hello all, as the title says im having trouble with my 1983 F250 steering wheel/starting it. A few days ago i was usuing the truck for hauling and everything worked fine. I parked her up and the next day i went to start her but the ignition cycinder wouldn't turn at all once the key was in, and the steering wheel was locked up. Now, when parked i did leave the wheels a little turned. So the steering wheel is turned to the right a few inches. I tryed putting her in netrual and rocking her back and forth to try and straighten the wheel but no luck the wheel wont budge. I tried spraying a little wd40 into cylinder and giving it time to set in then tried to start her again; no luck, tried jiggling the wheel whie trying to turn ignition at the same time, no luck. Now i went and purchased a new ignition cylinder and tried to installl it today, but when i go to take the old one out i get stuck where i have to turn the key to the on position and depress the pin.. simply because i cannot get the key to turn to the on position in the first place. Guy at autozone said this is the part that needed to be replaced, i blame myself for not doing more reserch prior to purchase. anyways... any ideas?? Would i possibly need a new steering column? thank in advance, sorry for long post.
John b.

 

You should be able to grab the wheel and turn it to take the pressure off the mechanism. That's what has happened, you left the wheels in a bind and the steering wheel lock is holding them in place.

If you get desperate, you could jack the front of the truck up to lift the front wheels off the ground to relieve the pressure.

 

Well it could also be an lock that needs replacement, spraying wd 40 into it will not help (dirt inside isn't the problem) the pins are worned out from all the keys on the ring that swings left an right an back an forth all the time while it's moving and the key takes that much wear as well..it's like rubbing two pieces of metals together to wear em down to each is out of specs. At this point, you'll either have to force remove it (which will make it more worsen then you have it now...or call your local locksmith to replace it (we have special tools an skills that we can use to do job correctly without damage)...

 

Below the ignition cylinder is a flat bearing, C clip and a brass gear. The teeth of the brass gear are NOTORIOUS for stripping!

 

thanks for all the replys guys, greatly appreciated. I was able to turn the steering wheel hard enough while turning the keys to get the steering wheel unlocked, but since i have a new ignition cylinder, i decided to go ahead and replace the part. but like always nothing comes easy for me when it comes to automobiles.... i can't get the dam turn signal out.. i tried to use pliers to grip it and turn but just ends up stripping the bar a little each time.. tried a little wd40 then turn but same thing..

 

Do a search on this forum, there are (or were, at least) pictures & instructions from the shop manual showing how to do it. IIRC it doesn't involve the turn signal stuff at all, not even steering wheel removal.