Retrofit a 2004 steering wheel to my 1996?

[Matt42]

Here's my latest oddball question. I want to replace the steering wheel that came on my 1996 with the steering wheel from a circa 2004 model. Does anyone know if the splines will line up correctly?

I drove a 2004 CTD Tradesman on the job for 16 years and came to appreciate the steering wheel control button layout on that model. The buttons are on the side spokes where the driver can see them easily, and not on the bottom as on my 1996. The features controlled by both models are basically the same:

• Cruise control on/off
• Cruise cancel/coast.
• Air bag.

Unlike on my wife's former 2007 Town & Country, which had a similar steering wheel, the 2004 Tradesman steering wheel has no controls for the radio or anything my 1996 does not have. Wiring should not be a problem presuming that there are no unexpected incompatibilities. For comparison purposes, I installed a set of 2004 spec aftermarket slide-out power mirrors using controls from a 1996. The 2004 dually I drove came with tiny manual mirrors that were a joke. The 2004 & 1996 wiring diagrams were different, but it wasn't difficult to figure out which wire did what and make the installation. So I think I can make the steering wheel swap if the shaft splines will match.