'90 fox - Should I keep my airbag steering wheel/cruise control...?

I've been debating on ditchin' the factory airbag steering wheel, cruise control and all the corresponding parts/harnesses. At the moment, its just a stock Ford interior, black, with Sparco Fighter seats in front and a KDezines rear seat delete in back.

For the people that have done this before... what are the pro's and cons..? Any regrets..? Suggestions..? pics...? What do people do to cover the space left in the column plastic that the old wheel covered..? What about swapping for a 87-89 steering column?

Am I thinking about this too much...? LOL.. what do you guys think..?

I like the tilt feature of the 87 to 89 Columns. I also think the airbag Fox wheel is not all that attractive.

Tilt plus non air bag wheel is an awesome upgrade.

If your Airbag is still operational: factory installed Safety>Aesthetics, and DRL's I don't understand the need to disable... just my :)pinion

God forbid you get into an accident, will the insurance company still cover you if the air bag steering wheel was removed? I'm guessing no!

a 25 year old airbag is most likely outright dangerous. Maybe get a shop to properly remove, label as faulty and inform insurance of the change and reason.

I don't disagree with you, but would 90-93 Foxes still be Certified as safe by Licensed mechanics with the airbags still intact?
Liability issue?

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Originally Posted by HyperGT

a 25 year old airbag is most likely outright dangerous. Maybe get a shop to properly remove, label as faulty and inform insurance of the change and reason.

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^ Good question especially given recent changes to certification process.

If I could I would remove from my 1990 "bus like" steering wheel . Firstly I have a SRS trouble code and believe it requires the clock spring. As I can't purchase one of these of so the dealer has advised me ,unless I get used one and would love to have a tilt option as well. I would just keep all the parts and let me know what you do as I may do the same.

I would leave it the way it is.

I'd also suspect you'd be hard pressed to find a shop willing to remove because of liability issue.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by HyperGT

a 25 year old airbag is most likely outright dangerous.

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An explosion in front of your face is outright dangerous. But I agree, a 25 y/o device is likely suspect at best.

I would replace the entire column with an older one. But I'd be interested in resolving the insurance issue. If insured under a classic insurance, they might be more understanding of the steering column mod, especially since a new one is not available. They may increase your premium though, being that the vehicle is now "less safe" (and I use the term less safe very loosely).

To be honest, I never even thought about the insurance side...I mostly was looking to do it to get a more "Racecar" look.. and ditch my tattered steering wheel. I've looked up a couple other threads on various forums and it seems if its not a dedicated track car, most people frown on it. I cant even use the weight reduction excuse because total weight of all the parts removed seems to be only around 5-7lbs..! I really thought it would be more! I'm thinking now I might just save up and buy a new airbag wheel from LRS....Its expensive, but I guess I'll just make sure everything works (airbag, cruise and horns) and keep it.

In some instruction manuals, they say the air bag system should be inspected after 10 years or so. But the worst is the powder isn't as potent as it was when new so the delay may be a tad worse... Chances are the wiring connections are dirty or rusted.

Personally, I'd leave it and make sure your seating position doesn't put your face too close to the wheel.

hope the bag doesn't deteriorate over the years.

Why not swap out a newer column and wheel from a 99-04 and get tilt, cruise and retain an air bag?

^ Not a pleasant swap into a fox.