Page updated: 05/18/2004 11:22 PM

I have seen lots of talk on the boards lately regarding theft prevention.  Hiding a kill switch for the fuel pump, battery on/off switches, and other mods to help prevent theft.  While they may be somewhat effective ways of deterring theft, I wanted to take a different route, which brought me to the removable steering wheel.

I have been looking at quick disconnects for almost a year now.  To this day I have not found one that will bolt right up to a jeep.  They are all made to be welded on to custom buggy columns.  This is great and all, but it really doesn’t help those of us who use factory steering columns.

A few months ago, I was wheeling with Seth and Tommy out at Johnson Valley.  Seth had just installed his latest toy… a steering wheel disconnect.  After wheeling with Seth and watching him pop is off and throw it on top of his cage I knew that I had to get one for my jeep.  If for nothing else…the bling factor.

So I ordered up the Sweet Manufacturing aluminum steering wheel disconnect from Kartek (steel spline, aluminum quick disconnect)

This seems to be a popular disconnect among racers and for good reason.  It is a well-made product.  I feel the need to interject my two cents here.  Don’t buy the cheap hex disconnects.  Spend the extra money and get a quality part.

With that said, I then contacted Steve Baker (HopeRocks) at UCSD’s machine shop.  I brought him the disconnect along with what I felt was the necessary part to adapt it to work with the Jeep column.  I won’t go into a lot of detail there, because Steve had a better idea.  He simplified things buy welding a sleeve inside of the spline section of the Sweet disconnect:


Then machined it to fit tight on to the end of the steering column.

He then drilled and tapped the Sweet spline section in 4 spots.  The spline section of the disconnect would then slide onto the Jeep column and be held down by 4 set screws.

Now for those of you who are shaking your head, never fear, I have an answer for that…”set screws you say, that sounds dangerous”.  On the Jeep column I drilled 4 indents where the set screws would sit.  Once the steering wheel disconnect is placed over the splined section, the set screws are not able to back out.  That is a good thing because loosing all steering at 65mph on the freeway is not good times.

With the necessary machining done to the Sweet spline section so that it would work with the jeep column, it was time to work on making the steering wheel fit the quick disconnect.  The Sweet disconnect requires a three bolt steering wheel. My Grant is a 5 bolt.  I originally was going to go out and buy a new wheel, but the closest shop that had what I wanted was down in Chula Vista, and I hate driving to Chula Vista.  So I decided to just make an adapter.  I poked my head in UCSD’s shop again to see if Steve had a piece of scrap aluminum to save me the trip to a metal yard.  Sure enough he had a perfect round disk.  Steve took one look at it and told me to come back tomorrow and he’d have it done.  I have to break here…I met Steve on this board only a few weeks before this project started.  I owe a huge thanks to Steve.  He made it happen, I just sat there and tried not to drool on his machinery.

I came back the next day and watched as he took a few measurements, hit a bunch of buttons on a CNC Mill and out popped my adapter.  Sure enough, it was a perfect fit.  In 20 min, Steve took a blank piece of scrap and made it into a superbling steering wheel adapter.



Bolting it all together was a piece of cake.


The steering wheel disconnect is awesome.  The Sweet disconnect is definitely the one to get.  Don’t waste your money on cheep ones.  At 90 bucks it may be a bit more than other ones out there but there is a reason for that…it’s a quality product.  I have had no issues other than getting cut off by a woman in an SUV talking on her phone, and desperately wanting to lay on the horn (which I no longer have).  I will wire in a new button or switch for such occasions.  Overall it’s a great mod.  Not for everyone, but I dig it and its a great anti-theft device.

-Quinn