So I park my car at work the other day and when I turn the key to turn the car off the key comes out of the ignition and the car is still running.
I've looked on here already for answers and I know its not my lock cylinder or my ignition switch because they both look fine, which leads me to believe that it's the two plastic rods in the steering column.
I took the wheel off and the lock cylinder out and I've read that you have to remove the two bolts that hold the tilt part of the column on, problem is I can only take the right bolt out because there isnt enough room on the left hand side of the column to be able to get a socket or wrench in there to remove the bolt. Do I have to somehow manage to pull the whole column out of the car? If I do can someone please give me some info on how to do this? Not being able to drive my stang is killing me and I really don't want to have to pay some mechanic a few hundred bucks to fix something that I'm pretty sure I could fix on my own.
I've looked on here already for answers and I know its not my lock cylinder or my ignition switch because they both look fine, which leads me to believe that it's the two plastic rods in the steering column.
I took the wheel off and the lock cylinder out and I've read that you have to remove the two bolts that hold the tilt part of the column on, problem is I can only take the right bolt out because there isnt enough room on the left hand side of the column to be able to get a socket or wrench in there to remove the bolt. Do I have to somehow manage to pull the whole column out of the car? If I do can someone please give me some info on how to do this? Not being able to drive my stang is killing me and I really don't want to have to pay some mechanic a few hundred bucks to fix something that I'm pretty sure I could fix on my own.
Anyway, I have rebuilt a few columns. Are we talking about an SN95 here or 87-89? Either way, you need to remove the air bag (if equipped), steering wheel, trim, and put that thing in a vise. Preferably a BIG vise. In order to replace those two piddly pieces of plastic, you need to COMPLETELY strip the column, including detaching the tilt part from the stationary part. Watch out for the tilt springs! I believe there are two plastic rods, and they cost ~$25 together. If you need more help, let me know. It would suck to pay the dealer for like 2-3 hours for this ****. Oh, and don't tear out your column until you have the rods, b/c nobody stocks them.
The lock cylinder is attached to a gear, which slides a plastic rod with gear teeth on it, in and out. The plastic rod is actually two rods, because of the tilt column. So they are connected together. What broke is the link between the two rods, so the ignition switch stays in the 'Run' position. When the key is turned to Off, the rods are not connected, so it won't pull back the ignition switch to shut off the car. But, if you turn the key to the Start position, the first rod will push on the end of the second rod, giving you Start. So you can start the car, but can't shut it off, except by pulling the coil plug (to stop the engine) and the negative battery cable (to shut off power).
