FZJ80 Clock Spring Replacement (1 Viewer)

[nealjohnston]

Hey everyone,

Just wanted to post this in case anyone was in the same spot I was with regards to finding a replacement clock spring for an FZJ80.

I have a 1996 80 Series and a while back broke the clock spring while trying to mate up a leather Corolla steering wheel to my cruiser before sending it off to Craft Customs to be replaced. In the process of this, I lost Cruise, Horn, and Airbag. Not wanting to spend $400 to find a new part, I went down to my local Pull-A-Part and tore off about 15 steering wheels to find a match. Since I wanted to retain the factory controls, the options seemed a bit limited.

What I ended up finding, through the countless years of Toyotas and Lexus models that I went through, is that the clock spring on a 1994 Corolla was an absolute match for an 1996 Land Cruiser. I'm guessing other years out there also work, but finding a budget car with cruise control seemed to be impossible. I was able to run home, pull the steering wheel a part, the lower dash assembly, and plug and play everything that I needed. My factory cruiser now works, horn, and airbag.

I hope this helps anyone looking for a direct replacement if you happen to be in the situation I was in.

 

[ZetheGSD]

I was actually sizing up a beautiful 3rd Gen 4runner wheel for the 80 and looks almost like an exact match other than being black. In pulling and matching both wheels and airbags I noticed that I would have to swap the connectors to make the 80 clockspring with the 4runner wheel. A very important feature I found is that the 80 clockspring shows that it is a 6-turn clockspring which is most likely due to our rigs being of the solid axle variety with more turns required by means of the steering gear and not having a rack and pinion setup. The 4runner clockspring showed to be a 5-turn ribbon cable. Does the Corolla have a 6 turn clockspring? If so this is great news as we have a good cheap alternative to the $400 dealer part.

 

[nealjohnston]

I was actually sizing up a beautiful 3rd Gen 4runner wheel for the 80 and looks almost like an exact match other than being black. In pulling and matching both wheels and airbags I noticed that I would have to swap the connectors to make the 80 clockspring with the 4runner wheel. A very important feature I found is that the 80 clockspring shows that it is a 6-turn clockspring which is most likely due to our rigs being of the solid axle variety with more turns required by means of the steering gear and not having a rack and pinion setup. The 4runner clockspring showed to be a 5-turn ribbon cable. Does the Corolla have a 6 turn clockspring? If so this is great news as we have a good cheap alternative to the $400 dealer part.

That is correct. The 80 series clock spring has a 6-pin connector for the cruise control and I'm not sure how easy it would be to retrofit a 5-pin to this. The Corolla, amazingly enough had the same 6-pin harness I had been looking for. It was plug and play once I found the part and got it installed. I hope this helps!

 

[ZetheGSD]

That is correct. The 80 series clock spring has a 6-pin connector for the cruise control and I'm not sure how easy it would be to retrofit a 5-pin to this. The Corolla, amazingly enough had the same 6-pin harness I had been looking for. It was plug and play once I found the part and got it installed. I hope this helps!

The 4runner also has the 6-pin cruiser control harness. After some digging it looks like the corolla clockspring does in fact have a 6-turn ribbon cable, so this is looking like a very promising venture! If you could post some pics of your swap to help future mudders!

Thanks

 

[Feistl]

Thread dig, but Neal did you happen to notice which model of Corolla you got the part from? Just the Corolla model swapped over in 1994 so could either be the AE92/95 (1988-1994) or the AE101/102 (1994-1999) model...

Also wondering if anyone has any experience fitting a clock spring to an 80 series landcruiser which DIDN'T come with an airbag?

This is what my switches look like, hoping I can fit a clock spring (ideally from a Corolla) but not sure if the moulding was different between airbag/non airbag model.

Cheers,

 

[nealjohnston]

Thread dig, but Neal did you happen to notice which model of Corolla you got the part from? Just the Corolla model swapped over in 1994 so could either be the AE92/95 (1988-1994) or the AE101/102 (1994-1999) model...

Also wondering if anyone has any experience fitting a clock spring to an 80 series landcruiser which DIDN'T come with an airbag?

This is what my switches look like, hoping I can fit a clock spring (ideally from a Corolla) but not sure if the moulding was different between airbag/non airbag model.

Cheers,

View attachment 3169480

It was definitely out of a AE101/102 Corolla. I only took one photo of the replacement clock spring, so this may not be all that helpful, but maybe can point you in the correct direction in case you come across one. I must have tore the airbags off of nearly 10 various Toyota's and Lexus models before I was able to find a correct match.

 

[Feistl]

Thanks mate, Appreciate your help...

Unfortunately it doesn't look like the Australian Corollas have the clock spring... Yet they have airbags. Spent a bunch of time at a wrecker today and it looks as though the airbag is self deploying based on inertia rather than electrical signal (I know that sounds crazy, but I promise you the 5 different corollas I looked at had drivers airbags, but when i removed the airbag it just had the single wire for the horn (Using the same method as the landcruisers).

Super disappointing as I am really struggling to find a suitable part.

If you ever happen to have the part out could you please grab the part number for me? .

Otherwise if anyone else follows this guide and gets one, please post up the part number...

Cheers

 

[nealjohnston]

Thanks mate, Appreciate your help...

Unfortunately it doesn't look like the Australian Corollas have the clock spring... Yet they have airbags. Spent a bunch of time at a wrecker today and it looks as though the airbag is self deploying based on inertia rather than electrical signal (I know that sounds crazy, but I promise you the 5 different corollas I looked at had drivers airbags, but when i removed the airbag it just had the single wire for the horn (Using the same method as the landcruisers).

Super disappointing as I am really struggling to find a suitable part.

If you ever happen to have the part out could you please grab the part number for me? .

Otherwise if anyone else follows this guide and gets one, please post up the part number...

Cheers

There's a chance I will be swapping the original Land Cruiser steering wheel back on the vehicle in the next few weeks! When I do, I'll grab that for you. If not, I will still pull the steering wheel off and let you know. By the time I found that clock spring, I had taken so many Toyota steering wheels off at the junkyard I could get it done in just a few minutes.

I know how frustrating that whole situation was for me personally so I'll do my best to save you the frustration as well.

I'll circle back soon.

Neal

 

[Feistl]

Fantastic, thanks mate.

Yeah it was a frustrating experience going through multiple different cars in the heat the other day without having any luck. Looking online is difficult as many sites have generic pictures I can't really trust...

Considering clock springs can be found new for like $20-30, I am hoping to be able to find a source without having to revert to second hand (as the Australian delivered Corollas don't appears to use clock springs).

Cheers

 

[Feistl]

So silly question, but has anyone confirmed we NEED a 6 turn clock spring?

I just tested my 80, and I can only turn the steering wheel 4 full turns from lock to lock, and the HJZ105 series (which is basically a 80 series with solid front axles) comes from the factory with a 5 turn clock spring.... Part Number 84306-60090 which is used for both the 105 series (solid axle) AND 100 series with IFS.

So maybe we don't actually need a 6 turn clock spring?

 

[Feistl]

Hi Neal,

Can I ask another favour... When you are removing the steering wheel could you please take a couple of pictures of the combination switch/indicator assembly?
Just I am wondering if there is a difference between the left hand and right hand models? Just from all the research I have been doing it appears the LHD vehicles use different parts to the RHD ones sold in Aus/Japan. I'm not entirely sure that the clock spring you are using will even fit the Australian model.

FYI I managed to get a clock spring from a Lexus ES300 (Third generation (XV20; 1996)) which looks extremely similar to the one in your picture, but doesn't even come close to bolting up.

Alternatively, maybe there is a difference in the combination switch for cruisers that came from the factory WITH an airbag vs those that were never fitted with one. As mine uses the single pin/circular contact for the horn only, perhaps its not compatible with a clock spring?

I will keep everyone posted...

 

[nealjohnston]

Hi Neal,

Can I ask another favour... When you are removing the steering wheel could you please take a couple of pictures of the combination switch/indicator assembly?
Just I am wondering if there is a difference between the left hand and right hand models? Just from all the research I have been doing it appears the LHD vehicles use different parts to the RHD ones sold in Aus/Japan. I'm not entirely sure that the clock spring you are using will even fit the Australian model.

FYI I managed to get a clock spring from a Lexus ES300 (Third generation (XV20; 1996)) which looks extremely similar to the one in your picture, but doesn't even come close to bolting up.

Alternatively, maybe there is a difference in the combination switch for cruisers that came from the factory WITH an airbag vs those that were never fitted with one. As mine uses the single pin/circular contact for the horn only, perhaps its not compatible with a clock spring?

I will keep everyone posted...

Will do! I am out of town until next week, but when I get back, I will put the steering wheel off and take a look. It gives me an excuse to try and move it over a spline or two to get it exactly back to center. I will keep you posted once I do.

I think I just got incredibly lucky and happened to find a clock spring that worked for what I needed. I wish I had noted the part number when I did.

Neal

 

[Thanatoz]

This sounds promising. It's the first thread I found in starting to research clock springs. My cruise, airbag and horn just quite while on the trail, so it looks like I'm on the hunt for a clock spring. Do we know what the original 80 series p/n and this Corolla p/n are for the clock spring?