<E30> Air Bag Steering Wheel Removal <long>

[Scott Miller <sdmiller@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Several of you asked me to report my experiences removing the air bag
steering wheel in my 1990 325i.  I thought, besides the few who asked,
there's probably 1 or 2 more of you who will need to know some day, so
here it is.  (I don't have a web site on which to post this.)  Most of
this is not covered in the Bentley manual.  The Bentley acknowledges the
differences in air bag wheel removal vs. regular wheel removal by
telling you to go to the dealer.  I just couldn't see paying the dealer
$80 per hour (or whatever the rate is this week) to install my used turn
signal/hi beam switch.

1.  Disconnect the battery.  I knew from the NHTSA web site (previously
reported) that I had to disconnect the battery at least 20 minutes
before starting on the wheel.  So to be extra safe, I disconnected it a
day and a half ahead of time.  (Well, I only meant to do it a half day
ahead of time, but stuff happened, and the next thing I knew, it was
Sunday.  Well, better safe than sorry.)

2.  Remove the under dash trim.  In my case, this was the anti-submarine
knee bolster pad and the panel covering all the wires and stuff under
the dash.  Tools:  Phillips head screwdriver and a nut driver.  (I used
my 5/16 inch nut driver because I don't have metric drivers that small.)

3.  Remove the screw in the middle of the bottom of the lower steering
column cover.  Tools:  Phillips head screwdriver, flashlight (to see
where the screw actually is way up in the hole).

4.  Disconnect the orange air bag plug.  On the lower steering column
cover is a little trap door.  Pry it open to reveal the orange plug. 
The plug has little glides that mount it to the cover.  I pulled the
plug while kneeling outside the car, just in case the bag dedided to go
off.  It didn't.  Tool:  Small screwdriver (for prying the trap door
open).

5.  Remove the air bag/horn button/pad thing.  This is done from the
rear using...
Tool:  T30 torx head socket.  There are 2 torx head screws hidden inside
holes vertically centered on the back side of the steering wheel.  The
back side of the wheel is the side that faces the front of the car,
right?  A flashlight to see where the screw head is hiding inside the
whole helps, too.

6.  Remove the steering wheel.  Requires a 22mm socket.  The Bentley
manual says this is a locking nut that should be discarded and
replaced.  I've changed several steering wheels on other BMWs, all of
which (I believe) had the same nut, and I never replaced it.  Does
anyone know if it is all that critical?  Now the wheel and horn pad/air
bag thing can be set aside.

7.  Remove the 2 screws holding the lower steering column cover to the
upper cover.  They're hidden until you pull the wheel, then they're
accessible from on top.  Tools:  Phillips head screwdriver.

I was in here to replace my turn signal/hi beam switch.  This, and all
the switches, requires removal of the structual piece that backs up the
knee bolster, allowing access to the connectors.  This requires removal
of 5 bolts with 10mm heads.  Tools:  10mm socket, extension, ratchet
handle.  All the switches in the steering column connect to the car's
wiring harness in a ganged plug, and 4 or 5 different connectors
actually attach to each other.  Figuring out how to disconnect them from
each other can be tricky, and I won't waste the time trying to explain
it here.  But, I'll say:  squeeze the right tabs and they slide apart.

Finally, as all the manuals tell you, IITROR (installation is the
reverse of removal).  Torque the nut holding the wheel (where have I
heard that before?, only this really is a nut that's holding the wheel -
oh, never mind) to 58 lb-ft.  When everything was back together, I
started the car - while sitting in the passenger seat.  No problem, car
started, bag didn't blow up.  Had to reset the clock and enter the radio
code.

Oh, guess what?  I didn't change the turn signal switch after all.  The
replacement (used) was lacking a wire I think I need (looks like the
horn wire), so it's time to do more research.  I really do need that ETM
that I haven't bought yet.  Oh, and if I had actually just taken my used
switch to the dealer, I'd probably be paying for this job twice, or
waiting a few days without car while the dealer obtained the correct
switch - new (expen$ive).

That's it, not a big deal, really, if you just leave the battery
disconnected long enough.  :^)   About a 3 iced tea job.  (I drink lots
of iced tea, though, maybe only 2 beers.  I saved the beer for later,
had to drive somewhere tonight.)

Scott Miller
Golden Gate Chapter
BMW CCA #44977
1990 325i/is hybrid

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End of bmw-digest V9 #689
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