Howdy! I'm new and I bought a 2000 Tacoma! (+ steering wheel swap question)

I bought my company's old work truck for cheap and I'm in the process of doing some much-needed maintenance and upgrades to this 252k-mile Tacoma. So far pops and I have replaced shocks, spark plugs, spark plug wires, differential fluid, power steering fluid, brake fluid, O2 sensors, catalytic converter, tail gate handle, and created a temporary tailgate cover using diamond plating. Once the weather warms and dries up, we'll be tackling transmission fluid, oil, and replacing all the burnt-out bulbs in the dash.


The company no longer goes by this name, but I plan on keeping the decal on this truck because it looks cool in a retro sort of way. Also, the truck would look too plain to me if there was nothing there.

So, I already want to swap something on this old truck: the steering wheel. The current steering wheel is so decayed at the top-center of the rim that it is down to the bare metal. It's currently covered up by tape and a cheap John Deere cover courtesy of the "maintenance" personnel that looked after this truck before it went up for sale. That person also gutted the catalytic converter which lead to this truck fouling up the O2 sensors, running pig-rich, and rendering it inoperable once the engine warmed up.


This was after shampooing and scrubbing! It was a nightmare before that!

Anyway, back my question, how directly-compatible is a Rav4/Corolla/IS300/Celica/Supra 3-spoke steering wheel with my 2000 Taco? I've done some quick research on this forum included reading mechanicjon's two threads about this subject (although with a more modern wheel) and Ichanz66 and se7enine have done it to their 1st-gen Tacos using the Rav4/IS300 wheel. I don't need a fancy wheel with audio or hands-free Bluetooth push-to-talk buttons. I just want to replace this old steering wheel with something that's pretty close to plug-and-play while retaining my cruise control and doesn't set off the airbag light. I can't find 4Runners and Tacos in South Carolina junkyards, but they have lots of early-2000s Corollas and the occasional IS300 or last-gen Celica for pickings.

As a disclaimer: if the airbag light does go out on the dash once the Rav4/IS300/etc airbag is plugged in, then it doesn't automatically mean the swapped airbag will actually deploy properly in the event of a collision. I'm willing to take that responsibility in such an event. To be honest, it's hard to put a lot of faith in a nearly 20-year old explosive operating correctly.

My automotive background is wrenching, driving, and occasionally autocrossing my 2002 Mazda Miata. I bought the Tacoma as a backup vehicle, something with better cargo capacity when I go rambling through junkyards for parts, and because I had 200 tread-wear extreme summer performance tires mounted on both of my wheel sets so they're not safe at temperatures below 32*F.

 

Welcome to the forum, cool little truck.

 

Welcome!

 

Thanks! It's just the right size and I enjoy having a simple 4-cylinder truck to drive to work. I wish it was a manual but I couldn't pass up a deal that good for an almost-running Tacoma.

 

Welcome to TacomaWorld!

 

Welcome to TW!!

 

Welcome to TW. That looks like a worthwhile project.

 

Welcome to TW

 

Welcome to TW!

 

Welcome! Post up in the 1st gen forum

 

@notdaender Did you ever get your steering wheel swap done, and if so, how long did it take. I'm going to replace a worn out leather wrapped in my 03 DC, and was curious on the amount of time it took. thanks