Greetings,

I am trying to remove a steering wheel that has great leather from a junkyard car. The power has been cut, I have no key and the wheel is locked in the straight ahead position.

So I cannot rotate it enough to get a torx driver behind it to remove the airbag.

The airbag has been deployed, so perhaps if I cut it off, I can get to the main bolt and remove it from there?

Ideally I would like to know how to disengage the steering wheel's lock mechanism.

Thanks,
Matt

If the wheel is locked in front it should be super easy. The tricky part is getting a screwdriver that's just the correct length. The turn signal stalk can be moved out of the way. I've removed the steering wheel several times before and always did it from the centred position. Personally I use a screwdriver multitool (the ones where the various sized bits fold inwards like a pocket knife) for this job. You are right in that a conventional screwdriver is too long.

Accessing the steering wheel lock mechanism requires removing the panel by the driver's knees which requires the removal of the centre console first. If you don't know what you're doing it'll take at least 1h. Not recommended.

Why would you need to do that? I pulled a 'sport' edition 3 spoke wheel one time, once you access the bolt, just use a breaker bar to remove the bolt.
Keep meaning to refinish that puppy. Yeah, I'd say cut the air bag since it's already deployed.

Thanks everyone for your replies.

Like I said I was at the junkyard on Saturday with no intention for getting any steering wheels. However after I saw its perfect leather I knew I had to have it. That said I didn't have the proper tools to get behind there, since all my torx in my junkyard tool bag are screw driver type. I came home and did some research and discovered they make Torx Allen (Shaped like an L) type tools. So I went to Harbor Freight, but they didn't have the correct T30 size. While there I got a half inch impact H10 socket to remove the center bolt from the wheel. Then I tried home depot and got a L shape Torx tool set for around $15, and a bundle of Metric, Standard, and Torx Allen keys. I was glad I got both since I needed the handle of the multi tool to break the fastener free, and the ease of spinning the single tool. It was tedious, but I managed.

Next was removing the airbag clips. They looked like coaxial connectors for laptop wifi cards, only much larger. I used a small prybar, and they cracked right off. Oh well, I was planning on taking the clock spring as a spare, but those airbag connectors seem to be unremovable from the clock-spring. I think the orange retainer clip must be removed or at least pulled out before removing the airbag clip. Usually I am much more careful, but it was cold and windy, and even a bit of snow. So by this point my hands and the plastic was cold and brittle.

Anyway, next was to insert the H10 tool into the center steering bolt fastener. Luckily I didn't rely on only an Allen key this time. I attached it to my half inch impact driver. Mind you this is the same driver I used to pull off the wheel lugs the day before, it even has an uprated battery. I kid you not, it took at least 30 seconds continuous hammering at this bolt! I was truly impressed with how tight that bolt was! Once I got it off, my next worry was not having a steering wheel puller, but that faded when a slight jolt was able to pull the wheel from its home.

Success! Now I just have to take mine off and be a lot more careful in the process!

Matt|ttaM

Here are the tools I needed to remove the steering wheel. The Torx with the handle was good for breaking the screw loose, and the thin single T30 was good for removing it, though it was a bit long. The H10 from harbor freight did the job but put a bit of swelling in the large bolt around the edge of the hex.

Here is what it was all for. My wheel isn't bad at all, but has a few blemishes in the leather from my wedding ring, and a scrape along the 7 o'clock position from my pocket knife scraping it as I get in the car. I thought I'd just have to live with it, since all the wheels from other junkyard cars were in ragged shape, until I found this beauty! It does have a few imperfections, but since I didn't put them there, I won't blame myself when I see them!

Thanks again for all the help!

Matt|ttaM

I was referring to steering wheel lock mechanism. As in the anti-theft thing that stops the steering wheel from turning while the key is out of the ignition. OP mentioned he wanted to turn the steering wheel before removing it. Without the key the mechanism would have to be removed.

Sounds like OP was able to get the job done without turning the wheel.

So any suggestions on the best leather conditioner for this wheel? I usually use Maguire's leather cleaner/ conditioner. I really like that stuff. I have also tried Groot's leather conditioner, it seems to work well enough, but smells like medicine.

What do you use?

check wera tools. they have some low profile bits that will give you access even with a locked wheel. Iv had to do this on many occasions in the yards.