Rep Power: 270

im gonna b replacing my stock steering wheel with the rsx steering wheel sometime tommorrow but found out that i need a star kinda shape tool to get the fastners off the sides of the steering wheel. does anyone know wat the size torx bit i need to get? also when i get to the bolt in the middle of the steering wheel do i take it off and then take off the wheel? b.c i was reading some diys saying u need to take the bolt atleast 1/2 or so then start pullin on the steering wheel. anyone know the correct way to pullin it off? thx

 
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First you need to make sure the new wheel has an airbag and will work with your car. Then you have to be careful and remove the airbag from your old steering wheel. Then you're going to need a steering wheel puller, there's no way you can remove it without one. Just buy a set of Torx bits, they're pretty cheap.

 
Rep Power: 270

no im sure u dont need a steering wheel puller b.c ive heard pplz just pullin the steering wheel off. i heard u just gently pull the steering wheel side to side then it slides off.

 
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Before you do this, make sure you diconnect the baterry for AT LEAST 10 MINUTES. This will prevent the airbag from deploying while you're working on the wheel. Other then that I don't know.

 
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^yea thats like the most important step. has anyone taken off the wheel without the wheel puller? im sure u can with some elbow grease. any other things i need to do to get the wheel on and install the rsx wheel?

 
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be careful, the sensor is still in the steering column.

 
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we dont have sensors in our steering column, the bag will not blow, you just need to remember not to cycle your ignition with the airbag disconnected. i only know of 1 person who was able to get their stock wheel off without a puller, but when i did my JDM ep3 wheel swap, we had 3 people pulling on this sucker and it would NOT budge. you can take your chances, but i doubt you'll succeed..otherwise, this is a very easy swap..as long as you dont have to worry about the single to dual stage bag conversion.

 
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^rofl. yea i dont want to take my chances with just pullin on it. ill prob just go tommorrow and grab me the puller at advance. any pointers in which ones to get or are they gonna b the same? ill prob borrow the torx stuff from my roommates.

 
Rep Power: 331

any plain and simple puller will work, if you get the kind that bolts into the wheel, make sure the set comes with metric bolts. or be like me and not care and just strip the crap out of the puller holes in the stock wheel. and make sure you park the car and LOCK the steering column so you dont put the new wheel on off-center.

 
Rep Power: 270

ahhah aite. wat would b the best way to trim away at the steering wheel to put the cruise control button on? im plannin on taking the cruise control buttons from the civic wheel to the rsx(dont have the tools or feel like doin any wiring). i was thinking of using a filer but not sure how good that is on plastic. any ideas?

 
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Holy crap I never even THOUGHT of having it put on off center.

 
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^is that good or bad? is there even a way to even lock the steering wheel so its dead center? gonna b a lil tricky.

 
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He's saying lock it so it cant move around while you put it on.

 
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i drive a dx, so i didnt have to worry about cruise, and my jdm wheel came with nifty OEM covers for the open sides of the wheel trim. so i cant help you answer that question. and yea, smuggler gets the idea. with the car off, turn the steering wheel until it LOCKS before you swap it.

 
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can anyone tell me wat the size of the torx bit i need to get the fastners off? im fine buying a set but it would b a waste b.c i prob wont b using it again.

 
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ugh, i dont remember, it's gotta be something between a t-25 and a t-35

 
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A set of Torx bits from a parts store are $10 or less. You WILL need a puller, you can't just pull the wheel off with force, and like mentioned earlier make sure the puller has metric bolts.

 
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Go buy a bunch to make sure you get one that fits, use it, then return it and say you didnt need it after all

 
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I've been able to swap a few steering wheels without a puller, but Pharoh's was a bizznotch, I drove 30 minutes to where he was at and we couldn't get the sucker off. All the others (including my own) were easily removed by removing the bolt, placing my hands at 9 and 3 o clock, and pulling alternately with my left and right hands. I never had an issue with airbags either, I disconnected the battery and had two cigarettes before yanking away at the wiring. A lot of people forget to straighten their front wheels beforehand, and I had a friend who had to reinstall his because it was on 20 degrees off center. As for Torx bits, you never know when you'll need em, I got mine with my huge ratchet/driver set.
It seems I've repeated everything everyone else said....please ignore my redundant post and continue with your day.

 
Rep Power: 270

^actually some of that information was useful. im pretty sure b.c my car is still fairly brand new(05) that i should come off fairly easy but u never know.

 
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im doing mine this week too!!! for the cruise control.. i think you can just take out the panel inside ur factory one and put it inside the rsx's cruise buttons (swap the green panels inside the cruise buttons)

this is what my cuzin did to his 1.7 EL and it werks fine...

doesnt the battery has to be disconnected for at least 30 mins? im pretty sure thats what it said in the DIY

 
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double post... opps

 
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does the internals of the cruise control actually come apart with the wiring? not sure if i really want to do that unless it comes as a whole. its a good idea tho. ill prob take apart the cruise control button for the rsx.

*EDIT* well i took a look at the cruise control thing nd its pretty simple to pull out cause its a basically a circuit or chip with a plug goin to it. the only thing i wonder is if the black plug that connects to the circuit is the same for the civic.

 
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i took my wheel off w/o a puller..
i guess i was lucky

 
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well i used the torx bits i got from Sears...then to get the steering wheel off...then i pulled it off. ive dont my car and my friend's eclipse. so ive done 2 cars.

 
Rep Power: 270

well i got the wheel off without the puller thank god but now the wheel is slightly off centered. anyone know how i can recenter it, i mean obviously i would need to take off the airbag and the bolt that holds the wheel but how can i postion it so that itll go on centered? for some reason i couldnt lock the wheel.

 
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as long as it isnt too far from being centered, take it to an alignment shop and have your tierods adjusted.

 
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is that the only way to recenter it?

 
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you can try to take it back off and moving it, but i doubt the splines on both wheels are in the exact same location consistent to their position on the wheel. likelyhood of having it be 100% exact is slim.

 
Rep Power: 270

ic. yea ill prob see if i can somehow center it but not exactly sure how to. i guess ill have to drive it down a good straight road nd have it driving straight, take off the wheel and center it. i guess thats the only way i can think of doing it. oh and btw to those that are swapping out the cruise control buttons on the rsx wheel to the one on the civics you dont really have to. like mention u can take off the green thing thats inside the cruise control button(the box) from the civic and put it in the rsx controls(only held in by 2 screws). you will need to take off the plate that holds the cruise control unit to the steering wheel and grind it down a good bit. but other than it works, no need to cut away at the plastic just the plate.