Steering Wheel Horn Retaining Frame
#32
Race Car
Reporting in that I was able to take care of my intermittant horn problem over the holiday weekend based on the information in this thread (thanks!) along with looking at pages from the shop manual. Here are a few comments for the next person:
- ordered a new retaining ring, 993 347 088 01, from Sunset for ~$40. I felt more confident replacing the part vs. trying to build up the existing rubber
- after buying a torx allen wrench set I did find that I could turn the steering wheel with the key on and battery disconnected, which let me use a standard torx screwdriver for the screws that hold the airbag assembly.
- I did disconnect the battery and waited 25 minutes as stated earlier in this thread. This gave me time to replace the sunroof air deflector lowering arms.
- while I was trying to figure out which end of the cable to disconnect the airbag, it disconnected itself at the airbag end and fell into the seat. Fortunately, no explosion and yes I was wearing eye protection.
- I learned that I did not have the right size sockets to remove the bolts securing the retaining ring along with the steering wheel itsel. Only took 2 trips to get the right sizes. :-(
When the airbag module fell out, I noticed a small black plastic tab laying inside the steering wheel shell; looked lilke it came out of a small hole in the top middle part under the retaining ring. I pulled the steering wheel to investigate and learned that there are 2 black tabs (top and bottom) attached to the assembly under the steering wheel (the horn and airbag switch assembly?). The lower plastic tab also broke off when I touched it. I can't determine the purpose of these tabs other than to center and line up the steering wheel for reassembly. The tabs are too brittle to glue back so I tossed them.
Everything went back together smoothly, no extra parts, and the horn did not randomly blow during a test drive.
- ordered a new retaining ring, 993 347 088 01, from Sunset for ~$40. I felt more confident replacing the part vs. trying to build up the existing rubber
- after buying a torx allen wrench set I did find that I could turn the steering wheel with the key on and battery disconnected, which let me use a standard torx screwdriver for the screws that hold the airbag assembly.
- I did disconnect the battery and waited 25 minutes as stated earlier in this thread. This gave me time to replace the sunroof air deflector lowering arms.
- while I was trying to figure out which end of the cable to disconnect the airbag, it disconnected itself at the airbag end and fell into the seat. Fortunately, no explosion and yes I was wearing eye protection.
- I learned that I did not have the right size sockets to remove the bolts securing the retaining ring along with the steering wheel itsel. Only took 2 trips to get the right sizes. :-(
When the airbag module fell out, I noticed a small black plastic tab laying inside the steering wheel shell; looked lilke it came out of a small hole in the top middle part under the retaining ring. I pulled the steering wheel to investigate and learned that there are 2 black tabs (top and bottom) attached to the assembly under the steering wheel (the horn and airbag switch assembly?). The lower plastic tab also broke off when I touched it. I can't determine the purpose of these tabs other than to center and line up the steering wheel for reassembly. The tabs are too brittle to glue back so I tossed them.
Everything went back together smoothly, no extra parts, and the horn did not randomly blow during a test drive.
#33
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Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: Greensboro, NC
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I bought 21 & 22mm for the air bag retaining ring (I *think* it took a 21mm but not certain about that) then had to go back to get a 24mm for the nut holding the steering wheel on.
I did drive the car to work and back (~145 miles) with no horn problems so am declaring victory.
I did drive the car to work and back (~145 miles) with no horn problems so am declaring victory.
#34
Just repaired my 97 993 C2 using a short piece of clear tubing. I attached the tubing to the horn ring with masking tape to make the install easier. I cut the tubing about 1/8 of inch long, if I have to do it again I might make it about 3/16 long. The two photos show how I mounted the tubing and the tubing sitting on top of the horn mounting plate. Took about 30 minutes and the airbag light did not come on when I reconnected the battery.
#36
Addict
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Has any one here moved the new grommets from a new frame (96+) to the old one (95)? What holds the grommets in place? From the pic of the grommets from Allzim I can't figure out how the rubber stays in place. My silicon fix didn't work very well, takes a lot effort to make the horn sound.
thx
thx
#37
Rennlist Member
IIRC, when I got the PPI on my car 5 years ago, the shop told me they had done just that on another 993. The shop is Bauer Porsche in Oakland, CA. They pressed the mounts out of the new frame and pressed them into the old one.
Last edited by brucec59; 12-17-2010 at 04:31 PM.
#38
Addict
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Look closely to the pic above I think there is a metal ring around the rubber and it doesn't look easy to press it out without certain tools. I may have to open it up to remove some silicon to soften it a bit.
#39
Team Owner
We just started having this problem on our 95 cab. The indie said something about the bearings in the steering wheel assembly. I note nobody here talked about bearings. Actually, what he said made no sense to me. I can see how worn spacer / grommets can do this but not a bearing. It's also an issue while shifting implying the accelerations are doing it and not the turning of the steering wheel.
My question is where can I get the fix now as I see this thread is a bit old and the parts availability seem to change. Also I note that some have said to detach the battery before pulling the air bag. Good thinking except I read in 'Excellence' that if the battery gets detached in these cars the cars lose all sorts of settings making it a mandatory trip to the dealer to get things reset.
Was that wrong? Maybe I read it wrongly too. TIA.
My question is where can I get the fix now as I see this thread is a bit old and the parts availability seem to change. Also I note that some have said to detach the battery before pulling the air bag. Good thinking except I read in 'Excellence' that if the battery gets detached in these cars the cars lose all sorts of settings making it a mandatory trip to the dealer to get things reset.
Was that wrong? Maybe I read it wrongly too. TIA.
#40
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Everything that I read before doing mine said you MUST pull the battery cable off before beginning this job. Re. parts - can't speak to anything '95 specific but for my '97 I called Sunset Porsche and described what I needed. At the time (last summer) they had the part in stock. The how-to postings earlier in this thread (and another one that I found through searching) described the process very well for me (almost no mechanical ability). I posted above the sequence that I went through. The new part fixed the problem and it has not reoccurred since.
#41
just did this repair
Just did this repair in my 95 cab. Prior owner had alrady placed some "tubing bushings" but my horn blew under hard braking.
I ordered new bushings from Zims.
http://www.allzim.com/cgi/sh000001.p...347_2e823_2e00
Job is not difficult and the problem was fixed.
Gary
I ordered new bushings from Zims.
http://www.allzim.com/cgi/sh000001.p...347_2e823_2e00
Job is not difficult and the problem was fixed.
Gary
#43
1996 993 had 1995 frame and airbag
In another wrinkle on this issue, in solving the same problem on my 1996 993, I ordered the correct frame per the parts manual, 997 347 088 01. When it arrived and I had difficulty reassembling, I found that the airbag did not seat correctly in the new frame.
I then checked the airbag itself which had the parts number stamped on it 993 803 089 00, which the parts manual identifies as the airbag for "95-".
After all that, I looked at the Zims catalog http://goo.gl/Jpz4p and found the following note:
"The Porsche parts catalogs all clearly state that this frame should be used in 1996 and later applications. However, we have found on occasion that some 1996 model cars have the earlier, deep frame that is no longer available."
I'm going to proceed by trying some of the replacement bushings, also from Zims http://goo.gl/qcqLG
I then checked the airbag itself which had the parts number stamped on it 993 803 089 00, which the parts manual identifies as the airbag for "95-".
After all that, I looked at the Zims catalog http://goo.gl/Jpz4p and found the following note:
"The Porsche parts catalogs all clearly state that this frame should be used in 1996 and later applications. However, we have found on occasion that some 1996 model cars have the earlier, deep frame that is no longer available."
I'm going to proceed by trying some of the replacement bushings, also from Zims http://goo.gl/qcqLG
#44
i did it really ghetto but it works and it was free.
i put bubble wrap (about 1/4 inch thick wrapped around with tape) behind the top two grommets and replaced the steering wheel. Needless to say it works, took like 30 min and was free.
i put bubble wrap (about 1/4 inch thick wrapped around with tape) behind the top two grommets and replaced the steering wheel. Needless to say it works, took like 30 min and was free.
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abiazis (09-20-2023)
#45
Rennlist Member
This is a great thread. It should be placed somewhere so that all 993 owners can find it. My horn started blowing at a track event a few weeks back. Pulled the fuse and went back out. Now I'm going in for the repair.