air bag wheel to grant INSTALL, & column rebuild FAQ - Third Generation F-Body Message Boards

matthufham · 08-01-2009, 01:17 AM

i wanted to make a faq so here you guys go.

On 90-92 camaros, and I don’t know the year of firebirds, an airbag wheel is standard… but if you want to change the wheel to a Grant Challenger Series wheel then use the install kit 3196 for the 89/earlier camaro, and it works the same. One thing… it doesn’t bolt on just the same. You have to cut about ¼ inch off the collar of the column or the grant spacer cover because they will sit too close and rub (explained later)
Don’t ruin this thread by discussing safety. I don’t care, my airbag light was on and I don’t think it would of worked and I feel the benefit of a cool wheel is worth it. So don’t even bring it up. I will say though wear safety goggles when grinding.
Also in this I’ll take it a few steps farther and teach you guys how to get deep in the column and access the 4 bolts that always get loose and the tilt pins that always come out.
before

first things first cut the battery power, or I just pulled the accessory fuse to keep my domelight and horn from going off/draining the battery. Others disconnect the battery to save the airbag but I find it pretty hard to explode it by messing up something, it’s the first thing out of the way
Start with the 4 torx screws in back.

Remove the airbag

These are the horn contacts, I had one on the right stuck in depressed mode.

This is the horn spring, you can throw this out with the wheel. Usually you turn it a little counter clockwise to release it but my turn signal cancelling cam was broken where that was attached so it came right out.

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matthufham · 08-01-2009, 01:21 AM

Time to remove the wheel, hope you have this tool

I’ll assume you know how to use it.

Remove the c clip

matthufham · 08-01-2009, 01:25 AM

Remove the air bag coil and a wavy washer

Want to install the wheel now, you can. Just plug in your new horn wire, then the silver adapter hub. With the horn wire you got a spring, a black plastic sleeve, and a black wire.

Now this is where you must cut ¼ inch off either your expensive column or cheap install kit, so I cut the kit.

After taping a guide I got a grinder, clamped it to the workbench and went around.

matthufham · 08-01-2009, 01:27 AM

Next throw it on the column

Then the wheel

Then the brown side out horn button goes in. make sure you’ve routed the horn wire which comes out at 10 o clockish over to the holes in the wheel closer to 2 o clock. Then put the screws in to hold it together, then put a washer and nut in the center and tighten them all. Check the gap where you cut the collar.

To install your horn cap first plug the horn wire in to the brown contact ring, then put the spring on the shaft. I had trouble with the spring so I hot glued it to the horn cap.
Then you just press the horn onto the brown thing. It should stay, try turning the cap if it doesn’t
Done

matthufham · 08-01-2009, 01:28 AM

In the middle, if you wanted to go beyond just the wheel install and fix your column get ready. The black gear thing in there… you have to depress that and remove this lock ring that’s on the shaft. Problem is you can’t depress it far enough with your hands. Yes there is a tool to do this for some money, but I’ve made 3 versions of a similar tool, and they don’t take much time with a welder. I used some scrap rod and bent it up like this.

That’s ring’s a bitch I’d have to admit. I used some dentist picks and flathead screwdrivers.
Now take off the turn signal cancelling cam

matthufham · 08-01-2009, 01:29 AM

Tiny Phillips removes the hazard switch

Phillips screw holds this lever on the turn signal switch

3 phillips hold the turn signal switch in

matthufham · 08-01-2009, 01:31 AM

Now you won’t be able to pull this very far without getting some wires tight, so we need to pull these wires up. So take off your knee panel with 5 torx screws (2 are covered on top, 3 on bottom), and there’s 2 wiring connector bundles. Unplug them. Remove the plastic wiring cover that runs on the bottom of the steering shaft. The 2 sets of wires are now able to be pulled through the hole and towards the wheel. Also at this point I cut out the yellow wires for the airbag.

this is one pulled through

matthufham · 08-01-2009, 01:31 AM

Remove the ignition cylinder (black torx head)

3 silver torx screws hold the upper column housing on

matthufham · 08-01-2009, 01:33 AM

Now this guy here can be a bitch, there’s a spring cover, and spring that needs to come out. I use a flat blade, but by the time I was done I had messed the hole up pretty bad. You push in, and turn, and it comes out. this tensions the tilt mechanism.

Ok now there’s 2 pins that the tilt “tilts” on. I had one on the left side creeping out of the hole, which made my column sloppy and tilty. I could of pushed this back in it’s hole and bolted it all back together to solve my problem, but I decided to keep going and see if the 4 bolts at the back were loose. The pins are gold colored in the pics.
To remove them you need a screw about 2 inches long, and a 8-32 thread. Plus a nut. Get 2 each because they can break, hopefully not while inside the pin. Ok so with a socket larger than the pin outer diameter (13 mm +) thread the screw through the nut and socket into the pin as far as it can go. Then tighten the nut which will pull the pin. On the left side where the pin was already out some I just threaded into it, and pulled… it popped out easy..

matthufham · 08-01-2009, 01:33 AM

matthufham · 08-01-2009, 01:34 AM

Now the only thing holding the piece on is these saw teeth that are on top. They grab a pin at 3 or 4 stages of tilt and lock it there. They are on a shaft, and grab a pin on the inside. To move the saw teeth down and off the pin just pull the tilt lever and it will release them. then the assembly should come up and off the steering shaft. Also remove the 3 pieces pictured in that order. DON’T REMOVE THE PIN THAT HOLDS THE SAW TEETH TO THE UNIT. I did and it took about 30 minutes to get those suckers back in there. I pictured this pin with a small screwdriver.
And if you feel like removing the tilt lever, it screws in there, so just unscrew it. Mine was tight and I used pliers which tore up the finish on the lever.

Now once you get that off, look for the mushroom looking piece with some teeth on it. It will probably fall out. it’s silver and it controls the ignition switch. It goes on the left side of the column and attaches to the lock cylinder through a black paddle wheel looking piece on a pin going to the right side.
All I can say about this is when putting it back together experiment with the location. Make sure accessory is accessory, off is off, lock run and all those work like they should. This is how keeping the battery connected helps. I just listened for the radio to come on, gauges to come on….

matthufham · 08-01-2009, 01:35 AM

Now you can get those screws tight we’ve been looking for. There’s 4 and they’re 8mm I think. I wasn’t able to get the bottom left one because my socket didn’t get past this rod onto the bolt, but all mine were tight. My buddy’s Camaro had the loosest bolts in there, I’d suggest loctite, and in the future don’t pull the damn wheel to get out of the car.

Put it back together. To put the assembly just removed back on, pull the tilt lever to get those saw teeth things back on the pin. line up those side pins we unscrewed, and tap them in. my high beam piece was broken, but that goes in a certain way you’ll just have to experiment. Hopefully it come back together smoothly for you. thanks

camaronewbie · 08-01-2009, 07:09 PM

Nice! This should be a sticky, or a tech srticle - it's very useful for the tilt wheel info, as well as anyone needing to see inside the steering wheel for things like the cancelling cam, the ignition switch, etc.

Make that airbag electrical plug available for sale in the classifieds - anyone switching to a 4th gen wheel can make use of it, as the 4th gen airbags have a different connector on them!

jensen73110 · 08-01-2009, 07:42 PM

Great write up & pics.

Excellent work!

Fords88Bird · 08-03-2009, 03:26 PM

UNCLE TOM · 08-03-2009, 03:44 PM

good write-up on the steering wheel . i did pretty much the same 2 months ago . i did trim the plastic , took my time & used a small hobby type saw to trim it . good write-up .

RevItUpZ28 · 08-10-2009, 05:14 AM

Really informative post! That's a good idea to trim the adapter and not the steering column plastic!

Primetime91 · 12-04-2009, 01:57 AM

Very nice write up

Seriously I think this could/should be made a sticky.

tom86iroc · 12-04-2009, 03:53 AM

nice DETAILED job good deal man

JTNKTZ · 12-09-2009, 10:29 PM

Stickeeeeee!

TimeTraveller · 12-10-2009, 11:29 AM

DId this on my 92 TA vert. Very nice piece, well thought out, but one change I would add. when its time to trim the bowl-shaped adapter, 1/4" may not work on all F-bodies. mine worked to be 3/16th. Something must've been different on mine.

Dustytrix · 12-26-2009, 07:35 PM

Thanks for the info. I had to tighten up my column today the keeper with the 8/32 screw hole on left side was loose. But I went on in to the 4 bolts 8mm, they were tight. It would have been a worse pita without your info.

Jaydawg7 · 01-09-2010, 06:22 PM

I bought a turn signal switch thinking it had something to do with the reason my bright lights weren't working. (Imagine my dismay.)

I made the attempt to replace my turn signal switch using this guide in addition to my Haynes & Chilton manuals, some parts on my 1991 were different, and my car also has a Viper car alarm. I made the mistake of disconnecting the battery and that means the alarm has to be reset.

To make a long story short, I got everything back together and now the steering wheel doesn't "click" when the key is in the off position and the car won't start at all. Hopefully when I re-disassemble the column I can get the car to start with some pliers and the ignition switch and reset the alarm.

Any thoughts as to what I did wrong would be appreciated.

CRCustoms · 01-09-2010, 06:50 PM

as a pro alarm installer, i dont understand what happened. the viper (dei) alarms i have worked with usually rest closed, meaning as long as the alarm is not armed, the starter kill relay is not engaged, meaning the car should operate as if if were not installed. i didnt install the alarm, so I cant say for sure that is the case. do you use the alarm?

btw, disconnecting the battery does not mean you have to reprogram anything, especially on a viper. the only thing that might happen could be that the remote is out of sync. to fix this, keep pushing the arm button untill it works again.

posting the alarm model/ install information would have been helpful. i dont think the alarm is your problem, and there is nothing to program for the starter kill anyway. make sure the alarm is disarmed. otherwise, bypassing the starter kill relay is simple, even if temporary.

http://www.the12volt.com/installbay/...etail/484.html

the starter wire is behind the panel that is below the steering wheel, where your knees are in the driver seat. i think its 5 torx bolts, remove that panel and find (hopefully) the only thick gauge yellow wirecoming from the ignition. the wire should have been cut, and a wire connected to the key side and a wire to the starter side. simply reconnect the yellow wires to disable the starter kill. if your car has remote start that will also be disabled. otherwise, the rest of the alarm should work normally.

do this to cross the alarm off of the list. hope this helps. pm me if you have more questions so we dont hijack the thread.

Jaydawg7 · 01-10-2010, 12:50 PM

I'm about to go try it again, I'm not entirely sure it IS the alarm. When the key is in the "off" position the steering wheel doesn't click & lock when I turn the wheel.

I think having to push the button on the key fob is just contributing to the problem. (BTW it is FCC ID:EZSDE1471) The alarm works fine up until now but when I had the ignition cylinder out there is some (one cut, one not) gray wires connected to it but they dead end into a plug connector (wasn't plugged into anything) that goes down the inside of the column down to the pedals. I found some similar gray wires that go to a push button on the underside part of the dash that I pulled to get to all the wires. I will PM you after a while with pics and any updates , Thanks.

P.S I have only had the car since late 2008 and the alarm came with it.

90tararebird · 01-14-2010, 08:20 PM

The wire that goes to your ignition cylinder is for the VATS. That was probably fooled with at some time.

Jaydawg7 · 01-14-2010, 08:25 PM

So you mean a few months ago when my car would not start, and the repair shop where it got towed said they had to "reprogram" my key most likely cut the wires and cheated me out of $300?

90tararebird · 01-14-2010, 08:56 PM

That could be what happened. All i know is that there is no such thing as reprograming a key for these cars. What could of happened is that they bypassed the system. That would explain the cut wire and the push button. Try pushing the button and then trying to start the car. Ya never know.

Jaydawg7 · 01-14-2010, 09:27 PM

Now that I have everything back together it doesn't have any trouble starting. But the guy who was supposed to have repaired it should have been honest with me about it and now they are going to catch hell.

MSRed91Camaro · 01-14-2010, 10:54 PM

awsome ive been thinking about putting in a new wheel

articwhiteZ · 01-15-2010, 01:23 AM

thats what iv been thinking..my factry wheel has always been coverd so it still looks new.. but i want somthing better looking..

so you just Cut the Yellow wire. (air bag coil wire) AND REMOVE
the air bag coil.. thats it?

Davidgou · 01-17-2010, 09:07 PM

Very nice write up. And I agree with the rest, this should be made a sticky.

Chris67rs · 01-19-2010, 08:49 PM

wonderful job, I used this guide as a step by step for my air bag removal and grant install, the pins on my tilt were the mess, I found out why later on as my spring retainer aluminum piece broke off, I had to epoxy it back on then the tilt was tight again, 4 times removing it to get the ignition lock thing back in its slot and im good to go, oh wait, I broke the little tag for the horn wire holder on the turn signal cam, but got a new replacement, I am at the point of cutting the 1/4 inch off of the install kit dome thing. my tilt was screwed up for 15 years, I just got around to fixing it. my cars a 91, ive owned it since 93,

thanks!