2003 Steering Wheel

[Vero2003]

I picked up a 2003 ST for my son. The steering wheel is trashed, what are my options for a replacement wheel? I see Explorer and Ranger wheels with the same cruise control buttons, but it says not compatible? Could I use an Explorer wheel, strip it downto the rim and use all my parts? Thanks in advance, John

 

[Vero2003]

Something like this?

 

[FrankHagan]

I picked up a 2003 ST for my son. The steering wheel is trashed, what are my options for a replacement wheel? I see Explorer and Ranger wheels with the same cruise control buttons, but it says not compatible? Could I use an Explorer wheel, strip it downto the rim and use all my parts? Thanks in advance, John

By "thrashed" do you mean it's black and sticky with the color rubbed off the leather like in the photo below? Mine looked worse than that but I refinished it with Colorbond's LVP ("Leather Vinyl Plastic") paint like this guy did -

I just grabbed a quick photo of mine also. I can get better photos or answer any questions you have, but the guy in the video pretty much nails the process.

 

[Duane Foster]

You'll need a steering wheel from a 2001-2005 Sport Trac or '01-03 2dr Explorer Sport. Explorer steering wheels probably physically fit, but the air bags and electrical connectors to the air bag are different.

 

[CoachKelly]

Yesterday I ended up cutting the leather off of my wrapped 2001 wheel because the thin foam under the leather between it and the base vinyl wheel had deteriorated under the New Mexico sun to the point that I had oil/tar oozing out of the stitching and getting over my hands while driving.
I used blue shop paper towels and brake cleaner to remove the copious amounts of gunk left behind.
The black splotches you see are some sort of glue or epoxy they used to hold the leather in place while they stitched it and cannot be removed short of cutting into the plastic base layer. My plan is to find a spare 2001ish wheel and have it reupholstered (since finding pristine or NOS ones is unpossible) and then swap it out and keep this one as a spare.
As bad as it looks now, it's a million times better than it was before. The original leather was completely shot, wrinkled and cracked.
View attachment IMG_20230905_070751_059.jpg

 

[DaveDawg37]

By "thrashed" do you mean it's black and sticky with the color rubbed off the leather like in the photo below? Mine looked worse than that but I refinished it with Colorbond's LVP ("Leather Vinyl Plastic") paint like this guy did -

I just grabbed a quick photo of mine also. I can get better photos or answer any questions you have, but the guy in the video pretty much nails the process.

My interior trim is the same as yours. Did the paint match the original color of the wheel? What color paint did you use?

 

[Todd Z]

Curt's customs and Steering wheel art do great restoration jobs.... $500 but well worth it..

 

[Duane Foster]

The leather on the steering wheel in my '01 would twist, but the glue never leaked out or caused a mess. I swapped it 6 years ago with one from an '02 that has held up well. The '01 died last fall, and I recently put the original wheel back in it. After 6 years in the basement, the glue set again, but it's probably soft again now that it's back out in the heat.
I prefer the solid unwrapped wheel in my no option '02 ST.

 

[Roy Trolinger]

For about $20 you can put a stitched leather cover over it. Not hard. I put one on my 2001 about 10 years ago. It still looks good...It's about due for a replacement.
https://www.amazon.com/DEEYOTA-Steering-Universal-Stitch-Leather/dp/B0BTCTMS49/?th=1

 

[christopher shears]

There are a ton of sport tracks in the junkyards … with excellent steering wheels….for twenty bucks…..you need a wheel puller… cause they are really hard to get off…plus a t50 … nobody ever takes the steering wheels..might add plenty of used alternators in excellent shape and starters for about 25?each

 

[CoachKelly]

I found two locally and both of the steering wheels were trashed.
Even a national search on car-part.com only yielded 4, all north of $75 and in poor condition.

 

[Vero2003]

Thank you for the ideas. I will probably end up getting an Explorer wheel, stripping it down and using all my components. Southern wheels get trashed from the sun.

 

[FrankHagan]

My interior trim is the same as yours. Did the paint match the original color of the wheel? What color paint did you use?

No, it's not an exact match. I think it has an almost "pinkish" hue to it when compared to the original interior. Maybe it's just due to fading of the original over the years.

The thing is, it looks great in pictures on my phone. In person, I almost wish I had used a contrasting color like dark brown, grey or black. My wife says I'm being way too picky about it.

I used the "#115 Ford - M. Prairie Tan" color that my VIN seemed to specify. It looks closer in the picture of the steering wheel than it really is. You can see most of the difference in the little console extender I built to hold a rear view mirror dash cam.

 

[Todd Z]

I believe there were 2 colors, Prairie tan and desert tan. Big color change from 01-02-03.... Crazy...

 

[Joseph Ford]

2004 STA. I installed a steering wheel from a Lincoln LS, (which is a jaguar Model S with a Lincoln body).
I realized that they were very similar when I was doing a clock spring replacement. The air bag and trim were the same. I had to 3D print brackets for the cruse control buttons.This one has Leather trim with a hard plastic wood grain looking top third. I am very happy with it.
I have had many explorers with melted steering wheels. The reason that I am referencing this is to point out that there are many stock Ford alternatives, it is just going to require some salvage yard searching. I took my used steering wheel and a puller to the salvage yard.

 

[CoachKelly]

I did this dozens if not hundreds of times over on the GM side. Generally all the SIR clocksprings were interchangeable, mostly being in the number of leads that they had (between 4 and 8) for things like wheel cruise, radio controls, etc.
The only thing I ran into was using car wheels on trucks (the trucks had a larger shaft). So we'd machine them interference and tap them on, letting the shaft cut new wheel splines. It worked fantastic.