killed. when they drug his truck out from under the wrecker truck , he was laying down in the seat , unharmed.

when in an accident , if your an experienced driver your already driving defensivly to try and avoid the accident . boom , natural to have an adrenaline spike. if you fail at the attemp to avoid and DO have an accident , the last thing i want is an explosion in my face.

on a last note , how many people on here have 4-5 point harnesses in their daily driven cars? how many people have the harnesses anchored 6" lower than their shoulders? did you know this is more dangerous than not wearing a seatbelt at all ? if you have an impact , it causes spinal compression , can be paralyzing , and fatal. do they use these everyday? no probably the same way i use my track accesories. every weekend or everyother weekend. so what? take them in and out every weekend?

no i dont drive the car to that extreme on a daily basis , but bet your ass , its driven to its limits every weekend at either road atlanta n.a.s.a. or turner feild scca. now , what would be safer? switching out steering wheels every weekend , taking a chance of rounding out the splined shaft that holds the hub resulting in an UNSAFE condition of a wheel that turns but the car dont? or putting in the steering wheel of my choice , leaving it in there and having the satisfaction of getting used to the new wheel everyday, that feels better , and makes the driver more comfortable with his vehicle.

as far as suspension and factory upgrades go.

if it is an option from the dealer and is make specified , it is an OEM part. original equipment when purchased!!

all aftermarket parts whether it be brakes , suspension , whatever . it all says for OFF ROAD USE ONLY! the only things that i have seen to be approved , is engine parts and wheels. carb and dot have a handle on this. theres no board of "tight ride campaign" (clean air campaign) or "department of quick brakes". (D.O.T.)

kthanxbye

just because YOU havnt seen it , doesnt mean it dont happen. you from missouri?

was the 1zz n/a a factory option? you use the extra performance everyday?

Wow good write up. I agree with you. And also I dont think it should be a law to have to wear a seat belt.

edited photos for the horn wire.

A seat belt will save you in normal instances though. You can be thrown from the car. In some extreme cases like above, then I agree.

yea swapping out your wheel with another that dosent have an airbag is not cool, regardless of how safe you drive or that you dont speed, you could be going 10 mph and still get pummeled by a 13 year old in his dads 4X4 going 80MPH.

you must not have read my entry above. everybody has their own reasons, or excuses whatever you want to call it. but ive seen airbags cause nothing but injuries the whole time i was in the recovery business. (4 years) for example: scion TC hits a guardrail at about 70 , jumps it , launches over tree tops , and lands on a pile of logs in the middle of the etowah river on his wheels . driver blacked out was the cause of the wreck. he had his seatbelt on , you know what busted his nose? give you one guess. the kid walked away from this accident , airbag played no part but inflicting injury.

the only time i can think of an airbag being a useful restraint is in a head on collision or an extremely hard frontal impact. does nothing in a rollover , t- bone , rear ending , or side swipe. i rearended a van at 45 mph in my 94 prizm and it did not deploy . . . . . . so why have it? i didnt need it, seatbelt did its job right.

x2 plz