So, I bought a NOS W221 steering wheel off of Ebay for $50. But, it came stripped of all parts (paddles, switches etc.).
The part number (in pictures, not in listing text) suggests that this is a heated steering wheel. And it has finger grips on the back side. And leather-wrapped lower spokes.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/156591879414

Here is another listing of the same type of steering wheel. This one has all the other items assembled. But 4-5 times more expensive. And worn.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/156591879414

By looking at the pictures of other W221 steering wheels on Ebay, they all appear to have four metal rivets in the back that attaches to something in the front.
Most do not have leather wrapped lower spokes. Or finger grips on the back side.
The price was so low that I took a chance that I will be able to transfer over all the needed parts from my old non-wood W221 steering wheel.

Question: Does anyone know whether I will be successful, or If I bought an incomplete steering wheel that will not (easily) be able to be used?
Perhaps due to different airbag design? Need to have special rivets to attach parts. Need to drill out rivets from my old steering wheel. Etc...

Thanks,
/John.

 

that part in not an original one - they didn't have that much leather

note the early cars get loads of versions

shift buttons on the back was an option
wood was an option
heat was an option
posh leather vs embarrassing rough rubbish was an option

the clockspring that provides the connection to get power for the heated bit was a crazy cost option that came alongside the rest of the bit to make distronic radar cruise work

and facelift ones have all different wiring to the later button switches on the front

 

This sure looks like original MB. The seller bought NOS from a MB dealer in SoCal. It has the part number A221-460-01-03, per the below picture in the listing:



Interestingly, when googling that part number, it seems the contact plate has the same part number:
https://www.google.com/search?q=A2214600103

Carefully studying that last link, it looks like those "rivets" are really rubber bump stops:


So, I'm quite confident my old hardware will transfer over okay.

Thanks,
/John.

 

you can try to decipher this

https://nemigaparts.com/cat_spares/e...71/63w/46/105/

the clockspring for the heating is SILLY money Part 50 vs the std Part 40 (maybe most got Part 50 ???) - if you pull it off the car its supposed to go in the skip - as there is no way to correctly align so everything works again - a new part is locked in placed, you fit everything then snap off a tamper tab to let the parts connect up in the correct position.... inside its a bit like a hard drive, and you can't allow the disc to spin out of position or its game over

https://nemigaparts.com/cat_spares/e...71/63w/54/640/

 

Op.... post a photo of the wheel as it faces the driver. StealBay won’t let me see it.

 

scroll down the page its hiding

 

Wow, there are a lot of variants of the 221 steering wheel. The new one I bought was at the very top of the list (22 146 001 03) but the link did not yield further information.

I am not trying to get the heating to work. I just wanted to get a feel for whether I will have any trouble transferring over the old hardware from my old steering wheel to the new wooden one.
As far as I can tell, it should be okay as the contact plate looks identical to the ones I have seen on Ebay.

 

take the battery off (both it a 2007 car) wait 30 mins and take the airbag off - long T27 and two bolts behind the wheel (they don't come out they say rattling in the wheel) and see if your air bag fits on the new wheel - plus check out all the silly connectors....

 

Thanks Botus. I received the steering wheel and, in fact, it is an "MP Design" after-market wheel that came in its original MP box.
I got confused about the OEM part numbers on the box and molded into the rubber.

When comparing the new wheel with the old, it is clear that the new wheel leather is much more gray than the original. Despite that it says black on the box.
I have black leather dye that I bought for the seats but I don't know if that will make a mess and smear over time when used on a steering wheel.
Does anyone have experience with dying steering wheels?

Thanks.

 

bought a kit for her Focus when I added cruise - it was two part - a black dye you put on with a sponge - then the day after you put on a polyurethane sealer - which seemed odd but it works - but that adds a shine your current one doesn't have - I think hers was satin

the right product should be fine - all leather on any bit of trim was dyed originally

 

Okay, I applied about 3-4 layers of leather dye that I previously purchased for my seats. The new steering wheel leather is still a bit less black than the old steering wheel.
But, it now matches the seat and other leather color of the interior. I may dye the airbag too such that it matches the new wheel.
Edit: I looked up the original dye order and the dye I used was "Black Anthracite" dye. So that is the color of the seats and interior. But it is not fully black.
I'll may try to order some actual black dye and see if it gets me closer to the airbag color. Or, I'll just use the "Black Anthracite" dye on the airbag too as it looks quite good, actually.

 

give it another coat

 

Do not forget, your old one has picked up a lot of oil from the hands and time so it will look like it is darker 👍

 

To retrofit the heated wheel, you need to replace the front SAM, it won't code to the existing one even though the wiring is present. The SCM might have the contacts in place, in which case the non heated switch can simply be swapped for the heated one. I replaced my original SCM with a Distronic one that happened to have the heated wheel switch attached.
The SCM itself consists of the cruise stalk and gear selector. Nothing more or less. The multifunction stalk and column adjuster switch are completely separate items that tend to be included if you buy a second hand SCM.

The clock spring is indeed different as it contains the missing contacts to connect the SCM to the heating elements.

To say this can't be reused is a fallacy. The alignment marks are clearly visible. It only turns about 3.5 turns lock to lock so re centering it is child's play... Just don't force it as that will damage the ribbon. Obviously you buy and fit second hand parts at your own risk. Incidentally the clock spring is readily available as heated steering wheels were a popular option on many cars including the SLK.

P/N is A171 464 06 18.

Shift buttons were pretty much standard, but the AMG cars got paddles instead. These are interchangeable.

Heated wheel was a £205 option in the UK. Wood/leather wheel was a separate £710 option. To have a heated wood/leather wheel meant ordering both. Wood/leather wheels included a leather airbag. So when buying one to retrofit, budget for it.

The leather options depend on whether Passion, Exclusive Passion or Nappa were ordered for the interior trim and specifying that affects the wheel leather, but it's not something that could be optioned for the wheel alone. Unless you buy it separately from Mercedes... If it's even available.

 

40 is the clock spring by itself.
50 is the clock spring and SCM contact assembly. Plugs into the base of the SCM, #10

#5 is the whole SCM assembly with shroud, multifunction stalk and column switch. Presumably £££££. Or it could just be the shroud...

 

of course it will but early car's software didn’t have the tick box - flash the correct update that’s a year newer and the heated steering section turns up - that takes about 5 minutes

finding one in ebay and getting it delivered is about 5 days - disconnecting the battery and fighting half million connectors is another 2 hrs

 

Takes 15 minutes to swap the front SAM. If that. The tick box is there but won't stick.Hence the WIS retrofit instructions call for a new SAM.

Rear one is a different story.