FZJ-80 leather steering wheel recovered (1 Viewer)

[Kernal]

Just got my wheel back from Dallas Custom Steering Wheel in Texas. They're not connected to Craft Customs (also in Texas) and don't know if either does better/same quality work than the other.

I went with full leather with a slight "grain" compared to the original leather (which is perfectly smooth). Looks like quality work, the leather is the same thickness, color, and same style baseball stitching as the original, which is perfect. If you have a crusty leather steering wheel this is definitely something you should consider IMHO.

The Dallas Custom Steering Wheel price for the 80 series leather wheel starts at $299, add $50 to reglue the rubber to the metal frame (they all need it), add $50 to add 1/16" padding under the leather, then add $18 for shipping back. With the padding the wheel looks and feels a bit fatter but only adds about 4mm increased diameter front to back. Compared to a 2014 Ford F-150 I recently rented I would say the thickness of that steering wheel was close to the same as this newly recovered wheel with the padding.

 

[Kernal]

Another view to compare the grain and thickness difference next to this spare wheel I picked up from a salvage yard. The spare stock wheel in the photos is in much better shape than my original which was tearing apart in a few places.

 

[Kernal]

And another:

 

[heckler]

That looks awesome

 

[jtwopark]

what was the turn around time?

 

[Kernal]

Turn around time should be about a week (US to US) depending on how and where you ship your wheel from. They shipped it back to me FedEx two day delivery, received on a Saturday. Not sure if that is their norm as there was a payment snafu on my side which slowed things down a bit.

I considered the faux wood wheel inserts top and bottom (thinking it might last longer from the effects of sun and sweat), but decided on the stock look. I plan to take better care of this one than the original.

 

[jtwopark]

i would like to have piano black on top and bottom...and black leather....i'll have to look into it!

 

[balkanboy]

Looks great

 

[Rookie2]

Is there much to taking the steering wheel off, deal with airbag etc..?

 

[chapel gate]

looks good. I just fitted my newly covered steering wheel last night! stitching is different and I went for a smooth leather. should of done it years ago, it is the main contact point in the truck!

 

[Kernal]

Agree, the steering wheel is the major man-to-machine interface. Holding onto a crusty wheel seems to affect the way you feel about your truck IMO/IME.

 

[Kernal]

Removing the steering wheel:

WARNING: Disconnect the battery before starting this work. The FSM says to wait ?? seconds, I waited an hour. Same for replacing the airbag assembly, don't stand or sit in front of the wheel when you hook the airbag back up.


I used a thin flat bladed screwdriver to pop the plastic covers out to gain access to the Torx screws on either side of the wheel:

T-30 Torx bit to loosen the Torx screw on either side of the wheel; the screws are captured and will not fall out when loose:

Squeeze and push up the four plastic rivets holding the airbag assembly in place, lift the airbag assembly forward and carefully disconnect the connectors. Place the assembly in a safe location face down:

19mm socket is used to remove the nut holding the wheel to the shaft.

When reassembling torque the 19mm steering wheel shaft nut to 25 ft lbs
and the two airbag pad Torx screws to 78 in lbs.

 

[Kernal]

I used this Craftsman Steering Wheel Puller to pop the wheel off the shaft. After watching the salvage yard parts guy beat the kerapp out of a steering column to pull a steering wheel off using his fists, feet and knees I decided to go out and buy this puller.

 

[ChiTown]

So what you're saying is you have a core steering wheel to loan fellow mudders to get this done?

I've used Dallas steering wheels to recover some pretty rare steering wheels and it's always perfect.

 

[Kernal]

I could loan it but shipping would cost more than picking up a spare from a salvage yard. I paid $25 for this one, in the yard it looked horrible all covered in dirt, grime and mold but it cleaned up pretty nice. My guess is other Toyota steering wheels might fit on the steering column shaft at least temporarily without the clamshells, airbag and cruise hooked up; drove mine around for awhile like that.

 

[Rookie2]

I just fitted my newly covered steering wheel last night! stitching is different and I went for a smooth look!

Would you mind posting up pics of your smooth version?

 

[chapel gate]

of course not, if kernel doesn't mind I will do it tonight.

 

[Kernal]

It would be good to post up other examples for comparison. I went with the grain or textured surface instead of smooth as I noticed while renting a Ford F-150 that my fingers didn't seem to stick to the leather as much as with the slick OEM 80 leather wheel. The Ford wheel had quite a bit of texture ie: micro peaks and valleys, where the grain of the Dallas Custom Steering Wheel leather is significantly less prominent.

 

[chapel gate]

I did this through a mate who deals in second hand cruiser parts, he does it on a steering wheel exchange basis so you are not left without a steering wheel...

 

[Haring Bagsik]

I received mine from Metric TLC and it is beautiful!!....Thanks Shane! My whole interior is now all done thanks to Metric TLC. Can't wait to install it this weekend.