I have a 91 F-150 with an E40D auto transmission. The ignition switch seemed to go dead and the motor would not turn over when turning on the switch. The gauges all came on but the motor would not turn over and the transmission would not go into gear.

I read several posts on replacing the switch, cylinder, and other parts and was checking the actuator arm and found it broken. I got a new actuator and took out the old part, had to break it to be able to pull it all the way out.

Now my dilema is I can't figure out how to get the new actuator in the square hole it fits into. I have the steering wheel off, the signal switch out, key cylinder and have even tried removing the three allen screws that hold the black & silver cast piece on the column. But the seems to be no way to get the actuator slid back in place.

How do I remove the round cast piece to get this in? Does it come apart? I have this whole assemlby loose but can't find a way to put the actuator in.

Many thanks in advance - this post has been great and has helped keep our truck running for several years. I've been able to do almost all of the repairs myself with the help of my son - its "his truck".

Hondo21

 

OK - I read how to pull the two pins on each side of the casting that are for the tilt mechanism and got the acutator partially in, but it won't go all the way far enough to "hook" over. Do I need to do something else?

 

I guess you may as well get a beer or cup of coffee and relax a little. I think it's going to be a bugger, but maybe someone can chime in with something easy. I just googled it, and only found where people were talking about how hard it is.

Good luck though.

If you're in a bind, it shouldn't be too hard to Mcgyver something on the switch itself until you can pull things apart.

 

Got it done today. Had to completely take apart the column and the two cast pieces. The hard part was dealing with that spring for the tilt wheel. Then I had enough clearance to put to actuator in allthe way and start piecing it all back together.

Took me 3-4 hours today, mostly because I forgot to tighten the three allen screws and the whole thing was loose as a goose until I took it back apart to figure out what I'd forgot.

Now she runs like a dream. Cleaned up the dash pieces while I had it all apart too. Looks great!

Thanks for the help on this forums - would've never made it.

 

maybe too late to help you now but i thought i'd reply as i did this last weekend and i am sure someone will be wanting to know how to do it. mine is a 1988 Lariat F250 with tilt). it is a bugger of a job. i had not done this before and it took me about 6 hours. there are a lot of little parts that go together and i could have used an extra pair of hands. not an extra person, just 4 hands. i did not use a manual. i took lots of photos. the biggest hurdle for me was figuring out how to separate the two cast pieces that are pinned together for the tilt. the pins were threaded on the inside for you to screw in a screw and you just pull them out. putting this back together requires lots of patience as you have to line up the spring loaded tilt thing with the teeth that locks your position under/inside the column, and a large/stiff spring for the tilt and the pin holes all while you are trying to put the pins back in.
here is how to go about it:
go buy the actuator from the ford dealer ($20.00 in BC Canada)
get a steering wheel puller and pull the wheel after unscrewing the two screws at the back of wheel and disconnecting wires.(this is really easy. the puller i bought was $25 but there was a universal cheapy for $5.00 which, in hindsight would have worked too)
socket set, needle nose, fine pipck tool came in handy, bearing grease, philips and flat head screw drivers, a punch, snap-ring pliers recommended.
remove three screws from turn signal apparatus (2 are same, i different). careful of the little flat metal bars in there. mine were broken and fell out which is why my turn signal was sloppy. i cut up an old flat feeler guage and replaced. worked perfectly.
remove three screws holding column collar with ignition.
remove the thingy with the teeth (hope that is not too technical for ya) that the ignition gear from key turns at the same time.
remove the three allen screws that face away from you and you acess from behind. two are easy, one is a bugger.
remove two large bolts under dash that hold the column up. drop column.
remove two plastic column covers that hide column where it meets dash.
remove screw and clip that hold the plastic white cord thing that operates your gear shift indicator. this will need adjusting later.
remove the snap ring that holds the bearing onto the shaft. do yourself a favour and get snap-ring pliers. i did not have them and it took some extra time to get that off.
remove bearing.
remove the little round metal bar (multiple bends in it) and two clips that operates the tilt. PAY ATTENTION HERE - there is a little spring like out of pen that is behind it. if you miss it and it ends up mysteriously on the floor and you do not know where it came from, it'll take an extra 1/2 hour to figure it out. (don't ask how i know).
screw a screw into the inside threaded pins that hold the tilt together. you cannot get the actuator in without doing this. i could remove the broken one without of course.
remove the two nuts that hold the ignition switch to the base of the steering column by your feet and pull actuator rod out. you will need to adjust this later so the ignition/key position works at the right points. (no sweat)
pull the actuator and rod out. put in vise and drive the little pin out to separate rod and actuator. PAY ATTENTION HERE TOO. do not drive it hard so it falls into the dirt at your feet and you almost lose it (don't ask how i know). you need this little pin to drive back into the rod and actuator.
put assembled actuator and rod back into column.
reassemble is reverse.
clean out all the muck in there while you are at it. grease up your bearings and moving parts too. clean up metal rings on wheel etcetera that operate your horn/cruise.
good luck.
by the way, my mechanic said he'd charge about 2 to 3 hours labour for this job. it was a long weekend and i was moving houses and needed truck so i had to do it myself. now that i have done it once, i could do this in about 3 hours i figure - not that i willever likely need to do it again. if you haven't done it before it might be worth hiring it out if it is only $200 to $300.

cheers, Russ.

 

Good information Rusty.I just read the post today. When I did it the first timeI took the steering column out and worked on iton the bench.. It didnt seem as intimadating. The two pins and the spring for the tilt are the trickiest parts.That little spring keeps the tilt lever from rattling. Mine bounced across the room . Wish I had your information beore I started.
Roger