Saturday 9 March 2013

Quick Release Steering Wheel

A quick release steering wheel is a great anti-theft device, especially whilst the car is left out in the open or in an unfamiliar location.  I am planning on using the car a lot more this year (weather permitting), including a trip to France, so this seemed like an obvious security upgrade to make.

There are 2 types of quick release that you can fit.  One requires a splined shaft to be welded on to the existing steering column and the other is bolted on.  I opted for the latter.  All it takes is the kit and about 20 minutes of your time to fit.

This is the starting point.  First thing to do is remove the steering wheel from the original boss.


Here are the parts laid out.  It is a very simple mechanism, but it does the job.


Next job is to fit the steering wheel part (I can't think what else to call it!) to the steering wheel.   There are wires to enable a centre horn push to be fitted but as my horn button is separate, I didn't worry about these.  This is it from the front.


And this is it fitted from the back.  It is all held together with 6 Allen screws.


Next job is to fit the boss part (again, not sure what else to call it!) to the existing boss.  Again this is by way of 6 Allen bolts (supplied in the kit)


And finally, push the steering wheel in to the quick release and turn the securing ring and lock in to place.  Here is is fitted.


And another view.  You can see that it only bring the steering wheel closer to the driver by 25mm, it is the shallowest on the market.


All I need to do now is find a break in the weather to try it out!!