[xj-s] Steering Wheel

XJ-S
1

Does anyone have or know a source for a steering wheel (Sport Interior)
from an '89 XJ-S?

Wes Channell
'83 XJ6

2

I have a 1986 3.6 Litre manual XJS fitted with the original large diameter
bakelite (plastic) rimmed steering wheel. I know someone who is breaking a
1987/88 V12 which has a rather nice smaller diameter leather rimmed
steering wheel fitted. Does anyone know if these steering wheels are
interchangeable and will the horn work without modifying the electrics if I
am able to fit the later sttering wheel to my car

Chris

3

I have a 1986 3.6 Litre manual XJS fitted with the original large diameter
bakelite (plastic) rimmed steering wheel. I know someone who is breaking a
1987/88 V12 which has a rather nice smaller diameter leather rimmed
steering wheel fitted. Does anyone know if these steering wheels are
interchangeable and will the horn work without modifying the electrics if I
am able to fit the later sttering wheel to my car

Chris

Dear Chris,
Go for it. Very simple swap, and horn should work fine. Make sure
front wheel are “straight ahead” when you replace the steering wheel.
Paul Hanson
1990 XJ-S convertible “MS PEEL”

4

Chris
The Momo Steering wheels are a good look, you purchase the wheel and a
fitting that matches your make and model. The horn fitting works fine as I
have one in my XJ-S. Regards John
1989 V12 XJ-S
Auckland, NZ-----Original Message-----
From: christianson@iveco.com christianson@iveco.com
To: xj-s-digest@jag-lovers.org xj-s-digest@jag-lovers.org
Date: Tuesday, 22 May 2001 19:40
Subject: [xj-s] Steering Wheel

I have a 1986 3.6 Litre manual XJS fitted with the original large diameter
bakelite (plastic) rimmed steering wheel. I know someone who is breaking a
1987/88 V12 which has a rather nice smaller diameter leather rimmed
steering wheel fitted. Does anyone know if these steering wheels are
interchangeable and will the horn work without modifying the electrics if I
am able to fit the later sttering wheel to my car

Chris

5

Chris,
I had a bakelite wheel on my 1974 Daimler 66. A leather covered wheel from
an XJ-S was a straight swap. It’s the type with the lumps in the rim above
the (almost) central spoke. Even the Daimler badge was a straight swap for
the Jaguar version.

When I bought it from an autojumble, I thought it was a smaller diameter.
It isn’t - it just feels that way because it’s thicker.

Totally changed the driving experience, having that nice leather to grip.

Paul.> I have a 1986 3.6 Litre manual XJS fitted with the original large diameter

bakelite (plastic) rimmed steering wheel. I know someone who is breaking a
1987/88 V12 which has a rather nice smaller diameter leather rimmed
steering wheel fitted. Does anyone know if these steering wheels are
interchangeable and will the horn work without modifying the
electrics if I
am able to fit the later sttering wheel to my car

Chris

6

Chris,
I had a bakelite wheel on my 1974 Daimler 66. A leather covered wheel from
an XJ-S was a straight swap. It’s the type with the lumps in the rim above
the (almost) central spoke. Even the Daimler badge was a straight swap for
the Jaguar version.

When I bought it from an autojumble, I thought it was a smaller diameter.
It isn’t - it just feels that way because it’s thicker.

Totally changed the driving experience, having that nice leather to grip.

Paul.> I have a 1986 3.6 Litre manual XJS fitted with the original large diameter

bakelite (plastic) rimmed steering wheel. I know someone who is breaking a
1987/88 V12 which has a rather nice smaller diameter leather rimmed
steering wheel fitted. Does anyone know if these steering wheels are
interchangeable and will the horn work without modifying the
electrics if I
am able to fit the later sttering wheel to my car

Chris

7

Dear Lee and All:

“Could someone please confirm the turn signal behavior after the steering
wheel is pulled for adjustment? No, I am not prepared to disconnect the U
joint above the rack tower again: it took me nearly a full day’s work to
replace the pignon seal and re-attach the the U joint
TIA Lee Opausky 89 coupe.”

Lee, if you have the Airbag wheel on your car, the solution is simple:
Remove the airbag/steering wheel from the spline. Rotate the steering
wheel 180 degrees to upright position with the wheels straight ahead.
Re-install. The turn signal cancel cam, (black plastic), is attached to the
steering wheel itself, so will line up perfectly! I’ve done this several
times on my '90 XJS. Piece of cake. Just be careful of that airbag!
Check archives for details on removal.
Godspeed,
Paul Hanson
1990 XJS “MS PEEL”
1980 XJ6 “MR STEED”

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8

I installed a Moto-Lita steering wheel on my '88 racer. I thought
a bit of Heriatge for the car would bring me luck. I love it,
Very '70’s…

Now, I can’t stand the thick black, bulky thing on my '91!

Has anyone replaced their steering wheel on a car with the air
bag wheel. Will it look stupid with all that black of a column
behind a nice alloy wheel?

I’m thinking of another wheel with slots, but this time with a
full mahogaony rim. Any intersted parties in seeing what mine
looks like can e-mail me off-list.

Charles–
Charles
–Posted using Jag-lovers JagFORUM [forums.jag-lovers.org]–

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9

Has anyone replaced their steering wheel on a car with the air
bag wheel. Will it look stupid with all that black of a column
behind a nice alloy wheel?

I have the 3 spoke aluminum/wood wheel and very happy with it. The wood
is also much nicer in temperature extremes. It could probably hurt in a
serious wreck though.

-Rob-

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10

Does the center hub of your wood/aluminum really cover that huge fascia on
the column that was designed for the airbag wheel?

Gary

----Original Message Follows----

I have the 3 spoke aluminum/wood wheel and very happy with it. The wood
is also much nicer in temperature extremes. It could probably hurt in a
serious wreck though.

-Rob-_________________________________________________________________
Send and receive Hotmail on your mobile device: http://mobile.msn.com

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11

Might anyone be able to offer some advice on switching out my 1990 XJS
airbag equipped steering wheel with the steering wheel displayed in the link
below, or one similar. The below link can be copied and pasted into your
browser.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/TEAK-WOOD-STEERING-WHEEL-PORSCHE-911-CHEVY-IMPALA-NEW_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ33704QQitemZ8020220696QQtcZphoto

All advice welcome…

Thanks and Rgds,
Peter

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12

I would like to replace my 1995 leather wrapped steering wheel with
a wood and leather model. Are there any easy swap air bag models I
should look for?

Thanks,
Ron–
Ron - 95 XJS Coupe 4.0 & 99 XJ8L 4.0
Lawrenceville Georgia, United States
–Posted using Jag-lovers JagFORUM [forums.jag-lovers.org]–

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13

In reply to a message from rppetrey@bellsouth.net sent Wed 14 Nov 2012:

Grant makes aftermarket steering wheels equipped with
airbags. Not sure if they make one for your Jag.–
The original message included these comments:

I would like to replace my 1995 leather wrapped steering wheel with
a wood and leather model. Are there any easy swap air bag models I
should look for?

–
1987 Jaguar XJS V12
Escondido, CA, United States
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14

In reply to a message from The Zar sent Wed 14 Nov 2012:

Got one for the wife’s '92 coupe from a '96 XJS. I think the wheel
originates from some XJ6 models. If you get it from another XJS,
it will have a bushing to make it fit the XJS steering shaft. If
it comes from a XJ6, you will need to source the bushing to fit it
to the XJS (the XJS steering shaft is smaller in diameter than the
XJ6 steering shaft the wheel comes from. The airbag has no
electrical connections and is inertia activated.–
lockheed 92 XJS Cpe/97 LT1 Miami FL/ 96 XJS Cv 4.0 Austin TX
Austin, TX, United States
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15

In reply to a message from lockheed sent Wed 14 Nov 2012:

My '95 had a wood/ leather wheel, and I have to assume it
was factory. Were there different trim levels? It has
wood top and bottom, with leather left, right, and the
entire center, except the air bag portion, which is
plastic with the jag emblem. Bathe horn buttons are small
and on the side of the bag.

John–
CJ95
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16

In reply to a message from CJ95 sent Wed 14 Nov 2012:

The 1995 XJS at least in America came stock with the leather
wrapped steering wheel only. Your best bet as far as I am
aware if you want half wood is to get a 1996 XJS steering wheel.–
TVE
Boise, Idaho, United States
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17

In reply to a message from thebige sent Thu 15 Nov 2012:

So my '95 has a '96 wheel?

John–
CJ95
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18

In reply to a message from CJ95 sent Fri 16 Nov 2012:

All the XJS Airbag Steering wheels up until VIN 221854 are
leather bound. From this change point onwards, the car was
then designated ‘‘Celebration’’. All cars from VIN 221855
have half wood and leather wheels. Wheels are
interchangeable but note the differences between countries
below.

There are two differences between UK market and US market
wheels.

The first difference is the splines on the mounting hole of
the wheel. A splined adapter collet is fitted on the top of
the steering column. This adapter mates to the steering
wheel. The steering wheels on US cars have a splined hole
with 86 splines, UK wheels have 76 splines (or it might be
the other way around!) The number of splines is stamped as
a number on the face of the steering wheel (underneath the
airbag). Make absolutely sure that the wheel you are
replacing has the same number of splines as the new wheel.
If not, and you try to fit it, you will trash the steering
wheel - expensive!!

The second difference is the mounting holes of the airbag.
There are three mounting holes for the airbag. Two of them
are in teh same position but US cars have the third hole
offset by about 1/2 inch. You can NOT fit a US airbag to a
UK wheel and vice versa.

So, you need a late (post VIN 221855) XJS wheel from the
same country as your existing wheel. Late XJ40s also use
the same type of wheel and airbag as the XJS, but again
check the airbag and spline numbers accurately.

Also, make sure you are absolutely clear about how the
airbag arming pin works and how to carefully undo and reset
it. You do not want the airbag to go off!! It is perfectly
feasible to remove the wheel yourself but you must know how
to do it properly and safely. You will need to adapt a
small socket (can’t remember the exact size - it’s about 6mm
or 8mm?) to use to disarm the activation pin.

I hope that helps. Good luck with your search.

Paul–
Paul 95 XJS 4.0 Convertible, 97 XJ8 Sovereign LWB 4.0
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19

In reply to a message from Paul Sinnott sent Fri 16 Nov 2012:

Just to clarify, VIN 221855 is manufactured from April 1995.
Therefore early 95 (manufactured not ‘‘model-year’’) cars have
leather wheels, post-April 95 cars have wood and leather
wheels.

Paul–
Paul 95 XJS 4.0 Convertible, 97 XJ8 Sovereign LWB 4.0
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20

In reply to a message from Paul Sinnott sent Fri 16 Nov 2012:

That is correct that post April 1995 XJS cars came with the
half wood and half leather steering wheels but also a post
April.1995 XJS would also be considered a Celebration 1996
XJS model as far as I am aware. So my understanding is that
if you have a XJS with a production date of 05/95 or later
then you have a celebration XJS which is considered a 1996
model by Jaguar. Because steering wheels can be changed it
is always possible a XJS with a 04/95 production date or
older can have a switched air bag steering wheel.–
TVE
Boise, Idaho, United States
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