marzenos

Hi,

Due to clunking noise while moving steering wheel left to right or driving on uneven roads I decided to disassembly steering column (rest assured the noise was coming from the steering column). Everything went smoothly until after reassembling the steering column (with parts from another steering column) my locking mechanism stopped working.

Steps I took:
1. Removed steering column assembly from the car
2. Took it back home (not sure that matters :P)
3. Before disassembling I inserted the key to unlock the detent/ignition pin and kept the key inserted throughout the whole process.
4. After assembling it back together I removed the key and noticed that the steering lock mechanism stopped working - to put it simply my steering wheel doesn't lock when moving it right or left.

Took it apart once again and noticed that my detent is half of the height it should be - pictures here (Imgur).

Any suggestions? Is there anything I can do apart from drilling the bolts and changing the whole ignition lock cylinder mechanism? Thanks.

CELSI0R

It doesn't look like the pin sheared or broke off and instead it looks like it just didn't spring back out. Did you try exercising it and seeing if it still wants to spring back?

marzenos

I tried grabbing the pin with pliers and gently extending it but the pin was stuck in place (like on pic). When moving the key to ACC/START the pin hides perfectly. It's just like you said it doesn't spring back out fully - something blocks it at 1/2 height it should spring back.

CELSI0R

One thought I just had. Did you try to rotate the column?

I recall that when you take the key out, the steering wheel doesn't always lock exactly in its current position. Sometimes, it locks after you wiggle the wheel.

Maybe the column itself is preventing you from locking it because of its current position.

marzenos

If I didn't, how would I know it doesn't lock?

Yes, that's right. There are two slots on the shaft in which the pin goes to block the steering wheel but in my case the pin is too short and it can't reach those blocking slots. Take a look (Imgur) - read the description as well.

CELSI0R

Thanks for the new album you posted to show the input shaft.

It doesn't look like anything from the lock cylinder mechanism is broken in your first set of photos.

The one photo you need is of the inside of the barrel where the lock cylinder slides into and actuates the lock pin.

10:00 minute mark here shows it being actuated manually as well:

Not sure what else to suggest other than something is broken or jammed inside that area between the lock barrel and the steering column.

marzenos

In the video, the whole mechanism moves to the right when the pin is pressed. In my case, it doesn't move - it's already pushed to the right. I know that video shows an Infinity car but maybe that's the problem?


I am thinking about drilling a hole and manually stopping the pin from moving using a cotter pin or something like that (I don't want to risk it somehow locking during driving etc.). In the meanwhile, I am gonna search for another ignition switch assembly.

Thank you for your time CELSI0R.

WhiteUCF

I have a complete '99 steering column in the shop. Everything worked as it should. I can dig through and pull it out tomorrow if I don't get too stressed finishing up my taxes.. I'll send you whatever you need. Just message me on here and I'll get back to you.

CELSI0R

Interesting, when you say pushed to the right, do you mean away from the steering column or toward it?

I can't seem to find any photos of the inside of the pin mechanism, but it seems to be just a solid connection between the pin and the part of the mechanism that slides, potentially with a spring to hold the pin out (seems to be on some cars like this one https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/ste.../#post-7721889 )

That being said, I have no idea how something would get stuck back there to block the pin. Hope you can find another column

marzenos

Away. Towards the center console in the LHD car.


Me neither. In addition, been searching through all kinds of LS400 manuals but I couldn't find anything helpful.

paulo57509

I'm going to guess that it has something to do with the installation of the Ignition Key cylinder.

Some things (a lot of things) in the factory service manual leave a lot to be desired, but there is no mention of inserting the key and unlock the steering prior to removing the lock cylinder. Nor is there any instructions regarding this when re-installing the the lock cylinder. This is from the '98-'00 FSM so it may be model year dependent.