Changed the steering wheel bezel from shiny to black, but didn't use paint.

[sbrimer]

I have a JLU Rubicon and most of the interior trim pieces are bright in a sort of brushed aluminum, actually plastic, color. I have gone through great lengths to get rid of as much of these trim pieces as I possibly could. The last remaining piece was the steering wheel bezel.

I have painted the dash panels Sarge Green, but painting the bezel and other interior trim pieces Sarge Green seemed too much for me. So, painting the shiny pieces black were the way that I was going to go.

I thought that simply painting the steering wheel bezel would eventually lead to paint scratching off during normal use.

While looking at a JL with the Sport trim, I noticed that the steering wheel bezel was black and not shiny. A little more research and I discovered that the part number is 6RN48TXDAA.

Here is the shiny bezel:

Here is the black bezel:

This is a really easy process and can be done by anyone with even the smallest amount of mechanical skill. The entire process took me about 2 hours, including photos.

Here are the tools that you will need for this job.
Torx bit T-20
Torx bit T-10
Small flat head screw driver
24mm socket
Blue Lock-Tite.

The first thing to do is remove the fuse for the horn; fuse #F91. You really want to do this. During the horn removal, you will activate the horn several times if the fuse remains in tact.

Use a small screwdriver to remove two small plastic covers on the rear of each side of the steering wheel. These covers are side specific so ensure you keep them separate. If you get confused, the covers have two small prongs on the back of each, and the short prong goes to the top.

Behind each cover there will be a 10mm bolt. Remove this bolt from each side.

Pull the horn/airbag assembly forward slightly and you will see several yellow and orange wrapped bundle of wires. These must be disconnected.

The yellow bundles are color coded and are easily replaced. To remove, place a small screwdriver under the red cap and slightly lift upward. Once the red cap is up, unplug the connectors. The bundle of yellow wires are secured to the back of the airbag assembly with a black wire loom anchor. Lift the black wire loom anchor and remove it. All of the yellow wires will now be loose.

The black wires activate the horn and need to be removed.

Don't waste you time trying to figure out the plug. Simply unplug the female wire connectors, then slide the connector out of the holder.

The horn assembly will now be completely free. Move it off to the side until re-assembly.

Return to the steering wheel and you will see a black plug and a white plug on each side of the steering wheel nut. Push the release and unplug both the black and white connectors.

Use the 24mm socket to remove the nut that secures the steering wheel. You will see a notch on the threaded steering wheel rod. This notch will help you properly align your steering wheel upon re-assembly. The notch on the stem lined up with the part number on my steering wheel, but I put a small red dot on my steering wheel as a reference.

Now, pull the steering wheel forward. The steering wheel is splined, so you may have to slightly wiggle the wheel while pulling forward. Once the steering wheel clears the threaded rod, you will need to guide the bundle of yellow wires through the steering wheel. All of the orange wires will remain in the steering wheel.

Turn the steering wheel over and remove the 4 black screws with the T-20.

Remove the 2 silver screws located at the bottom of the steering wheel with the T-10.

Two more T-20 screws must be removed and they are slightly hidden. While looking at the rear of the steering wheel you will see two small triangular shaped covers.

Using a small screwdriver, lift and remove the covers.

Once the covers are removed, you will see a small T-20 screw that must be removed from each side.

Once the screw is removed simply lift up on the control module. On the backside you will see a small plug. Use a small screwdriver and unplug the module.

The shiny bezel can now be removed. Turn the steering over and use your fingernails to lift up the bezel.

The control modules that are attached to the shiny bezel must now be removed. Turn the bezel over and use a small screwdriver to unplug the module.

Once the modules are unplugged, the bezel will be completely separated from the steering wheel. The modules must be removed from the bezel. Each module has 4, T-10 Torx screws that must be removed. DO NOT REMOVE THE PHILLIPS SCREWS. This will separate and possibly destroy the module.

Once the screws are removed, simply lift the module and remove it from the bezel.

There is black spacer that held the module in place on the shiny bezel. This must also be removed. From the center, push the spacer slightly down and towards the outside. The spacer will simply slide out. The spacers are side specific, but they only fit one way.

You will see that the spacer has 3 slots that fit onto the new bezel.

Angle the spacer up from the bottom of the new bezel and it will snap into place.

Simply reverse this entire process and everything will go back together easily.

When you are replacing the the screw on the steering wheel, use blue lock-tite to ensure the steering wheel does not come loose.
Pay close attention when running the wires upon re-assembly, there isn't much room. If the horn assembly does not easily return so you can thread the 10mm bolts, then the yellow or orange wire bundles are not properly ran.


This was a very detailed description, but it is not that difficult.



I do like the end result. Here is a comparison.

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[four low]

Great write-up, one look at all those wires, fasteners, I'm headed for the Satin Black Krylon spray paint. Masking will be critical, but less daunting..

 

[Deleted member 59498]

Holy hell that was a lot to go through.

On another note love the Green Dash on a Sarge Green Jeep!

 

[The Last Cowboy]

Nice, now it matches your pistol! I'm like you, I have a deep dislike for shiny trim.

 

[Deleted member 59498]

The shiny trim shows all the spittle spots from yelling at dumb people.

 

[roaniecowpony]

Great write up. Lots of detail.

But I'm not using 2 hours of my life for it.

 

[sbrimer]

Nice, now it matches your pistol! I'm like you, I have a deep dislike for shiny trim.

I forgot about it until after I took the pictures.

 

[Jim1964]

Thanks for taking the trouble to document that so well. I will be ordering that part. I DESPISE reflective surfaces in the cockpit of a vehicle.

Where did you source your shifter knobs? I like those. The silver Jeep on the factory shift knob is on my hit list.

 

[AFD]

Think it looks better! Really not a fan of fake silver or fake chrome painted plastic trim pieces. Safety and price aside, it would look a million times nicer if they'd use actual metals for accent pieces instead. Or at the very least, color-match any trim accents to match the body color.

 

[sbrimer]

Thanks for taking the trouble to document that so well. I will be ordering that part. I DESPISE reflective surfaces in the cockpit of a vehicle.

Where did you source your shifter knobs? I like those. The silver Jeep on the factory shift knob is on my hit list.

I really like the shift knobs. They came from speeddawg.com. if you go with speed dawg, on an automatic, the red pull lever goes away and in order to move the transmission, you push down on top of the knob. Very easy. You can adjust the knob where you don't have to do anything to move through the gears; you simply move it.

I did not adjust mine this way.

 

[Rubigone]

Super great write up with lots of details, but please disconnect the battery when working on airbags

 

[sherpaJL]

could have upgraded to the 392 wheel while you had it torn down

 

[JABCAT]

Don't foget to torque the steering wheel nut to 37 ft-lb upon reassembly.

 

[sbrimer]

Don't foget to torque the steering wheel nut to 37 ft-lb upon reassembly.

I'll need to go back and check that. 37ft-lbs seems low, but I tightened the shit out of mine. Probably much more than 37 ft-lb.

 

[rcadden]

Awesome write-up. Hard to believe it's that involved for a simple bezel.

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