Steering wheel options...
Thread Starter
Senior Member
Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 266
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From: Cambridge, Ontario
95 E320 Coupe, Diesel Golf
Steering wheel options...
Hey guys, well I picked up a new wheel from a member on benzworld, and I have my spare to either throw in the trash or do something. I stripped off the old sticky cover from the wheel. It's basically down to bare plastic. My questions are is it possible to find somewhere burl wood material and some how?, glue it around the wheel, or in general what would you do if you had a spare wheel to mess around with.
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E
Well my first thing is we need pics of new wheel 
Reason being that my wheel has lost all of its "grip"...I think the previous owners put some chemical on that was not supposed to be there and its just all gone. I've tried all sorts of cleaners to no avail.
Does your new wheel allow the horn + airbag to work or did you just take it out?
Reason being that my wheel has lost all of its "grip"...I think the previous owners put some chemical on that was not supposed to be there and its just all gone. I've tried all sorts of cleaners to no avail.
Does your new wheel allow the horn + airbag to work or did you just take it out?
Thread Starter
Senior Member
Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 266
Likes: 0
From: Cambridge, Ontario
95 E320 Coupe, Diesel Golf
Well my first thing is we need pics of new wheel
Reason being that my wheel has lost all of its "grip"...I think the previous owners put some chemical on that was not supposed to be there and its just all gone. I've tried all sorts of cleaners to no avail.
Does your new wheel allow the horn + airbag to work or did you just take it out?
Reason being that my wheel has lost all of its "grip"...I think the previous owners put some chemical on that was not supposed to be there and its just all gone. I've tried all sorts of cleaners to no avail.
Does your new wheel allow the horn + airbag to work or did you just take it out?
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Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 3,491
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From: Vancouver, BC
Enzo, my Benzo
I found the diameter of the OEM wheel was like driving a bus and was too thin of a grip. I'd sell it and then buy a better wheel, unless your experimenting could render the wheel's grip thicker...
Thread Starter
Senior Member
Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 266
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From: Cambridge, Ontario
95 E320 Coupe, Diesel Golf
I will see if I can source out some burlwood material to give my self a little hobby this winter.
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Joined: Nov 2001
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From: Kirkland, WA
500E Signal Rot
If I were you, I would look for upgrade, something that fits the appearance your looking for that is a bit smaller in diamater.
I picked this wheel up off of Ebay for about $325
You could also use a C43/E55 wheel like this one I just recently finished restoring.
I picked this wheel up off of Ebay for about $325
You could also use a C43/E55 wheel like this one I just recently finished restoring.
Thread Starter
Senior Member
Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 266
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From: Cambridge, Ontario
95 E320 Coupe, Diesel Golf
2phast, the E55 wheel is there any mods to be done or is it a direct bolt on?
Sure looks nice, your current wheel looks very good I like the matching of the two burl woods, I've seen those wheels on ebay just wasn't ready to digh out 4 bills yet.
Sure looks nice, your current wheel looks very good I like the matching of the two burl woods, I've seen those wheels on ebay just wasn't ready to digh out 4 bills yet.
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Joined: Nov 2001
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From: Kirkland, WA
500E Signal Rot
A C43/E55 wheel (model year 98-99) is a direct bolt on to any 92-99 model Mercedes. You of course need a suitable airbag, the one shown is a 98 500sl, which is more appealing to me than say the clk/slk airbag, which has a plastic MB emblem. The E55/C43 airbag is nice, but difficult to find.
If you have a 92+, then all you would need to do is remove your clock spring from your stock steering wheel and bolt it on to the C43/E55 steering wheel. If you have a 91 or older, you can't use your clock spring, you would need to locate a 92-99 clock spring.
The info on my 190 site, is much more detailed than my 500e install, both should give you a good idea what it takes to swap the wheel
http://www.2phast.com/190e/clk55.htm
If you have a 92+, then all you would need to do is remove your clock spring from your stock steering wheel and bolt it on to the C43/E55 steering wheel. If you have a 91 or older, you can't use your clock spring, you would need to locate a 92-99 clock spring.
The info on my 190 site, is much more detailed than my 500e install, both should give you a good idea what it takes to swap the wheel
http://www.2phast.com/190e/clk55.htm
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MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Dec 2002
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From: Vancouver, BC
Enzo, my Benzo
Yeah, I agree, keeping the airbag when it's someone else behind the wheel is the right thing to do, especially a loved one....
2Phast's wheel ideas look great! What about for a 90 like my W124, what factory-esque smaller diameter wheel options are there?
2Phast's wheel ideas look great! What about for a 90 like my W124, what factory-esque smaller diameter wheel options are there?
Thread Starter
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Joined: Jun 2007
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From: Cambridge, Ontario
95 E320 Coupe, Diesel Golf
2phast, your wheel on the 500 looks very good. Are the 201's wheel diametars smaller than 124's?? I really dont mind the look of the OEM wheel on the late 124's, I wouldn't mind a smaller wheel and also better wheel material would of been something I would focus on.
I can already tell that on the E55's they used different material just by looking at it, they mainly focused with air cushions on the part where you hold the wheel the most. But w/e that was 95 this is 08 I'm sure they have different stuff, I've seen suade wheels on SL's... How I would love to get my hands on one.
I can already tell that on the E55's they used different material just by looking at it, they mainly focused with air cushions on the part where you hold the wheel the most. But w/e that was 95 this is 08 I'm sure they have different stuff, I've seen suade wheels on SL's... How I would love to get my hands on one.
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From: Kirkland, WA
500E Signal Rot
If you have a 90, you can still use a wheel like this, but you would need to first locate a clock spring from a 92-99 regular steering wheel. Most wheels that you buy won't come with a clock spring and the E55/C43 wheel does not use a clock spring like the earlier model cars, look at the pictures and you will see what I mean.
This is the proper clock spring from a 92-99, four bolts hold it on
This is the back of the E55 wheel, notice no clock spring, but there is a plastic ring that needs to be removed before you can install the clock spring.
You will also need to do a bit of wiring to the clock spring, as the stock wires are not long enough to reach the outter horn buttons on the airbag
As for the newer 2000+ wheels, I don't know if those would fit the older vehicles, the wheels change drastically with steering wheel controls being integrated into them.
This is the proper clock spring from a 92-99, four bolts hold it on
This is the back of the E55 wheel, notice no clock spring, but there is a plastic ring that needs to be removed before you can install the clock spring.
You will also need to do a bit of wiring to the clock spring, as the stock wires are not long enough to reach the outter horn buttons on the airbag
As for the newer 2000+ wheels, I don't know if those would fit the older vehicles, the wheels change drastically with steering wheel controls being integrated into them.
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From: BAKERSFIELD CALIFRONIA
1991 300 CE
