Steering wheel

[Kellson]

Hey everybody, I bought a nice '89 XJ about a month ago. It has the rather ugly two-spoke standard steering wheel which I hate. So I bought a three-spoke "sport" steering wheel from an old YJ. However, when I took off the original steering wheel today to swap it over, I found that the horn positive wire made it impossible to put on the new steering wheel. Does anybody know what I should do? Has anybody done this swap? Thanks

BTW the Jeep has no airbag

[4.3LXJ]

I haven't done this swap myself. IIRC, the wheel bolts on to a hub of some kind. Very similar to the Grant wheel. Can you post pics?

[bigjim350]

Not sure about a hub on a yj column but the 3 spoke on mine doesn't use a hub. But yeah if you can, post a pic describing your problem.

Sent from my SPH-L300 using Tapatalk 2

[Kellson]

Here is my steering wheel

[Kellson]

Here is the back of the YJ wheel

[Kellson]

And here is an example of a YJ column. There is not a cable for the horn, but a button that regulates the current. Should I try to find this button at a junk yard? How would I install it? I've tried twice now to fix something in my steering column and can't get past the clock spring! Does anybody know how to remove the column shrouds or the clock spring? Seems like I've hit a wall.

BTW thanks for helping me out

[Brasscatz]

I'm not sure about the 89, but on my 97 the clock spring has several tabs that are holding the clock spring to the column. I've broken at least 1 tab every time I've taken it out, but it seems to stay in place with no issue.

As far as the horn button, you could try installing it, I don't have any experience with doing so. Does it seem to have enough space to drill your own pass through hole? Might be another option, but you can always install a separate horn button on your dash. Should still pass inspection just fine that way.

[XJ Wheeler]

Is there space for a small momentary switch? If all else fails you could, and there's space you could mount one behind the button and just enough space between it and the button so you activate it when pressing the horn button. Although that does sound a bit far fetched now that i think about it.

Sent via messenger pigeon - i talk, he types.

[jimmixj]

Hey everybody, I bought a nice '89 XJ about a month ago. It has the rather ugly two-spoke standard steering wheel which I hate. So I bought a three-spoke "sport" steering wheel from an old YJ. However, when I took off the original steering wheel today to swap it over, I found that the horn positive wire made it impossible to put on the new steering wheel. Does anybody know what I should do? Has anybody done this swap? Thanks

BTW the Jeep has no airbag

Hi Kellson,
That black plastic thingy is not a clock spring, it's a cover that conceals the lockplate for your locking steering. In addition, the horn button in the 2nd picture (silver contact) and the horn wire in the 1st are both attached to the horn contact in the same way. You simply push in slightly and turn to the left (anti-clockwise) and they pop right out. Then simply reinstall the one you need and install your wheel. Hope this helps