How To: Aftermarket Steering Wheel Install
04-28-2010, 12:53 AM
#1
How To: Aftermarket Steering Wheel Install Ok, so this is a little "how to" write up i decided to post since i dont think ive come across one yet. Im removing my steering wheel because my car is becoming a track car/weekend warrior and the airbags were coming out as well as the HVAC/ductwork behind the dash. I do not recommend doing this on a daily driver, because air bags will potentially save your *** in a serious car accident
Now this is pretty straight forward and if you take your time it shouldn't take you more than an hour to complete.
Tools Needed:
1) Steering Wheel Puller - (Can be rented at a local auto store, i was able rent a Powerbuilt Master Steering Wheel & Lock Plate Remover)
2) 3/8 ratchet / breaker bar
3) 13mm socket
4) 22mm socket
5) T-25 torx bit
6) pair of plyers (for removing airbag sensor)
-Steering wheel of your choice
-6 Bolt Hub adapter, from MOMO/Sparco (the one i used is the MOMO Steering Wheel Hub Adapter, part # 2401)
*NOTE* Some slight clearencing may need to be done to the back side of the hub adapter
Now your first step is to disconnect your negative terminal on your battery, and fuse if you would like so nothing accidently happends (not that it will..). In my case my car has been sitting for 2 weeks now apart so nothing was going to blow up in my face. If any one has a fool proof method to make sure it will not go off please feel free to post. From what i've read on here, if you do NOT have the keys in the ignition you should be good to go. But, unhook the battery and wait a few minutes just for ***** 'n giggles.
This is where you need your T-25 torx bit. On the back of the sterering wheel there are 2 holes that have t-25 "bolts" holding the center piece (air bag cover) of the steering wheel secure against the wheel. Have the wheel tilted up so you can easily access these, just unscrew them and the center section should come undone, and pretty much fall out the steering wheel.
Here is what we're looking for:
Voila! This is what we're dealing with now:
Now, this is where we need to disconnect the sensor from the airbag. This seems MUCH more butt-puckering than it really is. Its not. All you need to do is grab your plyers, and pretty much pull that yellow sensor right from the middle of the airbag. It takes literally no effort at all to remove, just pop it off. Now go and place that thing away on the ground somewhere, away from you and any small children/pets.
So now thats removed, its time to remove the steering wheel.
For ME i didnt need to keep the audio control wires from the wheel so i cut those, YOU may want to deal with that differently.
In order to remove the steering wheel, we need to remove that 22mm nut in order to pull the wheel with our steering wheel puller. You can see what nut im talking about in the above picture right under where the yellow/red wire are coming through the sterring wheel. Take your ratchet/breaker bar and get that thing loose and put it aside, do not lose it.
Now its time to remove the steering wheel with the puller we rented/bought.
The puller i used was pretty basic, just set up the puller by reading the directions, thread the 2 bolts into the steering wheel - through that "center section" of the puller, and twist your ratchet clockwise like you are tightening it, and it should just pop right off. Piece of cake. See below:
Once the wheel is off, this is what we've got left:
So heres where you can decide what you want to do with those wires. If your doing what I did, and going to an aftermarket steering wheel that has no horn/audio controls. you can just clip them if you want, i didn't think too much how to save them because i honestly could care less. Just a heads up, you may have to do the same...
Ok! Half way there, now we need to work on installing the Hub adapter kit. the MOMO kit i used needed no modifications.
Heres a pic of the kit:
To install this place the 'housing' over that steering wheel hub, now start threading on the 21mm nut that i told you not to lose. Tighten that thing down so the adapter sits flush with the steering column. Get it on there tight. as so:
The steering wheel i chose was a Sparco Mugello, which is ABSOLUTELY TOP NOTCH. Expensive, but truly bad-***.
Heres a side by side with the stocker:
Its a bit smaller, and MUCH lighter. Dont have exact weights, but its a feather compared to the stocker/air bag.
So we've made it this far, now is for the fun part of installing the wheel to the adapter. This part is extremely easy, and on my wheel the hardest part was making sure the wires for the buttons just made its way inside the hub. The sparco has 6 allen bolts for tightening the wheel to the hub adapter. When tightening make sure you use a star pattern so it gets secured evenly to the hub. then go around and do a final pass and make sure its good to go.
I hope this was helpful and easy to follow. I apologize in advance for the typos.
EASY HUH?
Some final shots of the install, i apologize for the missing dash.
Now this is pretty straight forward and if you take your time it shouldn't take you more than an hour to complete.
Tools Needed:
1) Steering Wheel Puller - (Can be rented at a local auto store, i was able rent a Powerbuilt Master Steering Wheel & Lock Plate Remover)
2) 3/8 ratchet / breaker bar
3) 13mm socket
4) 22mm socket
5) T-25 torx bit
6) pair of plyers (for removing airbag sensor)
-Steering wheel of your choice
-6 Bolt Hub adapter, from MOMO/Sparco (the one i used is the MOMO Steering Wheel Hub Adapter, part # 2401)
*NOTE* Some slight clearencing may need to be done to the back side of the hub adapter
Now your first step is to disconnect your negative terminal on your battery, and fuse if you would like so nothing accidently happends (not that it will..). In my case my car has been sitting for 2 weeks now apart so nothing was going to blow up in my face. If any one has a fool proof method to make sure it will not go off please feel free to post. From what i've read on here, if you do NOT have the keys in the ignition you should be good to go. But, unhook the battery and wait a few minutes just for ***** 'n giggles.
This is where you need your T-25 torx bit. On the back of the sterering wheel there are 2 holes that have t-25 "bolts" holding the center piece (air bag cover) of the steering wheel secure against the wheel. Have the wheel tilted up so you can easily access these, just unscrew them and the center section should come undone, and pretty much fall out the steering wheel.
Here is what we're looking for:
Voila! This is what we're dealing with now:
Now, this is where we need to disconnect the sensor from the airbag. This seems MUCH more butt-puckering than it really is. Its not. All you need to do is grab your plyers, and pretty much pull that yellow sensor right from the middle of the airbag. It takes literally no effort at all to remove, just pop it off. Now go and place that thing away on the ground somewhere, away from you and any small children/pets.
So now thats removed, its time to remove the steering wheel.
For ME i didnt need to keep the audio control wires from the wheel so i cut those, YOU may want to deal with that differently.
In order to remove the steering wheel, we need to remove that 22mm nut in order to pull the wheel with our steering wheel puller. You can see what nut im talking about in the above picture right under where the yellow/red wire are coming through the sterring wheel. Take your ratchet/breaker bar and get that thing loose and put it aside, do not lose it.
Now its time to remove the steering wheel with the puller we rented/bought.
The puller i used was pretty basic, just set up the puller by reading the directions, thread the 2 bolts into the steering wheel - through that "center section" of the puller, and twist your ratchet clockwise like you are tightening it, and it should just pop right off. Piece of cake. See below:
Once the wheel is off, this is what we've got left:
So heres where you can decide what you want to do with those wires. If your doing what I did, and going to an aftermarket steering wheel that has no horn/audio controls. you can just clip them if you want, i didn't think too much how to save them because i honestly could care less. Just a heads up, you may have to do the same...
Ok! Half way there, now we need to work on installing the Hub adapter kit. the MOMO kit i used needed no modifications.
Heres a pic of the kit:
To install this place the 'housing' over that steering wheel hub, now start threading on the 21mm nut that i told you not to lose. Tighten that thing down so the adapter sits flush with the steering column. Get it on there tight. as so:
The steering wheel i chose was a Sparco Mugello, which is ABSOLUTELY TOP NOTCH. Expensive, but truly bad-***.
Heres a side by side with the stocker:
Its a bit smaller, and MUCH lighter. Dont have exact weights, but its a feather compared to the stocker/air bag.
So we've made it this far, now is for the fun part of installing the wheel to the adapter. This part is extremely easy, and on my wheel the hardest part was making sure the wires for the buttons just made its way inside the hub. The sparco has 6 allen bolts for tightening the wheel to the hub adapter. When tightening make sure you use a star pattern so it gets secured evenly to the hub. then go around and do a final pass and make sure its good to go.
I hope this was helpful and easy to follow. I apologize in advance for the typos.
EASY HUH?
Some final shots of the install, i apologize for the missing dash.
Last edited by sidewayz28; 10-13-2010 at 02:27 PM.
04-28-2010, 01:06 AM
#4
On The Tree
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Looks nice, any other red interior accents to go with the wheel? Either way it's a really clean wheel and makes the stocker look pretty huge.
I'll do one eventually, my car is a dd, but when I get some aftermarket seats I plan on going with a 4-pt harness. I know it probably isn't the brightest idea being a dd, but I want a nice steering wheel, and going with a 4-pt makes me a little safer w/ ditching the airbag lol.
Put some pics up once you get the interior back together, I'd like to see how it goes with the rest of the dash.
I'll do one eventually, my car is a dd, but when I get some aftermarket seats I plan on going with a 4-pt harness. I know it probably isn't the brightest idea being a dd, but I want a nice steering wheel, and going with a 4-pt makes me a little safer w/ ditching the airbag lol.
Put some pics up once you get the interior back together, I'd like to see how it goes with the rest of the dash.
04-28-2010, 01:11 AM
#5
thanks man. No other red accents, this car is way more "go" than "show". I will for sure get pictures up when the cars back together. hopefully within the next few weeks, im making a radio delete panel where im mounting my gauges and i still need to install the new wideband and tach. been a fun project.
05-25-2010, 01:32 AM
#6
Staging Lane
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thats the wheel i want to get! but i just cant bring myself to pay that much for a steering wheel. lol il probly get the cheaper MOMO instead
looks great tho dude, it definitely says "more go than show
"
looks great tho dude, it definitely says "more go than show
" 
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10-07-2010, 04:39 PM
#13
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Some people remove the bulb, others just tape over it, the best way is to put resistors in the airbag connector, I don't know what resistance they are off the top of my head, I think 3.3, but if you do a search you can find it.
10-08-2010, 01:08 PM
#17
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Just a guess, but I don't think they'll sticky it because it could be seen as encouraging people to take their airbags out. Then when someone gets hurt here come the lawyers.
10-08-2010, 07:04 PM
#18
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Nice. I really want to do this! What size is the new wheel?
I know the stocker is 14" and after driving my moms 2010 GTI which has an awesome 13" wheel my stock one just feels waaayyy too big.
I know the stocker is 14" and after driving my moms 2010 GTI which has an awesome 13" wheel my stock one just feels waaayyy too big.
