petros

When I bought my '98 two years ago the previous owner put a steering wheel cover on the wheel to cover up the blemished leather, so bad that it's just flaking off completely. I'm kind of getting sick of using a steering wheel cover.

I was at a junk yard the other day and saw five or six 3rd gens that all had steering wheels in good condition.

The wheel is first mounted to the column, then the airbag goes over that. So in order to replace the wheel I'll have to take the airbag module off first, and I'm not sure if that's a big no-no or what? Otherwise it looks like a very easy fix, and I could get a new wheel cheap, but I want to make sure I'm not jeopardizing my safety by screwing with the airbag. Anyone have experience with this?

Thanks

dairyjato

not really, but i have set a couple off with a 12v battery so i wonder if it would go off if battery was disconnected.

TexanTaco

I wonder if it would be any easier if you got the steering wheel from a 4Runner with a popped airbag? Assuming it's not all smashed up of course. You would still need to be careful with the removal of the wheel in your truck. That sounds scary to me, messing with a loaded airbag.

Another option, if you can remove the rest of the cracked leather from your wheel is to "re-skin" it. I used a leather cover from this company and it looks almost OEM:

http://www.wheelskins.com/

djsixbillion

I'll be interested to see if anyone has had experience with this as well. The wheel in my 97 4runner is close to worn out, and I've thought about swapping it for a 98 or later wheel as I prefer the "four spoke" look and ergonomics.

petros

Airbags are the first things they rip from a wrecked car, so these wheels all lack an airbag in front of it. It's just the metal frame and leather tied to it. Any idea if it's aligned in a special way or something that I might interfere with if I remove it?

Yukon

Im interested in this too, mines in the same spot. Let us know how this turns out

JC_ez

I'm thinking about changing my 2 spoke steering wheel for a 4 spoke one too. By the way, does anyone know if the airbag from the 2 spoke 1997 steering wheel will fit in the 4 spoke steering wheel from 1998-2002 4Runners?

petros

Look what I found:

https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f2/s...4runner-89437/

That pretty much sums up everything I've been looking for, and I'm sure it'll help most of you out with the same questions... It looks easy to do and reasonably safe, as long as the battery is disconnected at least 90 seconds before unplugging the airbag. Worth it to me.