Changing airbag-equipped steering wheel...

["Sean Ford" <sean@nwh.org>]

Hello all,
    I was checking out a '97 A6 QW yesterday in the showroom of Rietzl
Audi, just to see what, if any, differences there were between my '92 and
the new '97's. Things that popped out immediately were: 1) the smaller
passenger outside rear view mirror, 2) the headlights (of course), 3) the
repositioning of the lighter to the center console next to the hand brake
and off of the center dash next to the radio, 4) chromed bezel gauges, and
5) a thicker steering wheel.
   Now out of all of these changes, the one that really caught my eye was
the thicker steering wheel. This is the one instrument in the entire auto
that the driver deals with the most, which got me to thinking... why don't
I procure a newer A6 steering wheel from somewhere and install it in my
car? Then I remembered, I'm an idiot, mechanically speaking. So I ask the
more mechanically proficient among us, can this upgrade be accomplished?
I'm worried about the airbag circuitry, the cost (I doubt I could find a
junker A6 with an intact steering wheel),  and also the skill involved. Has
anyone performed this type of "upgrade"? Does anyone know how to remove a
steering wheel without the airbag blowing up in your face?! 

Sean Ford
sean@nwh.org
Newton-Wellesley Hospital
Newton, MA  02162 (USA)
'92 Audi 100CS 5spd  17K miles (and counting!)
'89 Suzuki Katana 600 14K miles (and hibernating)