Changing the Steering wheel

[RHT45]

I quite fancy the alcantara wheel, which seems to have a thicker rim and a very grippy surface. I've been told that changing it with the standard smooth leather 3-spoke wheel is very easy, you just remove the airbag fuse, pull off the centre pad, undo the central nut, remove the wheel, replace with the new one, replace the central nut and the centre pad, and finally the fuse, and bob's your uncle! The only problem is that you then need to cancel the fault code for the airbag, presumably courtesy of your local Porsche specialist.

My questions are:
1. Is it actually that simple? I put the correct CS wheel back into the 968 CS I had a few years back but that had no airbag to worry about.
2. Which fuse? The printed table is missing from the inside of the fusebox cover.
3. Torque setting for the wheel nut? If this really matters....
4. Will it actually produce a fault code and can I cancel it?

All hints gratefully received!

 

[Richard_Hamilton]

As soon as you pull the airbag fuse (E1) the light will come on and will need re-setting with a Porsche tester. Best bet is to disconnect the battery before you start, and don't re-connect until completely finished. That way, the light shouldn't come on at all. (See notes about battery changing in the Technical Articles section to stop alarm sounding).

You don't just pull off the airbag. There are two holes in the back of the steering wheel, and (IIRC) two T30 Torx screws hold the airbag in place.

The torque for the steering wheel nut is 45Nm.

It is an easy job though.

 

[RHT45]

Crystal clear, as ever. Many thanks, Richard.

 

[RHT45]

It is indeed an easy job, or at least it is if the Torx T30 head bolts are in good condition and haven't been overtightened. It can be difficult to ensure the bit is square in the head when undoing it, so if you have one that is rock solid, there's a danger of damaging the slot, so that the bit slips out when you apply pressure. All sorted in the end thanks to a sharp tap on the end of the extension, which forced the bit in fully and it then started to turn - huge relief! The Loctite probably didn't help.

These two bolts are only holding the airbag/hornpush mechanism in place in the s/wheel and the pad floats on the springs, so they don't need to be massively tight. It was noticeable that the bolts on the leather wheel, which had probably never been off since fitting at the factory, came off easily with just a reasonable amount of pressure,while the ones on the alcantara wheel, which I reckon had been fitted by an enthusiastic former owner, gave trouble. Perhaps we all tend to overtighten "just in case"! Shame I forgot to take the torque wrench with me and had to resort to giving the steering column nut a good, old-fashioned heave...... []

Thanks again to Richard H for the tip about the procedure for disconnecting the battery. My Porsche specialist said I'd probably need to pop in and have the airbag warning light cancelled anyway - not needed with either car - so much for all those expensive training courses he attended!