Help hints and tips removing steering wheel on a 90 .

[Shayne]

Hi all i've just got around to replacing my headlight/wiper/indicator stalks coz theres a short inside that sometimes turns my headlights off when i indicate left or right . Battery has been disconnected to keep airbag safe , unscrewed the lower panel , took the screw out of columb panels or box , popped a little entry panel on the side of the wheel hub to reveal a screw . And then coz i hate breaking the little plastic clips i decided to have a look at my Haynes manual to be sure i'm not removing more than i need to .

That's when i discovered Toyota have borrowed it while my truck was in for very expensive repairs and a full service !

I'm thinking the screw i found under the inspection panel on the underside of the wheel itself holds the horn cover in place so if i remove that i should be free and clear to continue .

Or is it a self destruct button ?

 

[Shayne]

OK just remove the little square panel either side on the underside of the steering wheel , undo the hex bolts , remove the horn cover , undo the steering wheel centre bolt , unplug whatever electrical connections you can and bang the steering wheel off .

Centre squib and stalks removed but no visible sign of a fault . I am suprised though to find lots of oil around where the stalks slot into the centre piece ?

Because my own stalks look considerably newer than whats on the squib from the breakers i'm gonna take a chance and put my stalks on the replacement centre piece , after washing as much oil as possible away using meths and hope it works . If it fails i will just have to start again .

 

[Shayne]

Any reason i should not connect the battery with the airbag unplugged ?

I've ended up with 2 female connections on the steering airbag so would like to see if the replacement squib with the old stalks actually works before i do anything else ?

 

[Shayne]

Started it up with the airbag disconnected and no disasters but the fault remains so evidently the fault is inside the the indicator stalk itself . Disconnect the battery and pull everything apart again , the original squib should work fine with a replacement stalk .

 

[Shayne]

Sorted , that was an entertaining afternoon in the sun , shame i will have to do it again when i order a new stalk from Toyota coz the replacement despite working fine looks ancient . A 10 minute job now i know what i'm doing . Amazing what you can do with a little help lol .