Help?! - MTech II Wheel install issue! Wheel wont go down far enough / rubs / weird..

[r4esh]

Okay - the car is an e30 m3.
I purchased a re-finished MTech II wheel from 'Latvia' in the UK. It came fast the U.S., looks great, and I was stoked to get it.

Basically when installing it the wheel will not go down for enough. I have about a .5'' gap between the back of the wheel and the steering column plastic guard. I tried measuring different parts of the wheel to see what its hitting and it looks like its hitting the inside wall of the wheel and ALSO seems like it is slightly rubbing on the outside ring as well... It needs to go down at least .25'' of an inch for the wheel lock to actually work, it wont go down far enough for that...

Any one experience this issue / have an idea or solution? I've done some searching and one thread says to remove the .5'' thick washer on the shaft you slide the wheel on, but my wheel wont even go down far enough to hit that so that's def not whats keeping it from sliding down.

Ideas appreciated..

[r4esh]

I found this : http://www.bmwcca.org/forum/index.ph...now-open.3523/

^ talking about using washers... but if I do this then my wheel lock and horn are def not going to work...

[einstein57]

Its the same issue with putting on a non airbag wheel on an airbag car. There are several discussion about this and the general consensus was to use two washers. One in front of and one behind the wheel.

[reelizmpro]

First make sure you have the right wheel. Then assuming u have an airbag car ( I hate when people don't post details) the washers go in front of the wheel. Then u can bend the stalks for more hand clearance if its an issue for u. Otherwise your horn and turn signal cancel won't work.

Edit: the steering is unlocked right?

[r4esh]

Yes the steering wheel is unlocked. My car is an airbag car, and the M-Tech II wheel is non-airbag. I thought all MtechII wheels were non-airbag.
I don't think 2 washers is going to be enough on the underside of the wheel unless they're pretty damn thick... Right now I can't push the wheel down far enough for the wheel lock to work.. thats how bad it is.

I'll try and post some pics tomorrow.

[reelizmpro]

What I mean is make sure u have an e30 splined wheel opposed to an e36 wheel. It should just slide right on with the washers being the only real issue. Post some pics.

[r4esh]

What I mean is make sure u have an e30 splined wheel opposed to an e36 wheel. It should just slide right on with the washers being the only real issue. Post some pics.

Yup its e30 / came from an e30. Pics coming soon...

[r4esh]

These were quick shots. I need to pull the wheel off and take a picture of the inside, but its basically a flat wall on the inside. This gives you an idea of how far it WONT go down. This isn't normal right?

[reelizmpro]

No that's not normal. Not sure whats going on. Did u remove the airbag related stuff from the column? It should go down all the way flush. That's why people complain its too close to the stalks. Take more pics of the wheel removed.

[r4esh]

Sorry those pics too a few days. Here we go. Ideas / thoughts much appreciated...

- D

[davem]

I don't know if it will lead to what you're experiencing but you need to cut/remove that white plastic cylinder in the second pic - it's for the airbag and gets in the way when you use a non-airbag wheel.

[trackjunkie21]

yep remove the white plastic tab.

[reelizmpro]

While it's true you need to wedge or remove the white peg it's not what's keeping you from mounting the wheel all the way down. That peg only gets in the way of the wheel turning. From the new pics, it looks like the threads are stripped (are they?) Also, the turn signal cancel on the plastic ring has broken off but that shouldn't keep the wheel from sitting flush either.

[e46s54dr]

Put your key in the ignition and put it to the on position. Your steering wheel locking pin is out and stopping it from sliding in all the way.

[e46s54dr]

You can actually see the mark on the back of the wheel where its contacting.