Strigoi

Swapped a W210 E55 steering wheel into my E320 wagon today. I hated the tan wheel and it had a ****ty rubbery feeling to it. I wanted leather and picked up an E55 one from a forum member for $200 shipped. It was in mint condition until I dropped the air bag and broke one of the switches. Got a set that looks brand new (better than what was on it) from an Ebay seller in Poland for $120. I'm $320 into this steering wheel and it's worth quite a bit more.

Step 1: Move the steering wheel all the way forward, you need all the space you can get behind it. Disconnect the battery. You're dealing with an air bag and don't want it going off.

What I started with.



You'll need a short T30 allen type wrench to get the air bag off. There are 2 T30 screws holding it on. I bought a set of these off Amazon for about $10. I also used a small socket on the handle to get some extra leverage to beak the screws loose. The screws do not come out. Just keep unthreading until you can pull the air bag off.





With those screws undone, this is what you get.



Disconnect the two connectors and you're left with this.



Air bag removed



Now comes the fun part. Removing the center bolt that's holding the steering wheel on. Luckily at my house I have air tools. I zinged it off no problem with an impact gun. It's a 10mm Allen bolt that's holding it. If you don't have an impact, have fun with this step. If you don't have a 10mm impact Allen but have an impact, head to your nearest Harbor Freight and buy a cheap set. They're worth it for the random times (like this) that you need one.





Bolt removed, steering wheel off. A steering wheel puller is not necessary on these cars. It just slips right off once you pull the center bolt.



New steering wheel slipped on. Installation is the reverse of removal. Tighten the **** out of the center bolt (I gave it a few hits with the impact), hook up the air bag connections, put it on and tighten the screws for it. Hook the battery back up.





Extra notes. You will get an ESP/ABS error when you turn the ignition back on. Start the engine, turn the wheel full lock left, then full lock right and back to center. The 1 touch for the windows will probably need to be reprogrammed as well. Push the switch to the first detent until the window is all the way up and then push it to the second detent and hold it for a couple of seconds.

Overall, super easy job. Even with taking pictures and other bull**** it only took 1 tall can to do (I like to measure time in beers). It's 3 things to unscrew and 2 electrical connectors. Getting the center bolt off that holds the wheel on will not be fun if you don't have an impact gun. Same goes for tightening it. If you have a friend with a compressor I highly recommend doing this at their place. Even taking your time and killing a couple of beers in the process it should take less than an hour to do.

Bahnstormer

Looks fantastic - really like the contrast and two-tone look of the black wheel and instrument cluster against the tan dash.

Strigoi

It looks better for sure. The best part is that it feels so much better than the stock wheel. It's leather and solid compared to the cheap rubbery feeling stock one. I hated the original steering wheel in this car the day I got it.

edit: Did about 40 miles of driving tonight with the new wheel. 100% worth the money for the swap. It just feels so much better than the stock one.