Steering Wheel Swap How-To

[J3ST3R]

For those that might have been nervous in doing this yourself, let me easy your mind...you do not have to disconnect the airbag. This installation took 30min including taking the pictures!!!

Tools Needed:
Philips Screw Driver
T30 Torx Bit
19mm Socket

*Straighten your wheels, this should put your steering wheel in its neutral position

**Disconnect negative battery cable first**


2006 Scion Tc

1) Loosen the 2 T30 Torx Bit screws on either side of the steering Wheel

Left Side (Sorry for poor quality pic the screw is in the hole shown):
http://memimage.cardomain.net/member_images/2/web/2294000-2294999/2294751_3_full.jpg

Right Side:
http://memimage.cardomain.net/member_images/2/web/2294000-2294999/2294751_1_full.jpg

2) Gently pull the center section of the steering wheel toward you and lay it on top of steering column

http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j58/bsowde/Scion/strwheel/1.jpg

3) Remove the RIGHT plug at the top of the steering column *DO NOT TRY AND REMOVE ANY OF THE WIRES THAT ATTACH TO THE AIR BAG ASSEMBLY*

http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j58/bsowde/Scion/strwheel/2.jpg

4)Remove the screw holding the radio controls in place and then pull the controls out (It takes a pretty good pull to get this out)

http://memimage.cardomain.net/member_images/2/web/2294000-2294999/2294751_4_full.jpg

5) Remove the white plug on the backside of the steering control (sorry for the bad picture)

http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j58/bsowde/Scion/strwheel/5.jpg


6) Repeat step 5 for the plastic piece on the opposite side of the steering wheel

http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j58/bsowde/Scion/strwheel/4.jpg

7) Remove the 2 phillip screws at the top of the steering wheel that attach to the plastic cover (highlighted in yellow below)
http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j58/bsowde/Scion/strwheel/6.jpg

8. Remove the 2 phillips screws that hold the cruise controls assembly and then prop this out of the way (screws shown highlighted in yellow below)
http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j58/bsowde/Scion/strwheel/7.jpg

9) You are now ready to remove the 19mm nut at the center of the steering wheel.
http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j58/bsowde/Scion/strwheel/8.jpg

10) With the nut removed gentle rock the steering wheel back and forth until it pulls free.
http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j58/bsowde/Scion/strwheel/9.jpg

11) You are now ready to put the new steering wheel on!
http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j58/bsowde/Scion/strwheel/10.jpg

12) New steering wheel!
http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j58/bsowde/Scion/strwheel/11.jpg

13) Reverse removal procedure, install the 19mm center nut, install the cruise controls assembly w/ 2 phillips screws, install the 2 phillips screws for the plastic cover
http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j58/bsowde/Scion/strwheel/13.jpg

14) Reinstall the plug at the top of steering wheel, then reattach the white plug to the back of the steering wheel radio control.

15) Reattach the radio controls, and the other plastic piece on the other side of the steering wheel
http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j58/bsowde/Scion/strwheel/14.jpg

*Make sure you get the wires back into there clips as shown below*
http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j58/bsowde/Scion/strwheel/15.jpg

16) Carefully put the airbag assembly back in and tighten the 2 Torx bits screws on either side of the steering wheel as shown in Step 1

Finished product!
http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j58/bsowde/Scion/strwheel/16.jpg

http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j58/bsowde/Scion/strwheel/17.jpg


*Dont forget to reconnect your battery!*

[FrankenScion]

Very nice write-up!

[06xb30]

:clap: great job , what brand of wheel is that ?? Thanks

[Killermethod]

Nice work great instructions!!!!

[Nebster]

nice how to. damn i wanted to see a write up for the racing wheels. OH well either way great job

[THansenite]

Awesome write up Brian. That looks like the optional Scion upgraded steering wheel. That looks really nice. I am curious where you got it from and how much it costed. Great write up man.

[J3ST3R]

The steering wheel is the optional Scion steering wheel, I got it from Beaman Scion in Nashville.....um the price......well let me just say....the dealers here are great! Heath is the man!

[fsu1dolfan]

Very good job....

[midnightxb]

looks sweet man

[dj short-e]

I have a buddy thats tryin to swap a steering wheel out in his BOX... would it be the same instructions?

[J3ST3R]

I have a buddy thats tryin to swap a steering wheel out in his BOX... would it be the same instructions?

Yes instructions are the same I just did a steering wheel swap on the wifes XB!

[dj short-e]

Thanks, good to know... I'm also doin' a swap on my tc soon.. looking into wheels options right now.

[Big-Kokujin]

Just to let everyone know, the torx screws don't come out. i spent an additional 20 minutes trying to get them out...i suck...

[triflin]

NRG Steering Wheel, NRG Hub, and a NRG Quick Release

http://memimage.cardomain.net/member_images/4/web/592000-592999/592647_213_full.jpg

http://memimage.cardomain.net/member_images/4/web/592000-592999/592647_214_full.jpg
http://memimage.cardomain.net/member_images/4/web/592000-592999/592647_215_full.jpg

[J3ST3R]

Very nice setup man, looks a little weird in the second picture and with the Xb.....but that steering wheel is awesome!

[triflin]

Very nice setup man, looks a little weird in the second picture and with the Xb.....but that steering wheel is awesome!
Yeah, I need to figure out something to fill that hole in the steering colum that the stock wheel covers up.

[J3ST3R]

Yeah, I need to figure out something to fill that hole in the steering colum that the stock wheel covers up.

If you dont mind me asking but what does a setup like that cost?

[triflin]

I don't remember exact, but I think it was about $250 for the three pieces.

[BloodBox]

How did you bypass the air bag light, VSC, and Traction control? I did the same thing to my box and all those lights came on after I did it.

[riboflavin]

awesome how-to!!!

[scion_xb_guy_05]

***How to take off an xB steering wheel***



Do everything that you do for the tc and once you get that middle bolt off... then you take out the bat and beat the piss out of the steering wheel at full force until it decides to come off... then gently put the new one on and put everything bac together!!! i am a professional and have taken mine off many times to get my dashboard in and out! works like a charm!

[J3ST3R]

***How to take off an xB steering wheel***



Do everything that you do for the tc and once you get that middle bolt off... then you take out the bat and beat the piss out of the steering wheel at full force until it decides to come off... then gently put the new one on and put everything bac together!!! i am a professional and have taken mine off many times to get my dashboard in and out! works like a charm!

I put the tC steering wheel that came off the tC in the right up on my xB and had no problems!

[scion_xb_guy_05]

nah taking the steering wheel out... mine never wants to come out! haha it is a sight to see!!!

[J3ST3R]

nah taking the steering wheel out... mine never wants to come out! haha it is a sight to see!!!

freaking steering wheels anyway.....LOL

[scion_xb_guy_05]

freaking steer wheels anyway.....LOL

hahaha what? lol

[J3ST3R]

LOL.....oops

[scion_xb_guy_05]

haha how hard was it to deal with the controls on the steering wheel... i have an '05 xb so i didnt have anything on there! lol

[J3ST3R]

haha how hard was it to deal with the controls on the steering wheel... i have an '05 xb so i didnt have anything on there! lol

Not hard at all there is only one screw holding it in, and then disconnect the wiring harness and you are good to go!

[scion_xb_guy_05]

awesome... and these things help out a lot... i am usually the kind of person that doesnt read the instructions and wishes for the best but this might have actually helped me out! haha

[Xetronic]

Hey buddy. I was wondering if you want to sell that old steering wheel. But first I want to know if it'll fit on my xa... I like the idea of having leather wrap around it, as opposed the the plastic. I think it should fit, but just curious if you wanna help a bro out. =D

[J3ST3R]

Hey buddy. I was wondering if you want to sell that old steering wheel. But first I want to know if it'll fit on my xa... I like the idea of having leather wrap around it, as opposed the the plastic. I think it should fit, but just curious if you wanna help a bro out. =D

It will fit the xA but I have already put it on my xB...sorry man.

[Iateacricket]

I'm trying to figure out the horn wiring. All I have is a wire coming from my short hub thingy that looks like it was soldered onto this thin metal ring. I also heard I can pop resistors into the airbag connectors to keep my passenger one working, anyone know what size / % I'm supposed to use?

[Big-Kokujin]

I didn't use that wire...All i did is tap a wire into the wire from the horn button to the wite-red stripe wire on the black harness. I did a long piece of wire so when i would turn it wouldn't get caught. With the way wired it, what it does is basically ground out to the hub. The horn wire is already powered, you need to gtound it to make it work.

[Iateacricket]

Ah ok. I noticed that there was a piece of solder on the thin metal ring. I'll just solder it back on.

EDIT: So ummm....do you know what resistors I'm supposed to put in what pins for the airbag connector? I have some, but I don't know if the % is correct.

[Iateacricket]

I'm guessing the resistors will go like this. I'm wondering if the 150 ohm's I have will work. I guess there's only one way to find out.

[zereaux]

wait, what???? you can add resistors to the pins and the lights will go off???

[Iateacricket]

Yes, it will also allow the passenger airbag to still function. This is very important and I'm not installing until I know for sure.

[zereaux]

time to do some research... where'd ya hear about that???

[Iateacricket]

Club XB and SL. I know that some hubs come with a connector that does this as well, however my NRG shorthub does not. I've been all over multiple sites and google and have yet to find much.

[zereaux]

found something:



Subject: [gti-vr6] Re: Air Bag Removal ??? Date: Wed, 22 Apr 1998 15:40:37 -0400 Cc: "'gkoliopoulos at molex dot com'" <gkoliopoulos at molex dot com>, From what I understand from those who have removed their air bags (Mike
Bigus, et al) it's not very difficult. The trick is getting the idiot light
out. Many have just removed the dash cluster bulb, but there is a better
way.

Last month's Car and Driver had an article on airbag removal and explained
step by step how to do it. The advantage here is the car's computer and
warning light system still think that the airbag assembly is fully in tact,
plus you don't have to screw with anything in the cluster (one less thing to
break)

Here's a summary of how to get the idiot light out w/o just removing the
bulb from the cluster:
1. Remove the steering wheel and unhook the wires to the airbag.
Energize the ignition and the airbag warning light should appear.
2. Use a multimeter to determine the resistance across the driver's
side airbag circuit with the airbag reconnected and the ignition energized.
Record that value. (If you have any resistors lying around of that
resistance bridge those the two airbag wires (airbag removed now) and
energize the ignition. The light should be out.)
3. If you don't have any spare resistors, then leave the driver's side
airbag connected and fish in the dash until you are able to remove the
passenger's side airbag. Same process as before. Unhook the wires,
energize the ignition and test to see if the airbag warning light comes on
(it should). When it does, again measure the resistance across the circuit
with your multimeter. Record the value.
4. Go to Electronics store (Radio Shack or equivalent) and buy
resistors that are the same ohm values as the ones you recorded during your
test. You'll probably need to solder on some sort of connectors so that the
resistors will be able plug into the airbag wiring. Install everything and
test one airbag at a time so that you can determine which one is causing the
light to remain on (if that happens) after you've installed the resistors.


Not terribly scientific, and I haven't done this yet to see if it really
works, but it seems like it should work just fine.

[Iateacricket]

Interesting, I guess I'll be measuring resistance tonight.

[zereaux]

more :up:


Aftermarket Steering Wheel Replacement (http://www.freeengineinfo.com/aftermarket-steering-wheel-replacement.htm)

Category: Cool Cars (http://www.freeengineinfo.com/category/cool-cars/) —

http://www.freeengineinfo.com/media/cars%20008.jpg
This aftermarket steering wheel conversion is being done on a Mazda Miata but it can be done on any other vehicle the same way. Some people change the steering wheel for looks and for more leg room. You will also shed a few pounds, this steering wheel shed 10 pounds, not a lot but every bit helps. First either find the fuse for the airbag or remove the battery cable so that you don’t accidentally make the airbag go off. Make sure that the steering wheel is turned to where tour wheels are straight foreward. To remove the steering wheel, start with the four bolts in the back side of the wheel. These nuts will allow the air bag to be removed.

http://www.freeengineinfo.com/media/cars%20009.jpg http://www.freeengineinfo.com/media/cars%20010.jpg Next carefully pull the air bag straight out and disconnect the plug, remembering which wires went to the air bag and which single wire went to the car’s horn button.http://www.freeengineinfo.com/media/cars%20011.jpg This is where you may start if your steering wheel is non air bag equipped. The nut in the center will need to be removed. You will need to purchase a steering wheel puller which are cheap at your local auto store. Find the the equally spaced holes around the center where you removed the nut. Next hold the steering wheel puller point to the center of the threaded shaft and thread in the correct fitting bolts into the three surrounding holes. When the three bolts are tightened in equally take the puller’s central bolt and tighten it against the threaded shaft. It is on very tight so don’t be scared to put some muscle into it. It may pop then will come off easily. http://www.freeengineinfo.com/media/cars%20012.jpg http://www.freeengineinfo.com/media/cars%20013.jpg Next locate the steering wheel adapter hub. This is used for adapting different types of steering wheels such as grant, momo, nardi, and the many other types of aftermarket steering wheels out there. http://www.freeengineinfo.com/media/cars%20015.jpg Make sure that the wires will fit through the hub without interfering, by first sliding it on. If not, you may have to modify the hub, or just remove the piece in some types of hubs. http://www.freeengineinfo.com/media/cars%20018.jpg Make sure everything lines up o.k.http://www.freeengineinfo.com/media/cars%20017.jpg Tighten the nut for the steering wheel hub down. You will not need a wire under the nut as shown. The clip on the left of the backside of the horn, is the grounding connecter. Only one wire will need to be hooked up on the backside of the horn button.http://www.freeengineinfo.com/media/cars%20019.jpg You will need to crimp a female connector plug onto the one wire for the horn, as shown here. If you have hooked the one wire to the wrong connector your horn will go off when you try to install it. The correct wire should be located in the center of the horn. Finally you will wan’t to tighten the six bolts through the steering wheel and into the hub. http://www.freeengineinfo.com/media/cars%20021.jpg Reconnect the battery or replace your air bag fuse. If you find that the wheel is not straight you will need to remove the center nut. Rotate the wheel and realign on the splines until it’s straight. The airbag light may be on and will need to be cleared out (disconnect battery for 5 minutes) or may need a resistor in line where the air bag did hook up to. The resistance will need to be 3 ohm’s for the miata to replace the airbag resistance, and turn the light off.

[Iateacricket]

That's good, but it's 3 ohms for a miata. I can't imagine it being much different for a scion.

[zereaux]

i know, resistors are pretty cheap, i'm just going to by a bundle of different ones until it works... i might be able to do this sunday...

[Iateacricket]

Most the forums I've looked at have the 3 ohms in common. I think it's a good place to start. hopefully I have the wiring right lol.

[zereaux]

i'm glad you mentioned it...

[Iateacricket]

I'll post results as soon as I start messing with it.

[chaos_being]

Nice write-up! I've always liked the optional OEM wheel, and the process is much less ornerous than I thought it would be.

[Iateacricket]

I have to redo my ghetto long horn wire. Something came off and my horn would blare when I turned my wheel too far. I was able to get rid of the VSC and TCS lights by putting the weird metal ring back into a sensor. I have to secure it a little better because I think it's slipping during high speed cornering and throwing the lights back on. Still no luck with my airbag light, it's been a thorn in my side.

[Saint]

I like the tC swap. thanks for the good writeup

[muzachead]

is there an easy way to just take off the silver side pieces on each side of the airbag? i would like to paint these....

[Big-Kokujin]

that is the easy way. or you could break them.

[mikexham]

quick question.
how would go about taking the whole thing off?
i want to install my hub, quick release and nrg steering wheel.
but yeah, i have no idea how to do it without throwing any lights.

[Big-Kokujin]

the first post shows how to take the whole thing off.

[pierre_tec]

its the same procedure for the XB2 cause i see people talking about xb but what year? cause i want to piant the steering pieces but they don come off easily

[Big-Kokujin]

some of the pics are of the b1

[pierre_tec]

but the procedure is the same???

[strike69]

nice write up

[BeBe2630]

Very nice job:-)

[icebox06]

looks easy enough,might have to try it now haha :demo::ubriachi:nice job!

[jahoppe50]

So idk if anyone reads super street but drifter ken gushi was featured in the june 2010 issue driving a bad ass '89 cressida and he had a nardi wood grain steering wheel, looked gorgeous. anyway to do this swap like this write up on an xb?

[scik0tics]

how much<:DanseurJaune: