key release button
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More Turbo
Joined: Apr 2018
Posts: 726
Likes: 58
From: pine city washington
key release button
my key won't turn back all the way to release it and the button on the bottom of the column is missing. if I stick my finger in the hole where the button was I can push a piece of metal up and release something inside and take the key out. What is broken inside? i don't want to stick my fingers in strange holes. i tried to get a steering column from a wrecking yard but they were all taken.
Hotshot
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 11,958
Likes: 228
Just remove the ignition lock cylinder and the steering column shroud. Don't have to pull the wheel. Also don't have to remove the cluster bezel either.
This video shows how to take it apart.
If this is a manual transmission truck which it sounds like it is, just order a new part to replace the lock lever.
Or is this an 87-91 truck?
This video shows how to take it apart.
If this is a manual transmission truck which it sounds like it is, just order a new part to replace the lock lever.
Or is this an 87-91 truck?
Tuned
Joined: May 2019
Posts: 480
Likes: 141
From: NJ
my key won't turn back all the way to release it and the button on the bottom of the column is missing. if I stick my finger in the hole where the button was I can push a piece of metal up and release something inside and take the key out. What is broken inside? i don't want to stick my fingers in strange holes. i tried to get a steering column from a wrecking yard but they were all taken.
Tuned
Joined: May 2019
Posts: 480
Likes: 141
From: NJ
I figure it got stuck on somebody's belt loop or something, can't think of anything inside the column that would cause that to break that way. I'd look in there with a flashlight and see if the stub of the lever can be bent down to be accessible- and if so, you could just tack weld a new button or something onto it. Part isn't available separately anywhere I could find in ~5 minutes of Googling, and the cheapest columns I see on eBay are a few hundred dollars. No sense replacing such an expensive part that is otherwise in serviceable condition.
Last time I bought a bricknose column was ~2009 and the local Pick-Your-Own place charged $40, but that was during Cash-For-Clunkers. Seems bricknose trucks are past the "old junk" hump and are now "classics", with parts prices to match.
Last time I bought a bricknose column was ~2009 and the local Pick-Your-Own place charged $40, but that was during Cash-For-Clunkers. Seems bricknose trucks are past the "old junk" hump and are now "classics", with parts prices to match.
Hotshot
Joined: Jul 2020
Posts: 10,268
Likes: 2,563
From: Near Salt Lake City
They used to get bent back and forth and then break off
Not sure how far you have to tear the column down to replace the lever
Not sure how far you have to tear the column down to replace the lever
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More Turbo
Joined: Apr 2018
Posts: 726
Likes: 58
From: pine city washington
i looked on all the diagrams i could find and could not figure out the lever mechanism. looks like a winter project.
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