Mitsubishi lateral screw steering wheel spacer installation
Valid for:
This installation write-up has been made for Mitsubishi cars with steering wheel fitted to the steering column thanks to a lateral bolt, which is the less common fitment for cars: not a bolt that points the driver, but a 90° bolt to which you access by the side of the steering column.
Cars to which this guide refers:
- Lancer Evo 7, 8, 9 (VII, VIII, and IX)
- Pajero mk3
Despite the steering wheel looking different from the outside, they have been all made on the same metal frame, which is hidden, and share the same spline pattern and clockspring: this made possible to design and machine the steering wheel spacer in a way that fit all these cars.
NOTES BEFORE INSTALLATION:
1) Park the car with the wheels straight before installation, otherwise you risk “missing a tooth” during assembly and find yourself with the steering wheel slightly off centre while driving straight.
2) Disconnect the battery before starting, thus avoiding the illumination of lights at the end. Wait 30 min to let remaining electric power discharge from the car.
3) Be careful when handling the cables coming out from the clockspring behind the steering wheel, do not pull them even accidentally and unlock the connector clip(s) before disconnecting, otherwise you risk to damage or rotate too much the steering angle sensor and hear an annoying “click” while driving, and you have to do the whole procedure again. Don’t worry, this problem comes if you really pull the wires hard, you can’t generate this problem while just handling the wires.
INSTALLATION
Check the videos on the internet that show how to disassemble the steering wheel of the Mitsubishi. Lancer or a Pajero mk3. Type “mitsubishi YOUR CAR steering wheel removal”.
Watching one or two before starting, helps to do everything more comfortably and without doing damage.
We not yet made our own tutorial, we’ll update one as soon as possible. In any case, we’ll summarize the main points here.
1) Remove the airbag from the steering wheel by unscrewing the two torx screws on the sides of the steering wheel. It may be necessary to remove rubber plugs that hide them from view. When the airbag unit is in your hands, disconnect the connectors behind it, do not just pull them: unlock the mini-safety clips first. Bolts can be very hard to unlock. take your time and don’t damage them.
2) Leave the airbag safely, badge towards the sky and away from children.
3) Unscrew the lateral bolt. Ensure the steering wheel slides freely on the shaft before pulling out. After years, it may stuck on the column and requires some side hits to unlock. Consider using a puller if needed.
4) Disconnect the yellow airbag’s connector first: open a “window” by removing a plastic shroud embedded in the steering wheel plastic rear cover, then unlock the whole yellow connector assembly from the steering wheel’s metal frame.
5) Now you can see the clockspring (rotating contact with pending wires) and the steering column on the car.
6) Insert the aluminium part of the spacer into the column, respecting the orientation of the slots. The spacer reproduces the grooves of the steering wheel. The wiring must be routed through the bottom slot.
7) Insert the radial bolts and tighten them. They may be 2 or 1 depending on model year.
8) insert the black collar and secure it to the hub by tightening the allen bolts, make the pending wires from the clockspring pass inside the collar. Then bolt the steel part of the spacer to the collar, again using the allen bolts.
9) Slide the steering wheel onto the steel part of the spacer, which is a copy of the steering column. Leave it partially out and play with the room to reconnect the pending wires (airbag and horn) to their corresponding connectors.
The airbag yellow connector will just be reconnected and left pending inside the collar room, because now there is no lenght to re-attach it to the steering wheel frame. This is not an issue.
To do this, you will have to pre-align the airbag in the steering wheel, you can tighten it little bolts already, so it will stay in place. Be carefull not to left any wire pressed between the airbag unit and the steering wheel.
10) Re insert the OEM lateral screw and tighten it, you are now securing the steering wheel on our shaft, which is a OEM shaft replica.
11) Reconnect the battery and don’t let anybody seat on the car in while. Do a test drive.
12) Everything must work as before:
- steering wheel rotation effort does not change
- no warning lights
- stalk lever still return automatically
- horn pressure feel does not changes
- all steering wheel buttons must work as before, if present
- existing steering wheel adjustment still works, if available
- you should not hear clicks or rubbing noises behind the wheel
END.
