JEFNLSA

Can it even be done?

You can find the hub adaptor kits for all years except 1996...wtf? Is it the airbag, and laws governing removal of said item?

Regardless, I want a Momo wheel on my car and, if possible, intend to install one.

Can anyone offer some answers for me?...which adaptor to buy, install tips, pros & cons etc...

Thx in advance,

Jeff

FWIW...If doable, this is the wheel I'm putting on.

AZ86Vette

i like the wheel i was expecting something rice and was going to have to hit you!

engle1147

Email your question: http://www.eraceparts.com/item300f-2...9&PRID=1436165

JEFNLSA

Thx...email sent.

GS023

Jeff
Let me know what you find out. Wanting to do the same on my 96.
I sent a note to Grant to see if they make anything.
Thanks

JEFNLSA

You got it man.

There has to be a way to install one on a '96. Even if you have to mod a different hub to do it, somebody has had to have done it before.

GS023

I agree, I've seen track cars with aftermarket wheels.

GS023

Heres the reply I got from Grant:

Honestly we have absolutely no idea. We don't research any of the airbag vehicles so we don't know what shaft is in there or what other obstacles we might run into inside the column. Wish we could help, but we just don't know if we have anything that would work or not.

JEFNLSA

Hmmm....that didn't help much. Let's see what response I get back from eRaceParts.

steve40th

RUKWR? he did it on his 96 Collector with a MOMO and has details for ya too, with pictures. I am almost 99% sure he did it.
He is the one back halving his Vette for a solid axle etc right now.

JEFNLSA

Thx Steve.

His pics of his Momo wheel sparked my interest BUT I think he has a silver '93...not a CE.

EDIT: Scratch that...his is a CE. Just searched his name...BINGO, I definitely need to shoot him a PM cuz he'd have the answer's I'm looking for...THX!

DVNCI

How much is it worth to ya'?

The Millenium is gorgeous, especially in a car w/ black interior, I think it will look awesome in yours. It feels soooooo good compared to stock. I'm sure you've researched this but the easiest fix for the airbag light is just remove the bulb!

As far as the hub, pretty sure I just bought the standard Corvette hub that LTB Motorsports (also where I bought the wheel) had. I DID have to shave the back of it down around 1/2" or so as I recall. Here's a pic:

JEFNLSA

Great Kevin, THX!

BTW...by "standard Corvette hub", you mean this one?

GS023

I have been told that Momo part #2401 will work. Sent PM with additional info.

JEFNLSA

Thx, sent reply.

rocco16

I put a MOMO Apache on mine several years ago. Several forum guys asked about the install then, and I wrote it up:

MOMO Steering Wheel Install
Driver Airbag-equipped C4 Corvettes


Note: Disconnecting the battery is the safest way to go when dealing with electrical components. That said, I did not disconnect mine (lazy, I suppose)… and experienced no problems.


With the car parked and the front wheels straight ahead (steering wheel “centered”),
turn off the ignition and remove the key. Pull the fuse for the airbag (see the shop
manual for your particular car). While you are at it, pull the fuse(s) for the courtesy lights (might as well not run the battery down).

Special tools needed are in bold. So are some of the special items that I used in my
installation. You will need the standard hand tools; ½” drive ratchet, diagonal cutters, sledgehammer, Sawzall, acetylene cutting torch, PortaPower, etc. ( Just kidding…) You will also want:
a flashlight (with batteries, preferably)
a mirror (for looking up under the dash)
a magnet (for retrieving errant fasteners)
a shop vac (to keep the area clean and tidy)
a soldering gun, flux, solder, and shrink sleeving (reason will become apparent)
something soft to kneel on as you work beside the car
shop rags to cover the seat and clean up
liquid refreshment (I prefer a mixture of Squirt and Welch’s strawberry soda)
about 4 hours in which to perform this labor of love

You will save time and aggravation if you read through these instructions and gather up
the tools that are mentioned. Having these tools ready to use will be a big time-
saver.

Now….lets take a deep breath and begin. For your information, while this install took me four hours, you should require less since you have all the tools assembled in the work area and know the sequence of events.

1. Remove lower dash cover. The front-most screws require a 9/32” nutdriver, the bottom fasteners require a _____(who knows, since all of those fasteners were missing on my Vette, and no one on the Forum could tell me what type of fastener their cars had), and the side screws require a T-15 Torx bit used in a 1/4” socket on a small (1/4” drive) ratchet to reach the forward screw. The close proximity of the door prevents use of a screwdriver-type Torx tool.
You have to pull the hood release lever rearward so the panel can be dropped, after which the courtesy light connector must be unplugged (a struggle!) and the Data Link Connector unscrewed from the panel. Set the panel and its fasteners aside.

2. Locate the two airbag connectors under the dash; they are the only yellow connectors there. To separate each of them, you have to first pull the green Connector Positioning Assurance(GM-speak) tab, then separate both connector halves.

3. Using the ¼” socket, ratchet, and a T-30 Torx bit, remove the airbag screws from the back of the steering wheel. Staying out from directly in front of the wheel…after all, it is an explosive device.....gently remove the airbag and disconnect the small yellow connector. Set the airbag and its screws aside.

4. Pull the red, double horn wire from its tube….push in, turn CCW, and it will release.

5. Using a 21mm socket and 4” extension, remove the steering wheel nut. Using a steering wheel/gear/damper puller and 8mm bolts of suitable length, pull the steering wheel off and set it aside.

6. Using a circlip pliers with small tips, remove the circlip on the steering shaft.

7. Cut the end of the yellow airbag connector off. (this is the worst part…everything else can be easily reversed. Well, so can this… if you don’t mind soldering)

NOTE: Instead of cutting the connector off, you may be able to tape it securely out of the way inside the steering column, but I was not willing to risk having it come loose and get caught up in the steering wheel hub…so I cut it.

8. Remove the airbag coil assembly(yellow and black plastic device) from the column. This may take a little finessing, but it will come out without using any tools.

9. Replace the circlip. Re-connect the yellow airbag connectors under the dash.

10. There are two wires leading from the underdash driver’s airbag connector. If you connect a 2ohm resistor across these two wires (you could do this very easily in the steering column where you cut the end connector off), the car’s computer will think the airbag is still in place/hooked up and will not show the “AIRBAG” light on the DIC.

11. Reattach the lower dash cover. C’mon, don’t be tempted to take the lazy way out…put every fastener back where it came from….every one! Now you are ready for the fun part…

12. Hub modifications. Being that the MOMO hub, part #2702, is designed for a pre-93 application, it requires some modification before it will work on your later C4. You will probably use a hacksaw, files, bench vise, etc. to carry this out. If you are very lucky, you will have a milling machine and a lathe with which to perform these modifications. Let’s face it, however; if you do have a mill or lathe, you probably don’t need my instructions…

a) Cut .600” off of the “back” of the hub. This is the ‘skirt’ that faces towards the dash when it’s installed. The .600” (5/8”) is approximate; you could be 1/8” off of this exact measurement and not have a problem. If this skirt is not trimmed, it will contact the turn signal bump on the column cover.
b) Cut the horn wire in the MOMO hub, remove it from the hub, put about 1” of appropriate shrink sleeving on one side, then solder it back together (outside the hub!). Shrink the sleeving over the soldered joint.
c) Punch the black plastic wire sleeve out of the hub and discard it.
d) My wheel did not have a center horn button; therefore it did not have a center hole. If yours is the same as mine, you will have to either cut two 5/8” wide notches in the hub’s wheel centering ring, on the face, to clear the ‘spokes’ of the MOMO horn adapter, or remove the centering ring entirely. Whichever you do, make sure the hub’s wheel mounting surface is flat when you are done.

If you don’t have the means to perform these two modifications, send your hub to me, along with a 20-dollar bill, and I will do it and ship it back to you postpaid. I’m rocco16 on the Corvette Forum. I’ll even remove the horn wire, punch out the sleeve, and re-solder the wire for you, and include a black foam filler plug if you want…

13. Using a Pin vise and a .045” drill bit, drill two holes across from each other near the end of the white plastic horn wire tube (see step #4). Make these holes at about the 7o’clock and 1o’clock positions.
Cut a short, L-shaped piece of paper clip wire...about ½” long. Install the MOMO horn wire’s spring-and-contact end into the column’s horn wire tube, press the spring down past the holes you just drilled (a very small screwdriver helps here), and insert the paper clip wire through both holes to lock the spring in place. I put a drop of polyurethane glue on the end of the wire as insurance to keep it from coming out.

14. Feed this horn wire through the horn wire hole in the MOMO hub. Be careful if you haven’t disconnected your battery; the horn will blow if you touch this wire’s bare connector to ground.

15. Place the hub on the steering shaft, making sure the “TOP” symbol is pointing DOWN!! This means the big open slot in the hub will be at the bottom. Make sure the hub is clocked straight up and down. Push it on as far as it will go, then put the stock hub nut on and torque it down to 25ft/lbs. (the manual calls for 30ft/lbs, but I didn’t feel like breaking the ignition steering column lock…)

16. The horn (hot) wire should be hanging out, in plain sight, at this point. Connect this to the red lead(s) on the MOMO wheel. Cover the connectors with the black insulating tubing supplied on the MOMO wheel wiring. This wire should go through the big open slot in the hub (horn-buttons-on-the-spokes wheel) or through the center hole (horn-button-in-center wheel)
Feed the black MOMO horn button ground wire (on the wheel) through the big open slot and back out/up through the hub’s center hole, to the ground spade on the MOMO horn adapter (used with wheels that have the horn buttons on the spokes.) NOTE: a cardboard box about 8x8x10, placed on the seat will provide a convenient place to lay the wheel while you are making the horn connections. Or, you could enlist the help of a friend (preferably female and attractive….)

17. Place the wheel in position and, using the Allen wrench provided in the hub kit, screw in the six flathead machine screws that came with the MOMO wheel and hub. You should have received two sets; one with the wheel and one with the hub; use the longer screws if your wheel has the horn buttons on the spokes ….and tighten them securely.

18. If your wheel has a center horn button, feed the black ground wire through the center hole in the wheel, make sure it is grounded somewhere (you are on your own here...you could ground it between the wheel and the hub, I grounded it on the adapter plate) and install the horn button in the wheel.

19. Cut a 1” thick piece of black foam to a C-shape. This will fit in the hub’s big open slot and will make the installation tidy by keeping the wires from falling out of the slot and by filling the large opening in the hub.

20. Replace the fuses.

21. Now, wasn’t that easy? You may now take copious photos and brag to your Corvette Forum friends about your cool steering wheel and just how handy you are with tools/what a mechanical wizard you are.

NOTE: You might want to re-torque the hub nut after several miles of driving, just to be safe.

Enjoy!
See you on the Forum.

JEFNLSA

Awesome!

Recvng & (of course) immediately installing the Momo wheel next week. Definitely plan to have this info @ the ready.

BIG THANKS for the share Larry,
Jeff

rocco16

My pleasure. If you would, when you take out the bottom/back lower dash cover fasteners (under the dash/IP), PM me and let me know what tool was required. That is one piece of information I do not have and I'd like to fill in the missing tool in the write-up.

Larry
_______________
not easily impressed....

5abivt

Installing a momo. Ive had it for 4 years but never got to it since my motor blew up. There are 2 momo hubs I got the shorter one that works and to make up the difference in steering wheel height I use an NRG quick release so I can remove the wheel easily. It actually brings the wheel a tad close which I like because I like to sit far back and upright. I'll dig up a pick where I mounted it quickly and stuck a dash kit on with scotch tape to see what it would look like.

Not a great pic but I didnt want to put up the one with the flash on since the ecm was being wired and the car had been sitting collecting dust for 4 years without any cleaning !
This is without the nrg hub so the wheel is a bit further away then it will be. I am too lazy since the weather is cold but I'm having my interior done in carbn fibre and the silver spokes on the wheel will be done to match

ddahlgren

I just want to defuse the 18 year old bomb on my steering wheel..LOL The quick release coupler seems like it would help a bunch working on the car..LOL Just click and get it out of the way..
Dave