Adding a VW steering wheel

[andymcc1]

[Aerosport]

I am in the process of doing this steering wheel swap and I noticed that the play in the steering column at the top where it goes through the ignition switch housing bearing is quite a lot the column moves around an 1/8 - 1/4 inch. Is this normal or does that top bearing in the switch housing need to be replaced? Just wondering if others who did this swap experienced the same amount of play and what would be considered a normal amount of play for this area?
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Stan L

'87 Westy GL - "Stanagon", 2wd WBX 4 speed
15" Rhein alloys, GW 1.5" lift springs & Fox shocks

[davevickery]

[joetiger]

[WestyZetec]

The early euro van wheels are a direct swap to I just did mine a couple of weeks ago picket it up fo $30 looks good

[rubbachicken]

i have the 4 button golf wheel, a direct bolt on, it covers the gauges a little, but when you can't make the speed limit, who cares how fast you are going
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lucy our westy

lucy's BIG adventure

meet 'burni'

[SteveVanB]

[goffoz]

[designer]

[Franklinstower]

I finished my GTI steering wheel mod today. thanks 1621 for the info you provided.

At first i didn't realize I needed the spline adapter, so I went back to the pull a part and I figured out you can get those adapters off with just a screw driver and a hammer. Pry the screw driver against the lip on the adapter and whack the steering column down, about 3 hits later the adapter comes right off. To get the adapter onto the vanagon column, I used emery cloth on a drill to open up the adapter so it didn't need to be pressed on, I could then take it on and off by hand so fitting was much easier. To get the column, blinker and horn tabs all lined up correctly, I used the part of the adapter that i needed to cut off, basically at the grove in the adapter, as a spacer. I put that spacer below the key assembly and under the plastic bearing bushing. then I need to put a small spacer under the outer most black plastic spacer that the horn ring rides on so my horn wouldn't go off as i turned or pushed on the wheel....
the only issue is now my steering wheel lock out doesn't engage when the key is removed. But I don't really care about that.
I can fix that later...

Paul
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'89 Westy - EJ25/22 Frank 4.44 5mt
'75 Miami Blue Sunroof FI Standard Bug
YITB

[1621]

[Mick Ord]

Hi again 1621, sorry to keep bugging you...did you do the complete conversion as per the instructions- did you grind a new groove in the bottom of the rack ?, and if so how ?

Thxs
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1991 Syncro Westy- 2.5 Suby
1989 Syncro Tristar ( sold)
1988 2wd Tristar- about to start resto/rebuild !!

[Noganav T3]

nice job,

I had the SA wheel on my syncro for a couple years, nice with the arm rests when your hands sit right on the spokes of the wheel. this wheel shown looks like it would also work like that

[1621]

It's tight, it should be. Use a little anti-sieze or dish soap to get it to slide down on the original splines. I seem to recall using a deep socket and a small mallet for tapping it into place. You'll certainly want the block of wood under the steering column for this trick!
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'85 Westy

[Mick Ord]

Again, many thanks 1621...how was your adaptor to fit ?, did it slide on or was it really tight ?..are the splines the same size ?...the one i had was as tight as hell !!! and was basically detroyed taking it off
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1991 Syncro Westy- 2.5 Suby
1989 Syncro Tristar ( sold)
1988 2wd Tristar- about to start resto/rebuild !!

[1621]

I don't have a part number for you, but you should be able to find it at the VW dealership's parts department. As for the spacers, they'll rest on top of the steel collar welded on about midway up the steering column, and below the plastic collar that normally sits atop the steel collar.

The second spacer is something perhaps unique to my situation, though it may be yours as well. I cut another thin (2mm) plastic spacer to rest between the turn signal housing and the steering wheel itself. My issue was the column would slide down just enough (1-2mm) to cause the horn to blast anytime I turned the steering wheel. Perhaps this could have been by other means, but this solution proved simple and effective. It's not worn down after 3+ years, and I haven't had any issues whatsoever.

The following is one of the illustrations lifted from BenT's Vanagon Cafe site (http://vanagoncafe.com/) with credit to a gentleman named Yoshi. While the illustration is a bit confusing, in practice it's not too bad.

One last thing that will help you considerably is to wedge a block of wood between the floor and the bottom of the steering column to prevent it from sliding down while you're working. It should also help you adjust your spacers to the correct size and perhaps negate the need for the additional spacer separating the turn signal housing and steering wheel.

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'85 Westy

[Mick Ord]

Thxs 1621,

I already looked at that and found it quite confusing !!!, i'll try and give it another go tho.

My "new" wheel came with a spacer that was unbelievably tight to fit !!...its now wrecked trying to get it off ( bearing puller would not get it off !)...im gonna have to get another one and cut it down as you described, is it a VW part ?, any idea on the part # ???

Ive already wrecked one steering column and a spacer trying to fit this wheel !!!!!, so any help would be great...thxs
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1991 Syncro Westy- 2.5 Suby
1989 Syncro Tristar ( sold)
1988 2wd Tristar- about to start resto/rebuild !!

[1621]

[Mick Ord]

Resurected !!...
i have tried to follow these instructions- ive cut the adaptor down to size, but can't seem to figure out what and where exactly the spacers and washer mentioned are meant to go ???

Im in the middle of this, so any help would be really appreciated.. thxs !
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1991 Syncro Westy- 2.5 Suby
1989 Syncro Tristar ( sold)
1988 2wd Tristar- about to start resto/rebuild !!

[a914622]

FYI

The porsche 944 and some 928s are a direct bolt on swap as well...