A quick release steering wheel is a great way to add an anti-theft feature to your 30 year old van and it will get you at least 25 style points.
This guide will explain how to add an after market steering wheel with (or without) a quick release to your Mitsubishi Delica. This upgrade will go over the installation of the commonly available 6-bolt aftermarket steering wheels and quick release. It is all largely defined be personal preference, but there are a few key factors that must be kept in mind:
- Wheel Diameter- Too small and the steering wheel will obscure parts of the cluster. OE is 15″ diameter (center-line)
- Wheel Position- Too low and the wheel will hit the turn signal/ wiper stalks. Too high and you will have to remove your hand from the wheel to hit the turn signal/ wiper stalks.
- Wheel Dish- Too deep and you probably won’t be able to run a quick release comfortably.
Parts Selection:
The first step is to build your setup based on your requirements. Take measurements and establish where you want the steering wheel to sit. Then select your components. This will consist of three primary components. Steering wheel, quick release and spline adapter.
Selecting a steering wheel is mostly personal preference, but as mentioned above you will want to be around 15″ diameter to match stock and minimal dish (offset) so that there is room for the quick release. The stock wheel is a very deep dish. Stick with the standard aftermarket 6- bolt pattern.
For reference we are running a 15″ off-brand Nardi clone with about a 2″ dish.
Next, choose your quick release. I personally recommend avoiding Ebay junk and going for name brand stuff. I really like NRG products. Their most popular is the SRK 200 or 2.0, which makes a nice ding when it locks into place, the down side it that it is a thick unit. If you need something more slim, then check out the NRG SRK 400 series low profile quick release. I have used that in the past as well,but it is not as easy to take on/off.
We are currently running the NRG SRK 200 2.0 on our setup.
Finally select the Mitsubishi spline adapter (the Mitsubishi spline is basically the same across all models). This will adapt the stock steering shaft to the 6-bolt pattern that is compatible with steering wheels and quick releases. They are available in two primary types:
- Boss Adapter-Taller and usually for those not running a quick release
- Short Hub-Low profile, great for quick release or deep dish wheels
Generally for any quick release setup you will want the short hub type, unless you have a flat wheel (no dish) with the NRG SRK 400 or something. You get the idea.
We have the short hub pared with our NRG SRK 200 2.0
Final Note: We machined ~1/4″ off of our short hub adapter to bring the wheel closer to the OE position. Without machining, our setup would be about 1/2″ higher than OE, which was a noticeable reach for the turn signal stalk.
Installation:
Installation is pretty straight forward, but the crux is removing the original wheel, since its been on there for 30 years.
1. Remove the single Philips head screw on the bottom of the wheel and remove the horn button/pad.
2. loosen and remove the 17mm nut on the main spline shaft.
3. The steering wheel will still be held in place by a conical press-fit under the splines. If you are lucky you can get it off by just yarding on it and it will break free. Personally, I have never been able to do that.
The proper way to remove the steering wheel is to use a puller. The wheel has two m8 holes on either side of the shaft specifically for removal.
I made my own puller, but I am sure you can buy one. I took a piece of angle steel and drilled two holes in it. Then I just added two m8 bolts.
Tighten both of the bolts down evenly. This pulls the wheel off of the spline shaft. It should give a satisfying “pop” and come off.
Now just assemble your new stack-up and wheel!
The new spline adapters thankfully do not have the conical press fit feature.