i want to put a grant wheel in my lx but it has an airbag,the grant will not have the airbag so i want to know of any pitfalls in doing this.will the air bag idiot light stay on or will i have to bypass it somehow once it"s disconnected?i also read about a clock spring in the wheel.is it as easy as just pulling the wheel and putting the new grant on?i understand that the battery has to be disconnected and to wait a little while before removing the bag. i also know that i need to purchase an adaptor for the wheel. any help or advice would be appreciated.
grant steering wheel
- Thread starter rrl
- Start date
Grant makes an adapter for most applications to space out the wheel from the mounting point of the shaft enough to where the turn signal lever is approximately where it would be with the OEM wheel. They usually run less than $25, last I checked.
Your airbag light will flash at you forever once the airbag is removed. DO NOT simply remove the bulb, as then you will have to contend with an annoying beeping sound from behind the dash. You will either have to remove the thingy that beeps, as well (good luck finding it) or simply disassemble the gauge cluster and cover the airbag light with a piece of electrical tape.
As far as a clock spring, all that basically involves is a disc-like thing ("lock plate") with some notches around the outside that locks the wheel into one stationary position when the ignition key is removed. Buy a "steering wheel lock plate removal tool" (or whatever the exact name is - looks like a horseshoe with a long threaded piece going through the middle of it) from Autozone or an equivalent place for $15 or less. Remove the steering wheel (using an appropriate steering wheel removal tool - also usually less than $15), screw on the spring tool to push the disc in, remove the snap ring from the steering shaft, and then unscrew the spring tool to release the tension on the lock plate. Easy stuff, doesn't take long at all.
The BIG danger is in the airbag, itself, which I would honestly be VERY reluctant to want to handle, myself. It's basically an explosive charge, and when it's not secured to the steering wheel or when your face is really close to it while you're working on it, it can be DEADLY if/when it happens to go off by accident. Refer to other how-to threads and write-ups on here for proper safe airbag removal procedures and read them thoroughly BEFORE attempting removal.
Disadvantages of removing a '90-'93 Fox airbag steering wheel:
1. Decreased driver protection from injury in the event of a severe head-on collision;
2. Not having to deal with those stupid little horn buttons on the OEM wheel that are usually a PITA to hit when you really wanna (c'mon, we've all mistakenly slammed our palm uselessly into the airbag at one time or another when trying to honk the horn) and half the time they like to pop out completely or fail to work at all;
3. Failure to pass visual inspection in some state/county safety inspections (although if you're savvy and/or the inspectors are kinda dense, you can always just swap the OEM steering wheel back on there for inspection and swap it out again after, since wheel-swapping doesn't take much time/effort);
4. Most aftermarket steering wheels look fairly goofy on a '90-'93 Fox because the steering column is so much thicker and all the ugly trim that's normally hidden by the fat honkin' OEM airbag wheel is now plainly visible;
5. There is no guarantee that, even with an application-specific adapter, the aftermarket wheel will line up correctly in such a way that the turn signal lever will not wind up being too close or too far away, so you either wind up accidentally hitting it every other time you turn the wheel or it's stupidly awkward to use it.
That's all I can think of right off hand.
Your airbag light will flash at you forever once the airbag is removed. DO NOT simply remove the bulb, as then you will have to contend with an annoying beeping sound from behind the dash. You will either have to remove the thingy that beeps, as well (good luck finding it) or simply disassemble the gauge cluster and cover the airbag light with a piece of electrical tape.
As far as a clock spring, all that basically involves is a disc-like thing ("lock plate") with some notches around the outside that locks the wheel into one stationary position when the ignition key is removed. Buy a "steering wheel lock plate removal tool" (or whatever the exact name is - looks like a horseshoe with a long threaded piece going through the middle of it) from Autozone or an equivalent place for $15 or less. Remove the steering wheel (using an appropriate steering wheel removal tool - also usually less than $15), screw on the spring tool to push the disc in, remove the snap ring from the steering shaft, and then unscrew the spring tool to release the tension on the lock plate. Easy stuff, doesn't take long at all.
The BIG danger is in the airbag, itself, which I would honestly be VERY reluctant to want to handle, myself. It's basically an explosive charge, and when it's not secured to the steering wheel or when your face is really close to it while you're working on it, it can be DEADLY if/when it happens to go off by accident. Refer to other how-to threads and write-ups on here for proper safe airbag removal procedures and read them thoroughly BEFORE attempting removal.
Disadvantages of removing a '90-'93 Fox airbag steering wheel:
1. Decreased driver protection from injury in the event of a severe head-on collision;
2. Not having to deal with those stupid little horn buttons on the OEM wheel that are usually a PITA to hit when you really wanna (c'mon, we've all mistakenly slammed our palm uselessly into the airbag at one time or another when trying to honk the horn) and half the time they like to pop out completely or fail to work at all;
3. Failure to pass visual inspection in some state/county safety inspections (although if you're savvy and/or the inspectors are kinda dense, you can always just swap the OEM steering wheel back on there for inspection and swap it out again after, since wheel-swapping doesn't take much time/effort);
4. Most aftermarket steering wheels look fairly goofy on a '90-'93 Fox because the steering column is so much thicker and all the ugly trim that's normally hidden by the fat honkin' OEM airbag wheel is now plainly visible;
5. There is no guarantee that, even with an application-specific adapter, the aftermarket wheel will line up correctly in such a way that the turn signal lever will not wind up being too close or too far away, so you either wind up accidentally hitting it every other time you turn the wheel or it's stupidly awkward to use it.
That's all I can think of right off hand.
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