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Having trouble finding a part inside the steering column housing.
Truck was stolen, and thief forcibly removed the ignition cylinder, breaking off the actuating end (opposite the key end) of the cylinder inside the part it fits into. With the ignition cylinder removed, it's the first part you see when looking into the housing.
This piece with the broken cylinder end in it looks brass and has teeth on it.
Dealer can't find anything for it; thought I'd try.
Any chance of finding this somewhere, or is this an eBay item (buying the entire steering column housing)?
I'm seeing housing repair kits that include a very similar looking toothed actuating piece for other autos, but not 84 F250's. For reference, this is an example of what I'm looking for; the gear piece in the center of the parts:
Hey DSK777,
I'm a day late to the party, but I have a manual shift steering column from an 86 F150 that I am not going to be using. It's all there, and the key is included. Send me a private message if your interested.
Fortunately, a salvage housing was able to correct what was broken in this case; the steering is tight and no further damage is noted, so it's looking good.
The housing was relatively easy to remove and install.
Matchmarking really helped realign everything at the end.
I noted the 2 10mm housing bolts must be removed and left out when placing housing back, otherwise the housing won't seat up against the column and there will be free movement.
If anyone thinks it would be beneficial, I can post some pictures and explain how the job went. Not sure how often you all get into these things. First time for me on a Ford.
Fortunately, a salvage housing was able to correct what was broken in this case; the steering is tight and no further damage is noted, so it's looking good.
The housing was relatively easy to remove and install.
Matchmarking really helped realign everything at the end.
I noted the 2 10mm housing bolts must be removed and ledt out when placing housing back, otherwise the housing won't seat up against the column and there will be free movement.
If anyone thinks it would be beneficial, I can post some pictures and explain how the job went. Not sure how often you all get into these things. First time for me on a Ford.
Thanks to all for the advice and suggestions.
Steering columns are known to be filled with magical properties that only magicians are able to decipher. Sort of like automatic transmissions. So if you would like to put up some pictures and a little description, I think it would be much appreciated down the line when someone else runs into that same problem.
Steering columns are known to be filled with magical properties that only magicians are able to decipher. Sort of like automatic transmissions. So if you would like to put up some pictures and a little description, I think it would be much appreciated down the line when someone else runs into that same problem.
The following will be an attempt to assist any future DIY's in removal/replacement of the steering column housing on this era of truck.
84 F250 Base, Automatic 5.8L V8 (non-tilt wheel)
Not as many pictures with this as would be ideal, so some imagination may be required as we go along...
Firstly, the dash trim underneath the steering column should be removed to allow better access (Phillips screws X 2).
It should be noted, this job was done with the steering column unbolted and freely hanging (two 9/16" bolts on either side of column under dash, which hold column up onto dash frame. It is helpful to go ahead and take these out for several reasons, including to remove the ignition switch rod).
At this point, the ignition switch atop the column under dash can be unbolted (two 1/2" bolts) and removed to prevent damage as you work. If replacing the housing, it would need to be done anyway.
The horn cover/assembly on the steering wheel is removed by pulling it straight out; in this case the securing clips were already broken...take care.
Scribe/matchmark bolt to spindle; this made reinstallation easier by noting where the bolt should end up when tightened.
The steering wheel bolt was (I believe) a 24mm or 15/16"; an impact made removal easy.
The wheel was then removed with a rented puller tool (H-bar, not crowfoot. There are two bolt holes opposite each other to accept the puller; hence the H-bar must be used. Unsure if crowfoot could be used). Note dimple in end of column spindle from puller.
Then the wheel pulls straight out and off.
Here is how it should appear at this point in time:
Note the 3 silver screws (bottom one is partially obscured) round the turn signal & horn assembly. These are removed, along with the black screw with the wire running to it, to allow whole assembly out to access the housing bolts. I took this opportunity to check function/movement of the turn signal assembly, and clean its copper contacts.
To fully remove turn signal assembly, follow the turn signal wiring down the column and note where it attaches; there should be a bracket with a 1/2" bolt. Remove bracket, and then unplug gray "crescent" connector to allow turn signal housing to be fully removed from steering column housing.
Since my ignition cylinder wasn't dealt with during this removal (ebay housing already came w/ cylinder installed), I'm not certain at what point this could/should be removed.
I'll plan on returning to this thread to update this point and other I may have missed. 23Feb2026
Now the housing should be the last item left in place. It is secured with an external snap ring, so you'll want proper pliers. I used a pick and screwdrivers, as I didn't have my pliers on hand then.
Scribe/matchmark housing to column for reinstallation.
Then remove the two (10mm?) bolts on opposite sides, holding housing. They are "T-bolts" that lock into the housing on the head end, preventing them from spinning freely.
There is a bearing in between the column spindle and housing; it should remove without much difficulty.
Unscrew turn signal rod from housing; could be done sooner than this point if desired.
If the ignition switch rod is still attached at this point, detach, and then housing should pull straight out.
- Reinstall:
An important point here is that the housing will only correctly reinstall being oriented one way only; otherwise there is free up-and-down movement of the housing, and turning the key will not actuate the ignition switch properly.
Here is the housing, on the firewall facing side.
Note the worn areas where it seated.
Roughly 4-6 o' clock, 8-9 o' clock, & 10-12 o' clock.
It must fit back exactly this way.
So if you picked this up and rotated it forward, away from you, this is the direction and roughly the orientation of how it would slide back on the spindle. Not too difficult, just takes some time.
Note the 2 holes for accepting the T-bolts (5 o' clock & 11 o' clock).
When reinstalling housing, slide back onto spindle first, then put the 2 housing bolts into position and start the nuts.
It is important to perform it in this order; bolts cannot be in place prior to sliding housing back on. A pain to fit them back into holes once they are on the column, but otherwise housing won't seat right as described earlier (I discovered this firsthand).
Besides this point, reinstallation should be generally the reverse of removal.
If someone works on this themself and finds better/easier ways to accomplish, please feel free to add to. This is mostly from memory, but I intend to return to this for updates as I'm guessing there are items I've forgotten.
Remember that this job was somewhat unconventional, in that I was removing a damaged housing and replacing with a complete housing. Thus, this "walkthrough" may be somewhat inaccurate, and if so, I don't intend to mislead...of course please advise if anything should be corrected.
A note on the original damage: the only 2 parts that were damaged in my case were the aluminum housing itself (as seen in post #1) and the ignition cylinder. It really was only a new ignition cylinder I would have needed in the end. The thief destroyed the cylinder by breaking the end of it off inside the brass piece below. The damaged piece was easily hammered out through the hole, and no damage was done to anything else.
So...if anyone needs a few spare housing parts...
I have also the gray piece (sorry, not sure of tech term) that the ignition switch rod is attached to, which is held in the housing by a c-clip.
Hopefully this is helpful someday...it's good to be useful.
Please advise with any corrections, improvements, etc.
Thanks to all three above for advice and assistance earlier.
i need to take mine apart again. the button on the bottom of the column gthe allows the ign locking clyinder to return to off is broken on mine and the ign locking cylinder is difficult to turn i can adjust to contact the start or acc but not both. it was in pieces when i got it .
