1979-1993 & 94 Conv [Subscribe to Daily Digest] |
FIRST TAKE NEGATIVE CONNECTION OFF BATTERY.
I've done this several times, and if you have any side to side or up and down play in the wheel order the plastic sleeve (steering column "bearing") for the steering wheel and the lock ring for the steering column too. the lock ring sometimes gets buggered up, sometimes not, upon removal. its less than $10 total plus shipping. again if you have lots of slop in your steering wheel this is the time to do it, you will think you have a new car after doing this.
as the other said, torx on each side to remove the airbag, be sure to have to have the correct tight fit (I forget the size sorry) one size too small may see good but not really...
two connections on the back of the airbag, Keyed wiggle and pull, one for the horn.
to remove the nut for the steering wheel I like to use my "poor man's" impact tool as I call it. I have 1/2 drive socket with short extension on the nut so ratchet clears the wheel.... then hold the extension and ratchet in left hand I use another ratchet or an extension to SMACK the handle of one on the nut, that usually breaks it loose. back nut off. suggest to use a scribe to create a line across the splined insert in the wheel across to the steering shaft for alignment later. (if you get it wrong you have to remove air bag all over again)
usually grabbing wheel and yanking side to side as you pull to you removes it. don't go to far as you have to push the two connectors through the wheel, tight fit.
the big issues are that there are two wires with connectors that you have to feed through the wheel, one for the horn and one for the airbag and you have to get to the orange connector for the air bag, it's a bit behind the turn signal bracket
remove wheel completely
you have to follow the airbag connector behind the dash to the orange connector, usually zip tied to cross member. this is a pain to get to
there are two torx screws with heads pointing down one each side of steering shaft and two more pointing left and right each side of shaft.
I remove all four of them this helps to drop the brackets enough to get to the orange connector, remove zip tie and replace.
If you are going to do the steering "bearing" you have another hour of work but if your steering wheel is not tight this is the time. you will see a plate that has a tab on it right in front of you, this keeps the real bearing and rest in place, there are also 4 MORE screws, two are sheet metal and two are threaded... it's a challenge but you can get them all out to remove that plate and get to the rest of it. I put a 3/8 socket extension in and above the left side to push that lip of the dash up to get clearance to the torx screws. think two are black and two are gold tone. just go slowly and you will get it done. remove the lock ring, I like to use a pick with a 90 degree bend, just work the tangs around and bend towards you a little at a time. then the real bearing is in a rubber case, use the pic to pull all of that out. if your plastic sleeve/bearing was really bad it's gone. pull out any remainder. put new one with shoulder down against the washer there, the real bearing inner race will push over that plastic sleeve. push the bearing in rubber sleeve back down. use a wide straight screw driver against and parallel to the inner race and tap around and around until the bearing is against that shoulder on the plastic sleeve you put in, you should be able to hear the difference with it gets home. push the lock ring back, I like to use a 1/2 deep reach socket to get just the outer portion of the lock ring allowing the inner fingers to just follow... put the plate back and fight those screws.
Finish the clock spring wire routing, put the 2 side and 2 bottom screws back in.
note that on the clock spring there is a plastic pin that aligns to the hole in the steering wheel I like to use some blue painters tape to keep the top on the clock spring assembly until it's just about done, then peel it away.
If you have the tools handy (I think I spend $10 at O'Rileys for a set of 1/4 drive torx sockets, extremely handy) it should only take about 2 hours to do the entire thing. about 1 hour of it is the clock spring only.
posted by 72.220.32...
, Tue, 5 Mar 2013 23:13:24
, Sun, 3 Mar 2013 21:13:43
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