In another post about the Playstation Portable, I write about how to softmod the unit. In this post I will demonstrate how to replace the analog thumbstick, which becomes subject to wear and tear over time. A symtom of a failing analog stick is “drifting”, that is, in a game, the stick will pull in a direction without you touching it. Although there are guides for how to repair the stick, I did not successfully managed to do this, so I figured I’ll just write a short post on how to replace it. A new stick can be bought on eBay for like $5 or so. To follow the steps in this guide (for the PSP 1004) you need a small Philips Screwdriver. That is it.
Step 1: disassembly the PSP
In this guide I am working on the PSP 1004 to disassembly the unit enough to reach the analog stick you need to remove five Philips screws:
- Two black screws in the holes on the right side of the image.
- Two black screws under the battery.
- One silver screw at the bottom of the unit (see, second image below).
Now you can carefully separate the two halves of the PSP. Also, remove the top of the analog stick when performing this step. It will come of just by pulling it.
Step 2: Replace the PSP analog stick
Now you have a PSP in two halves. The analog stick is attached with 2x silver screws as seen in the image below. To replace it, simply remove the screws, add your replacement from eBay, and attach the screws again + the top cover of the stick. Done!
When you have your PSP opened like this you might as well check if the rubber pads for the D-pad and buttons are in good condition, and now is also a good opportunity to clean the unit. My unit had an annoying piece of dog hair from the previous owner inside the glass, which I happily removed.
You can also check out the other side of the analog stick, which is a quite interesting connection. It consists of a conductive rubber pad, which sits between the stick and the PSP:s motherboard. I would suggest not touching this for other reasons than giving it a bit of a clean.
Now, assembly the Playstation Portable in reverse order, and enjoy your games!