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Steering wheel interchange

GingeRed11

Make Explorers Great Again!
Joined
November 25, 2016
Messages
194
Reaction score
11
City, State
Northwest Oregon
Year, Model & Trim Level
1995 Ford Explorer EB 4x4
i just pulled a nice 98 explorer Eddie Bauer two spoke steering wheel and was wondering if it would fit on my 95 Eddie Bauer?
 



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yes, it will fit, but you will need the clock spring if you want it to work correctly.
Loquetus
 






Do you have the message center in yours?
Loquetus
 






Ditto, the clock spring is required to change steering wheels that have different functions. The electrical connector will be different for each clock spring, so you'd also need the connector part from the donor car. Adding any new function is a whole different mess. Any Ford truck wheel should go on these trucks, and same for cars, most car wheels will swap. Ford trucks and cars have different shaft shapes, but otherwise very similar. The clock spring is the key, good luck.

Oh yeah, I just thought of it; I need another nice two spoke wheel for one of my trucks. Is that one black or grey by chance? If you don't use that, I could if the color is right. I prefer black but the 99 truck I'd use it for has a rough grey wheel now.
 






yes, it will fit, but you will need the clock spring if you want it to work correctly.
Loquetus
What do you mean by work correctly? Will the airbag and such not function if don’t get it? Or can everything just install plug and play? My car did not come with a message center
 






What do you mean by work correctly? Will the airbag and such not function if don’t get it? Or can everything just install plug and play? My car did not come with a message center

The airbag has to match the steering wheel, in shape obviously. The connector of the airbag may or may not match the clock spring connector. But still, the connector between the clock spring and dash harness, those must match. Those do not when the features of the steering wheel are different than the car original wheel.

You do not have radio or AC controls on your four spoke steering wheel, so there are several more wires in the two spoke wheel(and the clock spring for that). You have to have the matching clock spring for the wheel, and then the dash connector has to match that connector.
 






Yup, Would be easier to go back and take the entire steering column and the under dash harness then it would be to piece it together, plus, if you take the wiring harness under the dash and the wiring for the center console you should have the message center wiring and the EATC wiring for the EATC head unit that you have. Don't forget to take the engine bay harness with it other wise everything will work except the heating/cooling system, go ahead ask me how I know. When I say the engine bay, I mean only the outside wiring in the engine bay, it runs along the outer most edge of the drivers side, front and passenger side and nothing on the motor. Then take the blower motor control module so that the EATC works correctly. The engine bay will be the easiest to take off about an hour and a half. The under dash harness will be the most time consuming as you will need everything under the dash, heater plenum, the sun load temp sensor, the air temp breathing tube that runs from the top of the plenum to the dash receptacle it attaches to. All of this sounds like a lot of work, it is but it has it own reward when you are through. You could easily have this all done in a day and a half or 2 days if you milk it. I look forward to your pictures of this project, the accurate words used in taking some of the dash off. If I was back up in Tacoma I would gladly come help you. I look forward to your post.
Loquetus
 






Would any of this have anything to do with the cruise control not working in my 2006 Ford five Hundred? Also the only thing that works on the message center is it'll tell you when the fuel level is low. And it's stuck on oil life 0%. Any ideas what that could be
 






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