Chevrolet Malibu Forums banner
Status
Not open for further replies.

How-To: Steering Wheel / Air Bag removal/replacement

37K views 22 replies 7 participants last post by  !Tommy 
#1 ·
This is done on my 2008 Saturn Aura. I was replacing my standard wheel with a leather wrapped one.

If you have any question about whats happening in a particular picture, quote it and ask.







 
See less See more
4
#20 ·
Reviving an old thread here, but I was wondering if the nut in the center was removed completely before pulling the wheel. Not sure if you have to unthread it a little bit before using the puller or remove it completely. Another question is how long should you have to wait after disconnecting the battery to remove the airbag? Some say 30 minutes and some say an hour. Since this is an old thread I don't expect a reply but it doesn't hurt to try!

Thanks in advance!
 
#16 ·
Great job! Thanks for posting and all the effort put into sharing it!
 
#18 ·
Good call on removing the paddle shifters, i did the same, to bad im stuck with the steering wheel siting in my passanger seat, I can not get the airbag off. it so simple yet so difficult, how much pressure did you need? did you pull on the airbag while pushing in? also can you only do it with a steering wheel puller or can you just shake it loose?
 
#19 · (Edited)
Very little pressure is needed to detach the airbag. This was the thrid time I've done it. First time was with that small screwdriver. The second was in the parking lot at work with a cut off piece of metal coat hanger. Someone on a Saturn forum I'm on asked me for a part number, so I popped of the airbag right there and took a picture.

I think its all about the positioning of the tool. It has to be long enough to reach all the way in, firm enough not to bend and has to go straight in. If its at the wrong angle in any direction, it wont press in the spring.

As I'm pushing in with the tool, I'm slightly pulling on that side of the airbag. Agian, very little force is needed.

As for removing the wheel. I tried giving a good tug, but it didnt come off. But I also knew I had the tool. Once the tool was attached, it only took a few turns of the ratchet to break it loose.
 
#23 ·
It's really not much to remove the airbag module once you know what you're doing. I spent an hour trying, thinking I didn't have the stupid wire grips past the clips on the wheel but it turns out that once you get the wires past, you need to actually yank a bit on it outwards because the horn contacts are holding onto it and had we known that when we were first doing this, an hour job would've taken 5 minutes. But live and learn! The rest of it is a piece of cake. The airbag module is idiot proof with color coded wires so unless you're color blind, you'll know where to put them back. Just be sure not to unravel your clockspring if you take the wheel off so be sure everything is disconnected first otherwise you'll be huntin' for a new clockspring after it falls apart.
 
#22 ·
The person who posted them will have to either replace them with ones that can be seen, or pay hundreds of dollars to Photobucket for the privilege of seeing their own images.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
You have insufficient privileges to reply here.
Top