Steering Wheel threads/spindles on Toyotas

[toadshade]

I am debating installing a steering wheel from a Tacoma with some phone and volume controls in my '92 80 series. Yeah I know it will be a pain. I just want to know if the spindle will fit. It looks like everything from Camry's to Tundras are the same, but without buying a wheel and trying it out, I am not sure. Anyone know?

 

[LINUS]

Search is your friend

Short answer - I have seen 1st hand a late 90’s Camry wheel & airbag in a black LX450 up in Squamish, British Columbia-owner needed knee-room & Camry wheel is smaller diameter but was told the connector for the cruise control & airbag were plug-n-play.

Also, Lexus is ‘Yota - I’ve shown a few times where a LS400 wheel is 100% the same as a LX450/FZJ80.

So there’s 2 different model passenger car wheels that fit the splines & dia of the 80, just from what I personally have either done or seen done.

 

[toadshade]

Very good. Just what I needed to know. Thanks

 

[toadshade]

Oh, and BTW, I put a Lexus 400 wheel in my 80 and the airbag connectors did not fit. Just for conversation's sake. I wired them up by cutting the wires. Kind of thought that was stupid proprietary BS...

 

[inkpot]

I am debating installing a steering wheel from a Tacoma with some phone and volume controls in my '92 80 series. Yeah I know it will be a pain. I just want to know if the spindle will fit. It looks like everything from Camry's to Tundras are the same, but without buying a wheel and trying it out, I am not sure. Anyone know?

Your 80 will not have any wiring in the steering column for the phone and radio controls.

 

[LINUS]

Oh, and BTW, I put a Lexus 400 wheel in my 80 and the airbag connectors did not fit.

That’s good info - I just reused the airbag my 80 has since the bag fits the wheel, and the cruise control unit is the same socket albet a slightly more rounded shape on a LS400 than the LX450 or Yota FZJ80.

The guy I’d met up at Squamish said his was plug-n-play doing the Camry wheel & airbag, and he was did it into a Lexus FZJ80.

He’s never logged on that I know of, but good you mentioned the airbag connector - I bought a black leather LS400 wheel & just re-used my grey bag so I’d never had the Lexus airbag in hand.

 

[toadshade]

Yeah I couldn’t believe the connectors were different. But wiring them together will work as long as you really make sure they stay connected in a crash. It is definitely not recommended.

Yes I know there are no wires or anything on my 80 to connect to. Actually it is a simple harness that connects in the wheel and it can be run down the column and then to any aftermarket radio that will accept wheel controls. That is what I am doing. I will have it up and running here in a few weeks with a touch screen. If it all goes well I will add it to this post. I guess I will if it doesn’t too I suppose.

 

[toadshade]

I need to look at my ‘95 F80 and see where the sensor or what ever it is that triggers the airbag lives. I would like to find out if that is something that can be removed and installed in my ‘92. Not really important but it would be interesting if it could be easily installed. Then hooked up to the Camry bag.

 

[mudgudgeon]

I need to look at my ‘95 F80 and see where the sensor or what ever it is that triggers the airbag lives. I would like to find out if that is something that can be removed and installed in my ‘92. Not really important but it would be interesting if it could be easily installed. Then hooked up to the Camry bag.

Ah, nope! I wouldn't be ****ing about cobbling together airbag systems!
Have a bit of a read about the TATA airbag recalls.
Planting a bomb in front of your face is not the smartest mod.

 

[LINUS]

I can’t say anything about the airbag itself (the TATA recall thing) - from memory the inertia trigger for the airbags “lives” on the tranny tunnel forward of the shifter.

IIRC, it’s a weighted /metal ball bearing that shoved forward under force completes the circuit, but hopefully someone else will ‘tag in’ & confirm as I have alot of BMW E36 platform stuff in my head & I had it all ‘blended together’ in that concussion I took.

@Tools R Us — Kevin, how about maybe you correct or confirm my info?

As for airbag connectors, I personally don’t see how using quality insulated male & female plugs you can’t mix-up would hurt.
Or, ideally - de-pinning the wrong connector & re-use the right one, since I’d bet the terminals themselves would be near universal (just an idea, I have de-pinned multiplugs before though so to me it isn’t a new thing).

 

[toadshade]

I think soldering the correct pin on the car side (not the airbag side) is the best solution. You should use a galvanometer to test the pins before connecting though. Really is risky business. The TATA thing is a different deal though. It is specific to a few named sources. But the fact that it is explosive is no joke. I work with them every day. I have seen what happens when they go wrong first hand so be careful.

 

[toadshade]

I can’t wait to check out that weighted ball thing. I work with the bags a lot but not the activating mechanism.

 

[LINUS]

Heck, sounds like you ought to be the one answering our questions then.

IDK the 1/2 of what it sounds like you do.

 

[mudgudgeon]

So the reference to TATA was to illustrate the consequences of when s*** goes sideways with airbags. Definitely not something I want anything to do with personally.
I've seen airbags detonated for fun. One hell of a bang. definitely not something I want 2ft from my face.

there's not a lot of things I won't mess with in cars, airbags is definitely one


YMMV

 

[toadshade]

IDK the 1/2 of what it sounds like you do

Special Effects. I get to blow stuff up all day. Great job. Part of that is blowing up a lot of cars. We have to de rig the airbags, then we get to have fun with them . But that is the extent of my knowledge of airbags. I have never put one back in. But I am pretty comfortable handling them now.

 

[Tools R Us]

I can’t say anything about the airbag itself (the TATA recall thing) - from memory the inertia trigger for the airbags “lives” on the tranny tunnel forward of the shifter.

IIRC, it’s a weighted /metal ball bearing that shoved forward under force completes the circuit, but hopefully someone else will ‘tag in’ & confirm as I have alot of BMW E36 platform stuff in my head & I had it all ‘blended together’ in that concussion I took.

@Tools R Us — Kevin, how about maybe you correct or confirm my info?

As for airbag connectors, I personally don’t see how using quality insulated male & female plugs you can’t mix-up would hurt.

Or, ideally - de-pinning the wrong connector & re-use the right one, since I’d bet the terminals themselves would be near universal (just an idea, I have de-pinned multiplugs before though so to me it isn’t a new thing).

There was a spline change in the late sixties, after that the wheels interchange. That only applies to mounting, cancel pins, horn, etc, differ. Airbags are a whole other kettle of fish, there are significant differences, unless you know what they are, likely best to keep the original stuff. The impact sensor is in the console.

 

[toadshade]

In the console?? Really surprised about that. Can you tell me where? I have taken the entire dash and interior of my '95 apart and I could not imagine where that would have been. I have also never run up on anything in the cars I have disassembled. I have never done any research on this so I am about to look it up.

Good to know the splines match up though. That is all that I really need for now. I will see what I can hook up from there. All I really need is a way to run the new cables from the phone and volume controls to the new stereo.

Shouldn't be more than a months work...

 

[LINUS]

I want to say it was mounted to the trans tunnel, pull the shifter console & it’s slightly taller & skinny than a pack of cigs, but about as long. Pull the console & it was just at the forward edge of it, mounted on the body.

If you have the shop manual, the SRS has its’ own section.

 

[Tools R Us]

It's on the shifter mounting plate.

 

[toadshade]

Thanks. Never would have thought it was there. I just looked it up in the FSM. It is kind of crazy. It tells you how to test and deploy the airbag to check it! Obviously it means you need a new airbag but at least you can see if the system is working. Luckily, the airbags are a dime a dozen at You-Pull yards. At least for the '95-'97. There were a few cars that used the same wheel. But the Camry I just got cost a fortune respectively. I am not going to test that one. But I might just install the system for the heck of it. Can't wait to hook that in for the first time...