95-97 Cruise Control on steering column

[thecapedcapper]

I'd like to mount my cruise control stalk on my 97 to the steering column as they are with the 93-94 trucks rather than on the steering wheel as 95-97 is. Has anyone done this? It seems to run through the clock spring on the 95-97.

I'm thinking I can I just connect it to the wires that I assume are in the steering column and fab up a bracket and either get a 93-94 steering column cover or just cut a hole in it. Anyone have any thoughts or have done anything similar?

 

[leonard_nemoy]

Why?

 

[thecapedcapper]

Why?

I'll probably get crucified for it but I want to replace my trashed OEM steering wheel with an aftermarket one. Yes I know I can get it recovered.

 

[Pascoscout]

I'll probably get crucified for it but I want to replace my trashed OEM steering wheel with an aftermarket one. Yes I know I can get it recovered.

The horror! How dare you do what you want to your own truck!

I can't see why your plan wouldn't work. The steering wheel doesn't do anything to disengage the cruise so not having it mounted there shouldn't impact function. It's been a while since I had my wheel apart so I don't recall how the wiring is routed to account for the turning movement, worst case you may need to cut and splice some wires to eliminate any special connectors. For looks the earlier column and cover might be the best route, not sure if the later cover has the room to fully cover the switch.

 

[Delta VS]

On topic of column cover: you can certainly cut a hole in the later one to fit over a column set (99% sure all mounting holes are the same between all years), but that would kind of go against the idea of replacing a trash steering wheel to then hack a hole in the late model cover.

Have read a bunch about different plastic being used for the 95-97 that wears better, but nothing from Toyota on the subject. The 91-94 are getting harder to come by, while the 95-97 are readily available, in two colors even.

 

[thecapedcapper]

The horror! How dare you do what you want to your own truck!

I can't see why your plan wouldn't work. The steering wheel doesn't do anything to disengage the cruise so not having it mounted there shouldn't impact function. It's been a while since I had my wheel apart so I don't recall how the wiring is routed to account for the turning movement, worst case you may need to cut and splice some wires to eliminate any special connectors. For looks the earlier column and cover might be the best route, not sure if the later cover has the room to fully cover the switch.

This is exactly what I was thinking, I found some pictures without the wheel on that show it plugs into the clock spring similar to how the airbag does, but I'm hoping to be able to find the wires on the column side and tap into them there. I'm just going to have to pull the steering column cover and check it out.

On topic of column cover: you can certainly cut a hole in the later one to fit over a column set (99% sure all mounting holes are the same between all years), but that would kind of go against the idea of replacing a trash steering wheel to then hack a hole in the late model cover.

Have read a bunch about different plastic being used for the 95-97 that wears better, but nothing from Toyota on the subject. The 91-94 are getting harder to come by, while the 95-97 are readily available, in two colors even.

Bit confused with what you're saying here but if the 91-94 are getting hard to find then it would make more sense to "hack up" my cover or just buy another one to be sacrificial. After thinking about it move I might just be able to put it underneath the windshield washer stalk which would only require enlarging that slot, or I can use a hole saw to make a nice clean hole.

 

[thecapedcapper]

Found the cruise control switch in the electrical wiring diagram and it just shows these three wires going straight to the ECU with the same color throughout so identifying them in the steering column should hopefully be easy and I can just pin in a new connector. The tricky part will probably be making up a bracket.

(Note: I found this in the LX450 EWD found here. I cross referenced with a Landcruiser EWD to be sure the wires were the same. (that pdf wasn't as nice and looked like a scan or something) )

 

[Delta VS]

This is exactly what I was thinking, I found some pictures without the wheel on that show it plugs into the clock spring similar to how the airbag does, but I'm hoping to be able to find the wires on the column side and tap into them there. I'm just going to have to pull the steering column cover and check it out.



Bit confused with what you're saying here but if the 91-94 are getting hard to find then it would make more sense to "hack up" my cover or just buy another one to be sacrificial. After thinking about it move I might just be able to put it underneath the windshield washer stalk which would only require enlarging that slot, or I can use a hole saw to make a nice clean hole.

Just saying if you’re concerned about hacky steering wheels, I haven’t seen any clean/well-cut cruise control slots.

 

[thecapedcapper]

Just saying if you’re concerned about hacky steering wheels, I haven’t seen any clean/well-cut cruise control slots.

Gotcha, I'll have to try and be careful with it then

 

[thecapedcapper]

So I'm finally getting around to making this work and I have a question, by some stretch does anyone know if a 91-94 steering assembly will work on a 95-97? The plug looks to be the same, but I wonder if the positions are all the same. If so that would make this a plug and play swap.

 

[BILT4ME]

So I'm finally getting around to making this work and I have a question, by some stretch does anyone know if a 91-94 steering assembly will work on a 95-97? The plug looks to be the same, but I wonder if the positions are all the same. If so that would make this a plug and play swap.

Removing the air bag as well?

 

[DivByZero]

You should find a lot of useful info in my thread here where I retrofitted cruise control to a HZJ80:

Retro-fitting factory cruise control

So my 80 series doesn't have cruise control. I find it mildly annoying, as I do a lot of long drives, and I appreciate being able to regulate my speed on the motorways with a flick of my finger, and give my foot a rest. Most 80's here in Australia didn't have cruise control however, and models...

forum.ih8mud.com

I know for sure from my adventures doing this that what you want to do here is certainly possible. You also don't have to worry about fabricating a bracket, the factory cruise control switch that fits to the steering column screws directly onto the combination switch. The holes will already be there for it to attach on your rig, you just need the physical switch itself, and to wire it into your harness, which I talk about a bit in my thread. Be careful with wiring, because there are differences. Your rig has a combined signal line for three of the buttons on the stalk, but earlier year models have three separate lines for those wires, with different mappings on the main harness off the combination switch too. You need to know the year model you're getting the parts from and cross check them against your year model. I'd suggest referring to the following thread to get full accurate wiring diagrams for each individual US year model:

ALL US Landcruiser/LX service manuals 1960-2018 (all years all models)

I present to you "The Complete Toyota Land Cruiser Field Service Manual" 2018 edition: TheCompleteTLCFSM2018.7z.torrent - 218.7 KB file on MEGA - https://mega.nz/file/JYkiVQzI#SsjsoKs99TFQ9R8LQth6aM9QNFohHIV_Nh3m7dIOQ9c TheCompleteTLCFSM2018.7z (21.7GB) - 21.77 GB file on MEGA -...

forum.ih8mud.com

No matter what year models involved though, it's possible to do what you want, it just varies in how much work is required.

On topic of column cover: you can certainly cut a hole in the later one to fit over a column set (99% sure all mounting holes are the same between all years), but that would kind of go against the idea of replacing a trash steering wheel to then hack a hole in the late model cover.

Have read a bunch about different plastic being used for the 95-97 that wears better, but nothing from Toyota on the subject. The 91-94 are getting harder to come by, while the 95-97 are readily available, in two colors even.

I'm 100% sure the mounting holes are the same. Physically swapped in covers between early and late year models. I think the mounting hole pattern matches Hilux models from that time too, wouldn't be surprised to find you could even interchange them.

As for the later year models plastic wearing better, definitely, that's 100% true. Again, same across the Hilux models from the era. Whatever plastic they used for the earlier year models goes very hard and brittle over time. Most early ones I've seen are broken by now. The later ones are obviously a different plastic, and seem to go the distance.

There is a good alternative to hacking a hole in your current late model cover though. Outside the US, there were late LHD models with cruise control, where airbags were optional. The cruise control ONLY moved to the wheel with the four spoke wheel design, which was ONLY used where airbags were fitted. What you need is this:

https://partsouq.com/en/search/all?q=45286-60953-C0

Still available brand new from Toyota, with the good plastic. For that matter, a good option for people with earlier US models too with cruise control fitted to the column. Note I don't expect this to be around long, so it's worth getting while it's available. The RHD version went NLA years ago.

 

[thecapedcapper]

Removing the air bag as well?

Unfortunately yes, I had to remove the airbag to install the aftermarket wheel.

You should find a lot of useful info in my thread here where I retrofitted cruise control to a HZJ80:

Retro-fitting factory cruise control

So my 80 series doesn't have cruise control. I find it mildly annoying, as I do a lot of long drives, and I appreciate being able to regulate my speed on the motorways with a flick of my finger, and give my foot a rest. Most 80's here in Australia didn't have cruise control however, and models...

forum.ih8mud.com

I know for sure from my adventures doing this that what you want to do here is certainly possible. You also don't have to worry about fabricating a bracket, the factory cruise control switch that fits to the steering column screws directly onto the combination switch. The holes will already be there for it to attach on your rig, you just need the physical switch itself, and to wire it into your harness, which I talk about a bit in my thread. Be careful with wiring, because there are differences. Your rig has a combined signal line for three of the buttons on the stalk, but earlier year models have three separate lines for those wires, with different mappings on the main harness off the combination switch too. You need to know the year model you're getting the parts from and cross check them against your year model. I'd suggest referring to the following thread to get full accurate wiring diagrams for each individual US year model:

ALL US Landcruiser/LX service manuals 1960-2018 (all years all models)

I present to you "The Complete Toyota Land Cruiser Field Service Manual" 2018 edition: TheCompleteTLCFSM2018.7z.torrent - 218.7 KB file on MEGA - https://mega.nz/file/JYkiVQzI#SsjsoKs99TFQ9R8LQth6aM9QNFohHIV_Nh3m7dIOQ9c TheCompleteTLCFSM2018.7z (21.7GB) - 21.77 GB file on MEGA -...

forum.ih8mud.com

No matter what year models involved though, it's possible to do what you want, it just varies in how much work is required.


I'm 100% sure the mounting holes are the same. Physically swapped in covers between early and late year models. I think the mounting hole pattern matches Hilux models from that time too, wouldn't be surprised to find you could even interchange them.

As for the later year models plastic wearing better, definitely, that's 100% true. Again, same across the Hilux models from the era. Whatever plastic they used for the earlier year models goes very hard and brittle over time. Most early ones I've seen are broken by now. The later ones are obviously a different plastic, and seem to go the distance.

There is a good alternative to hacking a hole in your current late model cover though. Outside the US, there were late LHD models with cruise control, where airbags were optional. The cruise control ONLY moved to the wheel with the four spoke wheel design, which was ONLY used where airbags were fitted. What you need is this:
View attachment 3057860

https://partsouq.com/en/search/all?q=45286-60953-C0

Still available brand new from Toyota, with the good plastic. For that matter, a good option for people with earlier US models too with cruise control fitted to the column. Note I don't expect this to be around long, so it's worth getting while it's available. The RHD version went NLA years ago.

Thanks for the info, I believe the cruise control switch on the factory steering wheel had 3 wires as well not one combined as I think you are suggesting, but I'll have to check when I get home. Thanks for the link for all the wiring diagrams there, I'll have to cross-compare the diagrams from my 97 to earlier models to see if things line up, but it may still be easier for me to wire it in as the cruise wires are in a connector that normally connects to the clock spring and also has the wire for the horn. There's a helpful thread here about using that plug in an LX450, but I've confirmed mine is the same. He confirms that 3 wires in it are for the cruise control, so if the 91-94 (US) cruise control switch has those same three wires I should be able to pin that into the connector and be good to go.

That column cover would be perfect for me, I've seen that one before but that is an excellent price.