Clockspring repair....(?)

Hey,

My '08 Rolla needs the clockspring replaced. My go-to shop won't touch airbag stuff. The dealership wants $135 to diagnose it. (The confirmed that they would use the same diagnostic tools that I used.)

I was kinda leery of tackling this, until I viewed several of the Utube fixes. Now..not so much.

Has anyone else done this repair? How did it turn out? Any gotchas to look out for?

Thanks,

Rog

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7QDkzO2Y68c

I did it on my '04 Prius. Heck, I'll bet it's even the same part as your Corolla. I too just watched YouTube. 

Some advice I followed:

Disconnect battery for more than 30 minutes before disconnecting airbag

Have the wheel very straight and make a good finger polish line to the wheel/shaft to assure proper realignment. 

Being that I wanted factory parts, my first clockspring was a $50 used unit off ebay. It was bad too so I returned. I ultimately went with a $10 Chinese unit which worked great. 

Video I followed

Been there done that; it's not too hard as long as you're careful. I needed to replace my van's to add cruise control. 
https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/project-cars/2006-ford-e-250/project-van-adding-cruise-control/

In reply to boulder_dweeb :

I watched your video. That was very true to my experience. Your guy shows the use of a steering wheel puller. For me, I was able to just strongly grip the wheel and rock it back and forth to free it.

If you want to have a steering wheel puller on hand, all the parts stores will rent you one for free. 

Budget 1 hour at amateur speed. 

I find this Harbor Freight pick set to be very handy for opening the things like the yellow safety closures on the air bag wires.

Another thing I remember, the torx bolt are captive. That is to say that when they are loosened all the way, they still remain in the steering wheel and do not fall out...at least on the Prius. 

I replaced the one in my XJ. Really kind of a non issue. Took about 20 minutes, not including the wait time after disconnecting the battery.

Why do you think you need a clockspring? 

On the Prius there are steering wheel control buttons on both sides of the steering wheel.  The buttons on the right side stop working first then the right side mounted cruise control stops working. Lastly, the left hand buttons stop working. 

In reply to John Welsh :

I'm assuming that the airbag module is setting a code for driver airbag open circuit.

If you aren't comfortable tackling it, find a body shop to replace it for you. Their labor rate is typically about half that of the dealer service department. You will, however, probably have to pay someone to reset the SRS system afterwards. Some body shops have the upscale Scotty Kilmer approved scan tools. Others will send it to the dealer. Ask first.

Trouble shooting without a diagnostic tool.  Does your horn work, cruise control, radio buttons etc?  Clocksprings are very delicate, and the likelyhood of either of the drivers airbag connections wires being the only ones damaged is low.

For me, and the Prius Clockspring, I replaced it because the steering wheel controls stopped working.  I have another where the just two buttons on the wheel have stopped working so I will replace that one in the future.  In both of my cases, the airbag light was never tripped and the airbag continued to work properly.  

So, since your Corolla is the same part as the Prius, I will ask, is your airbag light on but your cruise control still works?  If yes, then my guess will be that it is not your clockspring causing the airbag light to come on.  

If your airbag light is on, get someone to read the airbag codes.  That will tell you exactly which airbag sensor is bad.   

Folks,

Thanks to all for the inputs. When I (Finally) got down to do the repair, I used this Utube video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hHNm6W4wGo8, The previously listed Utube was flakey at best.

When this problem first occurred about a year ago, Oreilly's was loaning out a Bosch scanner that was comprehensive: It Identified the clockspring, or the Driver side squib circuit as the likely problems.

The horn and cruise controls all worked fine. (And still do)

I bought a $30 clockspring from Rockauto. Not tempted to use the $300 Toyota part. ($240 at Oreillys)

I did not get close to Toymans repair time. (It took me about 1.5 hours)

Double checked everything as I was putting it back together, hooked up the battery, and the IP warning light went out!

Thanks to all for your input!

Rog