Norcalmarks.com FRPP Steering Wheel Install

Lincoln Mark Viii Ford Racing Performance Parts Cobra Steering Wheel Install

Caveat Emptor
Driving, racing or working on cars can be hazardous. The procedures and advice in this document are opinion only. The author, nor this website do not guarantee the correctness of the advice and procedures. The author, nor this website assume no liability for any damage, fines, punishment, injury or death resulting from following these procedures or advice. If you do not have the skills or tools to repair your car, please consult a professional. By using this document/web site you agree to hold harmless the author, website, and webmasters from any resulting claim and costs that may occur from using the information found on this site.

Thanks to those who have tried this previously at Markviii.org and for their commentary/assistance

A complete pictorial by clicking here

Items Needed

FRPP Steering Wheel M-3601-B
Steering wheel Puller
4 8-32 3/8" screws
8-32 tap
m5 x .8 Tap
T50 Torx bit
Phillips Screw Driver
9mm Socket
A small torx of unknown size
Pocket Knife
paper clip or stiff wire.
Low range torque wrench

Overview
The FRPP steering wheel is larger in grip diameter, and provides a more updated steering wheel feel. The FRPP Steering wheel comes bare, you need to move your cruise control, horn switch and air bag over to it.

The procedure is to remove the air bag, remove the old steering wheel, transfer your hardware to the new wheel, remount the wheel and then the air bag.

Caution
DISCONNECT THE BATTERY AND LET THE SYSTEM DRAIN. THE INSTRUCTIONS SAY TO WAIT AT LEAST 1 MINUTE BEFORE WORKING WITH THE AIR BAG AFTER DISCONNECTING THE BATTERY.

IF YOU ARE TRYING TO BE CRAFTY AND RETAIN LOW VOLTAGE TO KEEP COMPUTER/RADIO SETTINGS, DISCONNECT THAT AS WELL. THE VOLTAGE TO THE AIR BAG IS ONLY A TRIGGER, AND EVEN A LITTLE VOLTAGE WOULD BE ENOUGH TO SET IT OFF. ALL POWER MUST BE OUT OF THE CHASSIS!

Encountered Issues
1. You have to retap the horn mounting screws holes on the new wheel, these are M5x.8.
2. The cruise mounting button holes come unthreaded on the new wheel, I used an 8-32 tap and 8-32 screws 3/8" long.
3. there is no way to mount the plastic trim piece on the back of the steering wheel to the new wheel, the four screws that affix it to the stock wheel do not line up with any holes on the FRPP wheel. I ended up not mounting it at all, and found it stays in position (there is no play for it to move) nor does it rattle or scrape. I tried several different techniques using zip ties to affix it and found they caused scraping.
4. The new wheel on my car is 10deg off center to the left. There was about 20deg of play in the new wheel, and mounted with it in the right most position, yielded about 10deg twist to the left.

5. The fit of all the parts is not as clean as the original well. There are some gaps/height differences where the air bag fits up and where the backing plate fits to the air bag. They are not large/obtrusive, but if you are very concerned about fit/finish, I advise you to study the differences carefully before doing the work, as you may not find the results acceptable.

Procedure

Steering wheel Removal

Start by removing the positive side of the battery with a 9mm socket. Wait 1 minute for the residual system in the air bag to discharge.

Remove the air bag mount trim button from the sides of the steering wheel.

Remove the air bag mounting bolts using a 9mm socket.

Pull the air bag away from the steering wheel and disconnect the electrical connection at the top of the bag, its a single wire and is bright yellow.

Set the air bag aside, face up.

Next, gently pry UP on the two tabs holding the white electrical connector on the lower half of the steering wheel. while gently prying up, push down with the connector and pop it out. Turn it over and disconnect it. These two wires (one side of the white connector and the yellow wire from the air bag) are going to feed through the wheel when you remove it.

Remove the steering wheel bolt with a T50 torx bit.

Use a steering wheel puller to remove the steering wheel. Note, that the center shaft is not circular, it has two flat sides. Some steering wheel pullers you'll have to adapt the center to a smaller size so it will fit between the flat sides. I used a 1/4 drive 5/6" socket.

Once the steering wheel "pops," you can remove the puller and gentle remove the wheel. Remove the wheel from the car, carefully threading the wires through the hole.

Take the old wheel, new wheel, and tools to a convenient work area.

Parts Transfer
Start by stripping the old steering wheel.

Remove the four phillips screws from the back side of the old wheel trim panel. Remove the trim panel.

Remove the four phillips screws that attach the two cruise control paddles. Fish them around so they are behind the wheel.

Remove the fours torx screws that hold down the air bag mount/horn switch. Fish out those wires so that assembly is free of the old wheel. be careful, there are four springs that run between the two parts of each side switch, do not lose them.

Set the old wheel aside. All you'll have remaining are the electrics you've just removed

On the new wheel, tap the four screws that hold the cruise control paddles out with an 8-32 tap. You should not need to drill the holes out, but you might need to clean some of the wrap out of them prior to begriming. I used a pocket knife for this.

Tap the four screw holds for the horn switch/air bag mount. These should be tapped with an M5 x .8 tap. Go slowly so as to not break your tap. Stop frequently and turn the wheel over and pick out the holes, I used a bent paper clip.

With all the holes tapped, proceed to assemble the wheel.

First, mount the cruise control/air bag switches. Carefully route the wires on the inside of the steering wheel, underneath the mounts. Make sure you have the springs and parts setup correctly. The black and pink wires for the horn run across the top of the wheel.

Now mount the cruise control paddles. Use 3.8" 8-32 screws. Be careful not to break the mounting ears off. Run the wire for these BEHIND the steering wheel. The blue clump of wires goes on the bottom of the wheel

Note about the rear trim piece.
I was not able to find a satisfactory way to mount the rear trim piece to the car. I tried a few things with zip ties but found that I either caused binding/scraping when turning the wheel or bound the horn on (bad). I suggest you do NOT affix the trim piece to the wheel. It will retain position without any mounting.

Take your newly assembled wheel and backing trim piece back to the car.

Installation.

Go ahead and hold the backing trim piece up to the steering wheel. You have to line it up carefully, it has two cut outs on the sides for the cruise wiring. If you don't get the wiring in there, it will hold it out too far and it won't fit up correctly.

Pass the wires for the cruise control, horn and air bag through the opening in the steering wheel. The opening in the FRPP wheel is much larger, there is nothing wrong.

When you line the steering wheel up on the shaft, it will only fit on one way (well, two, but you should be able to tell up!) because of the flat sides. Go ahead and slide it on.

Note: When I fit mine, it had a measure of play to it, about 30 deg, so you may need to hold the wheel in some position to achieve correct fit. This may necessitate trial/error, fit/remove till you get it just right.

Screw on the steering wheel bolt. Tighten using the T-50 Torx. Tighten to 23-36 ft lbs. I would advise finding and using a torque wrench. Your life is very valuable. Short of a torque wrench, make sure you get it tight, but don't strip it!

With the steering wheel now firmly re-attached, go ahead and plug in the cruise wiring (blue/black wires, white connector) and reattach it to the clips in the rear trim panel. I advise at this point you reconnect the battery and test the horn to make sure the switches activate properly and do not bind. A blaring horn when you hook up the battery would be annoying.

Just re-attach the positive battery terminal, you don't need to screw the battery down. If the horn does not go off, so far so good. Go ahead now to the car and press on the metal bus bars until the horn actuates. Does it? Do they move fluidly? If so, good. If not, check for binding due to wires in the way or improper assembly.

You're now ready for the air bag. MAKE SURE THE BATTERY IS DISCONNECTED BEFORE PROCEEDING! If you've reconnected the battery to test the horn or for some reason. DISCONNECT IT AND LET THE SYSTEM DISCHARGE FOR A MINIMUM OF 1 MINUTE BEFORE PROCEEDING.

Reattach the yellow wire at the top of the air bag. Fit the airbag into position. It may bind a little, go ahead and get it seated.

Reattach the screws through the trim panel on the back side using a 9mm socket. Take your time to get them lined up correctly, you don't want to strip them. I used a socket and 3" extension to get them started before I tightened down.

Double check your work! Think back through everything you did. Did you forget anything? If not, Reconnect the battery, tighten it down, and you're done! Enjoy your new steering wheel!

For discussion/questions, visit the forums at Markviii.org or write the Author directly