my new mats and other pix

[stevensolds]

here are my new floor mats and some other pics from my week vacation in avalon/cape may


I took this pic before the trip, i drove my dads car down to the car wash.


my new mats -- woot. i love em.


2 nice cars at the house


here is my rediculous shifter unit that I just ordered the replacement for. It was $134. i did it because the stupid button broke off and i lost it, and they could not replace just that item. It was due for it anyway, the damn leather was rotted anyway. I wasnt crazy enough to spend $384 on a new steering wheel.

[oldsauroraman1]

Hey! Nice mats Steven, very nice. They look great in your car. I am very glad you got them! Enjoy!

[stevensolds]

here are some more pics. these are roras i spotted and just took pics of since i was going slow.

[betonthis1]

wow, really nice. love the mats, now i want them. about your steering wheel. i want to get one cause the paint on my stereo remote are rubbed off but thats how much it is? $384?

[stevensolds]

Yup $384 without the airbag. I think that was just for the leather part around the outsid,e i will have to ask them again.

[betonthis1]

wow, might have to check some salvage yards or ebay.

[95mushroom]

Yea, it would just be for the wheel part. The steering wheel controls are separate from the airbag, but the airbag cover is permantly attached to the airbag. Mine was like stevens (minus the broken button). I was lucky and got a like new shifter off ebay. Then I found a new wheel from a salvage yard.

[stevensolds]

You put them both on yourself?

[scottydl]

Steven, tell me you didn't order the new shifter from the stealership? I'm sure you could have gotten a much better price from gmpartsdirect.com, even if you didn't want to poke around salvage yards or wait for something to get listed on eBay...

[stevensolds]

I could not find it on GMpartsdirect and therefore went to the stealership

[95mushroom]

stevensolds said:

You put them both on yourself?

I put the shifter on (nothing to it) but actually, I had some help with the wheel from my Dad because we replaced the entire steering column, not just the wheel, as my old ignition was failing (started to smoke), there was a good bit of play in the column, and best of all, the ring for the turn-lights (there's a ring that clicks off the turn light control stick once you go straight from a turn) failed, and was bunched up in my column and sometimes would lock the steering during turns. Wasn't fun.

But I had the just the wheel off a couple of times before that because the horn stopped working. It's pretty simple, remove the airbag screws (on the back of the wheel), disconnect and remove airbag, unscrew the steering wheel nuts, and you'll need a steering wheel puller to pull the wheel from the output shaft. Don't worry, it's marked so you'll put it back straight.

[oldsauroraman1]

Arrgh. That is pricey for that shifter.

[stevensolds]

No thanks, id rather pay GM to do that. I dont screw around with airbags.

You guys think thats a price to pay for the shifter, pfft. You oughta see what im about to pay for an engine reseal & "massage" or, er, "bulletproof" the engine to make it go faster and stronger. This guy does old school engines as well as the most technologically advanced engines made today. He rebuilds fire ones too. He said he worked on a few 1993 Caddy Northstars and he is very very familiar with everything about them. He is actually obsessed with this type of engine i believe, as he went into deep detail about things i already knew. lol.

I sure hope there will be enough time for me to recover some funds and save for a tranny someday. I know its coming in another 20k or so. Its slipping more now.

[betonthis1]

95mushroom said:

stevensolds said:

You put them both on yourself?

I put the shifter on (nothing to it) but actually, I had some help with the wheel from my Dad because we replaced the entire steering column, not just the wheel, as my old ignition was failing (started to smoke), there was a good bit of play in the column, and best of all, the ring for the turn-lights (there's a ring that clicks off the turn light control stick once you go straight from a turn) failed, and was bunched up in my column and sometimes would lock the steering during turns. Wasn't fun.

But I had the just the wheel off a couple of times before that because the horn stopped working. It's pretty simple, remove the airbag screws (on the back of the wheel), disconnect and remove airbag, unscrew the steering wheel nuts, and you'll need a steering wheel puller to pull the wheel from the output shaft. Don't worry, it's marked so you'll put it back straight.

since you have gone inside the wheel, can i just replace the buttons or will the whole steering wheel have to replaced?

[oldsauroraman1]

Yeah, you can replace just the bottons on each side. On the "Back" of the steering wheel are two oblong covers - remove them and the screws connecting the two switches are found. I'd still remove the fuse for the airbag system! Those things can kill you!

[betonthis1]

oldsauroraman1 said:

Yeah, you can replace just the bottons on each side. On the "Back" of the steering wheel are two oblong covers - remove them and the screws connecting the two switches are found. I'd still remove the fuse for the airbag system! Those things can kill you!

wow, sounds dangerous. i would attempt this myself but are they marked or is there only the button screws? how can you tell what screw goes to what?

[bLACk AurOrA]

yeah if i keep my aurora im going to have to change those controls too.

[95mushroom]

betonthis1 said:

oldsauroraman1 said:

Yeah, you can replace just the bottons on each side. On the "Back" of the steering wheel are two oblong covers - remove them and the screws connecting the two switches are found. I'd still remove the fuse for the airbag system! Those things can kill you!

wow, sounds dangerous. i would attempt this myself but are they marked or is there only the button screws? how can you tell what screw goes to what?

There is only 2 screws on the wheel. They hold the airbag in. The buttons are some-what permantly attached to the plastic surrounding them, but not to the airbag. They are also just screwed in.

Taking the fuse out, is also a smart idea. It's not dangerous, but accidents happen.

Steven, the shifter couldn't be simplier. Pull the U-retaining clip, lift the shifter out, disconnect the power/normal trans connection, and do the reverse for the install.

[oldsauroraman1]

Right. But, to remove those buttons, and they are replaceable, you need to get the airbag out of the way, correct?

[95mushroom]

What I meant was that you'll get the hard plastic around the buttons.

Here's a pic of the rear of my old airbag. There's 3 screws at the bottom of the shot that you'll need to remove. You might also need to remove the large rectangular frame if the wires are stuck underneath.

[betonthis1]

95mushroom said:

What I meant was that you'll get the hard plastic around the buttons.

Here's a pic of the rear of my old airbag. There's 3 screws at the bottom of the shot that you'll need to remove. You might also need to remove the large rectangular frame if the wires are stuck underneath.

awesome pic. so is the radio control buttons right under those black nuts or whatever they are?

[betonthis1]

ok can you give me all the details? is the airbag disconnected once your remove the wheel? so can i avoid the air bag if i get to the stereo buttons? and getting the wheel off is just a couple screws behind the steering wheel?

[95mushroom]

You won't be able to remove the wheel without removing the airbag/stereo controls first. It's very straight forward. Remove the airbag fuse, remove the screw covers on the back of the wheel, unscrew the 2 screws on the back of the wheel, pull the airbag assembly out a little bit (it may be a little stuck from sitting there for years), disconnect the airbag connection, the stereo/ a/c controls connection, unclip the ground, and push in and twist counter-clockwise the horn wire (the white and red one with the spring). Pull the assembly all the way out.

To remove the controls, unscrew the 3 silver screws at the very bottom of pic. 3 more on the another side. You may have to unscrew the 4 large black screws and remove the rectangular frame if the control wires are caught underneath.

To remove the steering wheel, (after the first part) remove the large nut, then you'll need a steering wheel puller, available from any auto place. Read the instructions on the puller.

Reverse for installation. Some notes for installations. Make sure the horn wire it goes in properly, there will be little "ears" on the black plastic piece that you need to twist it in. If it's in properly if you pull the wire straight it shouldn't be able to pull it out. If not your horn will not work. Also when screwing the airbag assembly back on to the wheel be very careful as the threads on the screws and the airbag are very easy to strip and/or cross-thread. (Those 2 tips were learned from personal experience )

[oldsauroraman1]

Arrrgh!

[betonthis1]

95mushroom said:

You won't be able to remove the wheel without removing the airbag/stereo controls first. It's very straight forward. Remove the airbag fuse, remove the screw covers on the back of the wheel, unscrew the 2 screws on the back of the wheel, pull the airbag assembly out a little bit (it may be a little stuck from sitting there for years), disconnect the airbag connection, the stereo/ a/c controls connection, unclip the ground, and push in and twist counter-clockwise the horn wire (the white and red one with the spring). Pull the assembly all the way out.

To remove the controls, unscrew the 3 silver screws at the very bottom of pic. 3 more on the another side. You may have to unscrew the 4 large black screws and remove the rectangular frame if the control wires are caught underneath.

To remove the steering wheel, (after the first part) remove the large nut, then you'll need a steering wheel puller, available from any auto place. Read the instructions on the puller.

Reverse for installation. Some notes for installations. Make sure the horn wire it goes in properly, there will be little "ears" on the black plastic piece that you need to twist it in. If it's in properly if you pull the wire straight it shouldn't be able to pull it out. If not your horn will not work. Also when screwing the airbag assembly back on to the wheel be very careful as the threads on the screws and the airbag are very easy to strip and/or cross-thread. (Those 2 tips were learned from personal experience )

awesome. now i got to find some buttons.

[blong579]

where did you get the mats from and how much? i just got some walmart mats in mine.

[stevensolds]

GM dealer, $61. They are really, really nice compared to my old ones. I will take a before and after tomorrow. You wont believe.

[macadamiaman]

95mushroom said:

.... and was bunched up in my column and sometimes would lock the steering during turns. Wasn't fun.

My god that's dangerous!!! wow.... there should be a recall or something, at least?

[95mushroom]

I had a bit of indication, as I lost the turn-signal lock function before, I should have looked at it then. But the first time lock was pretty scare. I was lucky and could muscle the wheel, but others, including the typical older female Aurora driver wouldn't be as fortunate.

I think this maybe too rare for a recall, though I could use it lol. I have never heard of this, on any vehicle.

Here's a scan of the what the ring looks like...

[betonthis1]

i hope the dealer still has those. im getting some soon.