When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
WARNING: The 'bar' I referred to is called a "steering lock actuator rod."
For anyone replacing it I don't believe there is a single youtube video from anyone who actually knows how to do this RIGHT. In written instructions I've not seen any that do not miss at least one important detail. So, the warning is BEWARE of youtube videos on replacing that part. Hopefully I'll have the time later to help improve upon the written instructions posted at here FTE.
That being said, adamkat22, I think it is lack of lubrication in the actuator rod slot. The following video at exactly 1:35 into the video will show you the slot where you need to spray lubricant after the steering wheel is removed. It is the fairly large rectangular hole to the left of the key lock cylinder, right below the the left side of the silvery metal piece. The near end of the actuator rod is in that hole and moves in a slot behind the hole when the key is turned.
FIRST DISCONNECT BOTH BATTERY TERMINALS! So you can turn the key without power to the ignition!
You can probably see the end of the rod when you turn the key back to accessory. I would stick the spray tube from your lubricant spray can in the gap at the right side of the rod and give it a short spray, also on the top side and bottom side, then turn the key to the next stop (OFF position) with another short spray to those three locations, then to the ON position (spray again) and finally to the full start position and spray again. The rod will move deeper into the the slot with each change of position position of the Key.
You don't spray the Left side because the actual slot that the rod moves in is the three sides I mentioned, nothing on the left side. NOW turn the key back and forth to work the lubricant into the slot. The second time I would spray it in reverse order beginning with the full start position OR better still from the full start position start spraying as you turn the switch fairly quickly without stopping all the way back to the Accessory position. That should provide an even spray into the whole length of the slot.
If you spray too much it is going to run down into your steering column covers and out the bottom onto you or your floor mats which is undesirable. That won't hurt anything in the column but it's just an extra mess to deal with so you might want to put something under it in case you do spray too much.
That should loosen up the old grease and make the ignition lock operate smoothly
I hope these suggested solutions work for you. It could possibly be that the lock cylinder itself is wearing out. Lastly it could possibly be a binding ignition switch activator rod which is like a long coat hanger rod that goes to the actual ignition switch assembly at the lower end of the column but I highly doubt if this would be the problem unless someone screwed something up when they had the upper column apart .
awesome thanks for the video. i assumed that was the dust cover but wasn't positive. and to turn over the engine by hand i just put a 15/16 on the lowest pulley bolt and turn in either direction correct?
will get pics of the flywheel teeth tomorrow afternoon and report back...
awesome thanks for the video. i assumed that was the dust cover but wasn't positive. and to turn over the engine by hand i just put a 15/16 on the lowest pulley bolt and turn in either direction correct?
will get pics of the flywheel teeth tomorrow afternoon and report back...
I would disconnect both negative battery cables first as a safety measure and if you are not on a level surface put blocks in front/behind a wheel or two. I was just under mine 2 hrs ago putting the dust cover back on and I was checking for play in my shift linkage. With a very slight tug on the linkage it shifted out of park and started rolling! Fortunately I got out of there quick and it only rolled about a foot and a half. That told me that I need to re-adjust the linkage.
Yes, I think 15/16 is correct but you'll need a short extension preferably using a 1/2 in. drive ratchet or a 1/2" breaker bar. Or I suppose you can use a 3/8" drive set up, it's not very difficult to turn the engine but you'll need a long handled ratchet, breaker bar or slide a pipe over the ratchet handle for a cheater just to get enough length on the handle to conveniently turn it.
The bolt is recessed about 2-1/2 to 3 inches into the dish on the front of the pulley, there is not much room to work so the hardest part of that is keeping the socket (with extension) straight and on the bolt head. I used one hand to hold the extension straight and the other to pull the wrench handle. You can look back at the ring gear and see how far you are turning it.
If the starter wasn't engaging with the ring gear properly the teeth on the ring gear will show some damage on the edges worn spots or maybe some very damaged teeth, in which case the starter would likely be making a horrible noise when the starter gear hits the ring gear which you didn't mention- just spinning starter would indicate a bad solenoid again unless all of the teeth on the starter gear were ground off. .Otherwise the ring gear teeth should look about perfect which I expect (hope) yours will. It is certainly worth having a look and it's pretty easy. When you get the dust cover off and the teeth look perfect, chances are the rest will be the same but turn it the full 360 deg. to make sure.
I tend to write long posts- it's a habit- I try to make everything as clear as possible. My previous description of the ignition lock actuator rod was not precisely correct regarding location of the gear teeth - they are on a different piece that moves the actuator rod but that won't matter in terms of getting it lubricated.
fixnstuff i always appreciate the longer/detailed posts because i'm newer to a lot of this so the details help me out a lot. and yes there is a bad noise until i turn the key off and then it spins itself to slow down.
i looked at the flywheel today and its pretty bad in some spots
these shots show the bad spots and the average spots.
from reading other posts i assume i either need to recheck or replace the ring gear? if that's the case how involved is that? how much time should it take someone with moderate skills? and any special tools? thanks!
wow, that guy did way too many steps trying to replace the ignition actuator.
there is no need to remove half of the stuff he did. i can do the complete job in about 1 hour.
from start to finish i can do an actuator in around 1 hour. the first one i did i went in on the blind, that was almost before the internet. it took around 3 hours because i pulled the column.
after i was done i realized it was no where as hard as everyone made it to be. the second one was done in truck and took around 1 1/2 hours. after that it was down to 1 hour.
wow, that guy did way too many steps trying to replace the ignition actuator.
there is no need to remove half of the stuff he did. i can do the complete job in about 1 hour.
LOL, Yes he sure did!! And after all of that work to remove and completely dismantle the entire steering column the actual problem turned out not to be the ignition actuator but an obviously defective (electrical) ignition switch on the lower part of the column, a simple fix. Then reassembling all of that!
IT PAYS to think these things through and properly analyse and identify the problem from different possibilities (troubleshooting) and consider what problems might be encountered before even beginning to do the work. If he would have done that before even touching a tool he would have known that it was NOT the actuator.
AT LEAST he took the time to try to make a very good instructional video and I give him much credit for that.
As I mentioned, nearly all of the videos on youtube for this procedure are incorrect at best and wrong at worst. I think there are two that advise substantially grinding down the actuator rod (which is weak pot metal to begin with) so it can be manipulated into it's proper position without disconnecting and pulling back the ignition lock-cylinder housing and bearing, (which is easy enough, IF you know how to do it). This just begs for a premature break of the actuator. Another video or two suggest cutting off the end to make it shorter to get it to fit which defeats the steering wheel lock and/or shift lever lock which are it's main functions.
I'm not signed up with youtube or I would have given some helpful advice points.
I learned how to do it right after much difficulty and persistence on my tilt column.
...these shots show the bad spots and the average spots.
...from reading other posts i assume i either need to recheck or replace the ring gear? if that's the case how involved is that? how much time should it take someone with moderate skills? and any special tools? thanks!
The ring gear is welded to the flex plate and then machine balanced so you need the whole flex plate. Make sure you get the right one for your diesel van and transmission- compare with the old one when it is out. Check the starter gear too when you can. It may still be good.
INVEST IN A REPAIR MANUAL for your van if you don't have one and use those instructions for a good start to put you way ahead. Details that may not get mentioned in forum posts. (a repair manual from a parts store is adequate as the factory service manuals are like 2500 pages, complicated just to find things and lots more information than you'll likely ever need) You should always have a repair manual for each vehicle you drive, KEPT INSIDE THE VEHICLE (not on a shelf at home) in the event that you break down somewhere- often an easy DIY fix to get going again, maybe a trip to a nearby parts store and the book will tell you how to replace the part. These books cover all sorts of repairs and have helpful troubleshooting sections too.
I don't know what "moderate skills"means (vague) I assume you meant automotive mechanical skills? But that doesn't matter. With no experience pulling transmissions I might tend to suggest that you find a friend or helper with at least some experience pulling and reinstalling a transmission- or at minimum a helper to get the transmission accurately lined up and slid into place when reinstalling which can be tricky. It's heavy! Also on a flat hard surface so the transmission jack moves easily, or on grass or dirt you'll need a half sheet of strong plywood, 3/8" should be strong enough.
With the repair manual instructions and following those closely I think you really can handle this job. Your willingness to attempt it and attention to preparation suggests that- the manual will be the biggest help to you.
Be SURE to look up the torque specifications for the flexplate bolts, and transmission housing bolts to the engine block and use a torque wrench where you can. A set of flair nut wrenches for safely disconnecting brass fittings without damaging them, on metal lines, fuel lines, etc. are essential in my opinion for your diesel. Aside from that, no specialty tools, just standard wrenches and sockets.
If you need a special wrench like an offset box end wrench to get at something you can just run over to Autozone (I have no idea where in the world you are located- EDIT: I see (profile) that you are in NY State, USA) and get a very affordable single wrench or set, their Duralast brand are quite good with a lifetime replacement warranty and a LOT less expensive than Craftsman wrenches. I got a nice set of Craftsman flair nut wrenches on sale at Sears though, on a clearance shelf! A very good deal.
If you don't have a torque wrench or other tools, you can place a deposit at a local parts store for a loaner tool and get the full deposit back when you return the tool(s).
Since you are pulling the transmission I would highly recommend replacing the front and rear transmission seals. They are cheap and easy to remove/install but follow directions very closely to do it right! That will likely save you having to pull the transmission again later to replace old leaking seals.
I would also check and grease the drive shaft U-joints if they have grease fittings while you are under the truck. (I would grease everything that is grease-able) You are likely to find a few things that might be nearing replacement time at some later date so you can become aware of those.
That's all I can think of and Good Luck
Last edited by Fixnstuff; Aug 20, 2015 at 11:31 PM.
Reason: Your location spotted in your profile. NY State, USA
Being a bit of a hack, if this were my own truck I'd get in there with a grinder and clean up the edges of those teeth. Get a bevel back on them, make em consistant all the way around, and grind the bad part out -- effectively make "narrower" teeth.
The starter should still be able to engage with the rest of the teeth, and it's not like you are going to ruin anything more than it already is.
^^^^^ Same idea crossed my mind. Re-shape those teeth to guide the teeth on the starter bendix gear. Nothing to lose; that and a good bendix gear on a new starter might just do it.
I saw Macrobb's post last night and this is what I wrote at the time:
That is a very interesting hack idea, Macrobb!
Reviewing those photos the worst damage is much less than it first appears and the light damage is insignificant but indicates that the end of the starter gear is damaged. I don't know how many 'bad' areas are on this ring gear but if I needed to hack this job I would clean the burrs from those damaged gears with a file parallel with the gear faces and just a few light bevel strokes at a 15-20 deg angle on the starter-side edges and top edge of the gear teeth to make sure the burr is gone, then just clean up the rest of the gears with files. The starter gear damage is a concern. A new starter gear (Bendix gear) would probably mesh with those ...
--------------------
I wouldn't remove any metal from the outside edge of the damaged teeth, that is to say- not recess the gear teeth any further than they are, so I wouldn't use a grinder unless I had a precision die grinder, just make sure the burrs are gone all the way down to the valley between the gear teeth.
It looks similar/same to my flex plate which is a heavy duty flex plate that appears to be a thick cast steel rather than a thinner stamped one, so I doubt if that tiny bit of removed metal will have a significant effect on the balance.
I don't know the specifications for how far into the ring gear teeth the Bendix gear goes but it should be more than that shallow damage, so yeah cleaning up the teeth should work.
I am basing my perceptions simply on one year full time machinist school long ago. I'm conditioned to do everything with machine tolerances down to 0.003 in. (thickness of a human hair) or 0.001" which I could detect by eye on a lathe or 0.0001 (a ten thousandth of an inch) in very high precision- just typical machinist tolerances. I am also a very good draftsman so it's just a permanent mind set for accuracy.
I also know when such tolerances are not required and it's all just a compromise between accuracy and getting the work done in a timely manner.
That being said, it's only a perception I don't know the specifications of how how deep those gears are supposed to mesh and I don't have the time or convenience to search for that information. In view of the photos I think this is much over-analyzing the problem so I'll stop right here.
All things considered, if this was my van and I didn't need to depend on it for a long trip into the remote wilds of Alaska or the Yukon, I would try fixing the ring gear teeth with a new starter gear. Also considered, with my pain issues I just don't want to pull a transmission although it's really pretty easy and I've done a few while parked right out in the street.
If it was my own F250, I would replace it because my intent is to completely restore this low mileage truck to near perfect condition and show it off at one of the IDI meets. I'm also going to use it to tow a loaded trailer over several mountain ranges, later a fifth wheel, and I don't want to have to get out of the truck after a stop, crawl under to turn the harmonic balancer to catch good teeth if the 'filing gears' method doesn't last. I'm just not in good enough condition to be crawling under and out from under this truck for such things- so I would replace the ring gear and my starter(with the best quality one).
I have never rebuilt a starter (but I could- even rewind it) and if it is a good gear reduction style starter (The Bendix gear is offset from the motor, not straight in line with the motor), being as broke as I am I would try to get the Bendix gear part I needed and fix it myself or take it to a shop that does this kind of work and see what they would charge to replace the part.
adamkat22, going back to earlier discussion, if you removed and replaced the starter yourself I think you can handle the transmission, it's a similar skill level it's just a lot bigger.
