I posted in the electrical threads, but thought someone here might have the answer I'm looking for - sorry if this is redundant but here goes:
I recently bought an 85 Ford F150 for my kid. Up until Friday the truck ran great. On Friday he came in the house and asked me to look at his truck. The truck wasn't starting on the key. The key was turning but nothing. I turned the key to the on position and attempted to jump it off the solenoid and the engine would crank but not start. My first suspicion was the key lock, so I pulled the old one and replaced it. Same result. Next I wanted to check the ignition actuator so I dropped the steering column. The acuator looked fine and was moving with the key so yesterday I replaced the ignition switch. I got the switch mounted, put everything back together, but the truck still won't start with the key. If I turn the key to the run position it will now fire at the solenoid, but won't start at the key. The actuator bar also seems to have a lot of play in it and no matter where I set the ignition switch on the column the actuator bar doesn't have the push to move the bar all the way to the start position and back to the accessory position. I can get one, but not the other. With the steering column off I can manually pull on the actuator bar and get it to the accessory position, but thats not a good fix and there's obviously something wrong under the wheel. Here's the last part: Last night, after I got the thing put back together, I found out that the gear selector (auto on the column) wouldn't budge out of park. I don't know if this was the case before I started tearing things apart or if it's a result of what I've done to this point, but it is what it is. I'm not a gearhead by any stretch of the imagination so I'll need some pretty detailed instructions on where to go from here if anyone can help. Thanks in advance

 

It's the famous pot metal piece that is broke in the column. I posted a picture of it in the electrical forum post.

 

Dave, I saw the blow up you posted but there's no name to go with the part. Is it part of the actuator rack, or something different? I'm going to pull the wheel today and start getting into the column so the picture you posted will help, but I have no idea what the part is called and how it should be attached. Thanks

 

Here's link someone posted in a recent thread about the steps on how to do it. Remember, steering columns are always a hassle to work on, so prepare yourself before hand for some possible frustration.

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/8...-actuator.html

I looked at the steps he wrote down, and I don't remember having to take apart some of the stuff he did. I do remember having to take the turnsignal switch out, taking the gear and rack assembly out(and having to take it out again when I put it together with the wrong teeth engaged) and I remember taking the snap ring loose on the main shaft, taking the pivot pins out, and carefully lowering the assembly without letting it fly apart.

 

Ok, update!
I dove in head first, pulled the steering wheel and using BroncoBoy's excellent tutorial got right in and got after it. Once I got the actuator rod out, I noticed something was missing and I saw that the top was sheared off. It's a bugger getting that shaft out of the hole, but on the right side of the steering column I found a gap that I could grab it with needle nose plyers and work it up enough that I could grab the broken end with a pair of plyers. Once that was out it was off to Autozone and I picked up a new actuator, minus the rod, for 10 bucks. Once I got home I had to figure out how to take the tilt housing off - that was an adventure, but Broncoboy had that covered in his write up and I eventually got the thing off. Then it was just a matter of getting the rod back in place and damn! Where did all these screws and stuff come from???
I started the reassembly process, which actually wasn't too terrible once I got the tilt back on. The big spring makes it tough to get the hinge pins back in but once I got the first one in and the other was being held by a punch, I got it back together.
From there it was a breeze. One thing I will mention, though, is that before you put the column totally back together, and while you have the gear shift housing off, put the ignition key channel back together and make sure that the teeth on your gear is aligned with the teeth on the actuator. I'm not sure what the part is called, but you'll be able to see the gears through the key channel. You'll want the first tooth on the key gear to match with the first tooth on the actuator gear. I had to tear the whole thing apart after my first re-assemble because of that little oversight. Once that's together, you can reassemble the whole mess. Turn the key Varooom! Yea baby!

 

nicely done, Bill! Always good to see some more wrenches joining up. Have you introduced your truck yet? We're big fans of pictures and stories around here.

 

Thanks Dave. Nope, just joined up. I've been cruising this site for years, getting big help on projects from all you guys, but never joined until today. I have an 05 F250 with a 6.0 and the truck I was working on today is an 85 F150 that we just bought. The story behind that truck is that it sat in a guys yard for 2 years without running. The tires were rotting off, there was a squirrel's nest under the hood, but the interior looked good and the body was nice and straight. We put some gas in the carb, a little in the tank, and she started right up so I bought her for my kid and we put her on a trailer and towed her home. The truck has a few minor issues - needs a fuel sending unit, the AC is kaput, the cruise doesn't work, and this minor issue with the ignition, but it's a great running truck - has a 302 HO - and it doesn't leak fluids.