Hi! This is my first post here, but I've been hanging out for awhile and everyone's advise here has been incredibly useful, so thank you!

I seem to have run across a few issues with my 1997 Aerostar that I haven't seen covered before. I don't know if all three are related or not, but we'll see. To start off, ever since I can remember you have to push up on the shift lever when turning the key to off, otherwise it won't turn back far enough to remove the key. When I asked my dad about it (it's a family hand-me-down van, lol) he said something about the parking pin getting broken when he was backing a trailer into a garage.

Then, a couple months ago, my little brother was messing around in my car, and at one point he called me over and proceeded to show me that he could start the van without a key in the ignition. Saying that I was surprised would be a bit of an understatement! Since then, I've only been able to get it to do that one more time (and it was by accident, so I still have no idea what makes it do that.) I should mention that both times I was able to just turn the (empty) cylinder back to the "Lock" position to get it to work normally again.

This morning, a friend of mine was taking me to a doctor's appointment (I broke my right foot a few weeks ago, so I can't drive.) She went to start the car, but the key didn't spring back to the "Run" position from the "Start" position. It wasn't stuck, the spring just didn't pop it back so I did it by hand. When she started it up after my appointment, it stuck again but neither of us realized it until she shifted it into gear and it made the worst noise I have ever heard it make. Fortunately my starter still works properly, but now I'm trying to figure out which part I need to fix or replace. The research I've done seems to point to needing a new ignition switch/cylinder (which doesn't look that expensive to replace myself, fortunately.) Does this sound about right? And, if so, does anyone have some sort of instructions for the replacement? Bonus question: if I do need to replace the cylinder, is there a way to re-key either the door lock cylinders (or new ignition cylinder) so that the whole van would work with one key, or would I need to replace the door lock cylinders also?

Thanks in advance!

 

There is also some linkages in the column that wear out and break over time.

On my '96 Sable (most Ford columns are pretty similar inside), I couldn't get it to shut off with the key. The lock cylinder just twirled around. The part was $12 (F2DX 3E723A Upper Steering Column Lock Assembly) from the dealer, but $250 out the door repaired, a fair amount of labor. The dealer said they get a few of these in, on higher-mileage vehicles.

I prefer to let somebody that knows what they are doing to mess around with stuff in the steering column like this.

 

I had similar problem with my '95 last year. The problem got worse when I wound up with an key that would not shut off the engine. A worn actuator rod was the cause. There is a lot of related info in the video you will find useful.

 

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...h-failure.html

There are also other threads on this board that can be searched for this condition.

 

You do not have to remove the steering wheel to change out the key cylinder. The cylinder is removable without 99% of the procedure in the video.

 

I double checked the key switch on my '95. It has the same problem you describe; the key is removable at any position and it needs to be rotated manually back at times. It is important to note that I have replaced the lock cylinder and the actuator rod already and that the condition persists.

The actuator rod needed to be replaced as the engine couldn't be shut off without a functioning one. (Not the problem you are having)

The lock cylinder needed to be replaced because of age and wear. (Could be the problem with your Aero).

The problem you are having is common and maybe fixable with an aftermarket replacement lock cylinder. You can get one inexpensively at any autoparts store. Since you can remove the cylinder easily without tearing anything else apart, the swap is worth a try.

Remember that the youtube vid was intended for reference only. It shows you how to remove the lock cylinder, as you requested. The rest of the information will be relevant only if your keyswitch ever fails to shut off the engine.