95 Windstar Ignition Problem

Having a problem with my wife's Windstar that's puzzling me. She called me on Friday from Wal-Mart and said that the car wouldn't shut off. I wasn't very far from her, so I went to look at it. I could tell that nothing was moving when turning it into the off position. It'll start, but won't shut off, I initially thought it was the cylinder. I replaced it yesterday and that turned out to not be the problem. Next on the assumption list would be the ignition switch itself, but I'm a little wary of that now. I went out and put the cylinder in the off position and the steering wheel won't lock. Does anyone know if the switch is responsible for locking the steering wheel? I suspect not from the looks of it, anybody got any other ideas what it might be?

It is as I feared guys, it's the actuator that's broken inside the steering column. I've got everything off of it. Now I have to remove the entire steering column from the car and disassemble it to get to them. There's actually 2 of them and they're joined together by a pin.

Okay Wiswind, here's a couple more for your scrapbook. First, the nightmare!

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Here's the culprit, notice that the actuators are in fine shape, it's the pin that's missing.

http://s1226.photobucket.com/albums/ee406/uzzo2/?action=view&current=100_5001.jpg#!oZZ2QQcurrentZZhttp%3A%2F%2F s1226.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fee406%2Fuzzo2%2F% 3Faction%3Dview%26current%3D100_5002.jpg (http://s1226.photobucket.com/albums/ee406/uzzo2/?action=view&current=100_5001.jpg#%21oZZ2QQcurrentZZhttp%3A%2F% 2Fs1226.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fee406%2Fuzzo2%2 F%3Faction%3Dview%26current%3D100_5002.jpg)

Here's the procedure:

With the tilt wheel there is a stiff spring located on the bottom of the column, it takes a small spring compressor to reinstall the spring. Here is the procedure to remove the steering column, and the dis assembly of the column to replace the actuators, this procedure is from the Ford Service Manual (http://www.justanswer.com/ford/2xf14-95-ford-windstar-ignition-switch-actuator-rod-broken.html#), This is all there is out there so the diagrams are the only ones I have access to, hope this helps.
CAUTION: Do not remove the steering column, steering wheel (3600) , and air bag module as an assembly from the vehicle unless the column is locked to prevent rotation. Lower end of steering shaft should be wired to prevent the steering wheel from being rotated and causing the air bag sliding contact (14A664) to become mis-indexed.

Steering Column (http://www.justanswer.com/ford/2xf14-95-ford-windstar-ignition-switch-actuator-rod-broken.html#), Tilt

Removal
WARNING: THE ELECTRICAL (http://www.justanswer.com/ford/2xf14-95-ford-windstar-ignition-switch-actuator-rod-broken.html#) CIRCUIT NECESSARY FOR AIR BAG SYSTEM DEPLOYMENT IS POWERED DIRECTLY FROM THE BATTERY (10655) AND A BACKUP POWER SUPPLY. TO AVOID ACCIDENTAL DEPLOYMENT AND POSSIBLE PERSONAL INJURY, THE BATTERY POSITIVE CABLE MUST BE DISCONNECTED FOR A MINIMUM OF ONE MINUTE TO DE-ENERGIZE THE BACKUP POWER SUPPLY PRIOR TO REMOVING ANY OF THE AIR BAG SYSTEM COMPONENTS.
NOTE: All components of the steering column are assembled with fasteners which are designed to prevent loosening due to vibrations associated with normal vehicle operation.


Park vehicle with the wheels (1007) in a straight-ahead position.



Disconnect the battery to starter relay cable (14300) and wait for one minute before beginning to remove steering column assembly.



Remove steering wheel (3600) .



Remove two screws and instrument panel steering column cover (04459) .

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Remove three screws and instrument panel steering column cover reinforcement.

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Remove two screws and steering column opening brace.

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ItemPart NumberDescription1 3514 Steering Column Assembly 2 3E644 Steering Column Absorber 3 N801555-S2 Nut 4 - Steering Column Opening Brace (Part of 04320) 5 - Screw (Part of 04320) A - Tighten to 23-32 Nm (18-23 Lb-Ft)



Disconnect electrical connectors between main wiring (14401) and steering column. Disconnect shift lock actuator (3Z719) .

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Disconnect transaxle control selector indicator loop from transmission column shift selector tube (7212) . Remove screw and transaxle control transmission control selector indicator (7A110) from steering column.

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Remove steering shaft-to-intermediate shaft universal joint pinch bolt.

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Remove four nuts securing steering column absorber (3E644) to steering column and instrument panel reinforcement (04545) .



Remove four nuts securing steering column to instrument panel reinforcement .



Lower steering column to floor.



Using screwdriver, snap shift cable off of selector lever arm.

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Using screwdriver, lift tab on shift cable retainer and remove shift cable from bend bracket.

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Remove steering column from vehicle.

Installation


Reverse the removal instructions.


Steering Column

Disassembly


Remove steering column from vehicle as described in this section.



Unscrew and remove tilt wheel handle and shank (3F609) , if equipped.

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Remove three screws and lower steering column shroud (3530) .



Turn ignition switch lock cylinder (11582) to RUN position.



Using flat-tipped punch, push on button below ignition switch lock cylinder and pull out ignition switch lock cylinder .

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Remove upper steering column shroud . CAUTION: Be sure air bag sliding contact internal lock is engaged. Hub should not turn more then 45 degrees in either direction.



Using door trim removal tool, remove air bag sliding contact electrical connectors from bend bracket. CAUTION: Do not remove wire harness clips from wire bundle.



Using door trim removal tool, disconnect two wire harness clips from steering column.



Remove key warning buzzer contact and anti-theft contact from ignition lock cylinder pocket of steering column tube flange (3511) .

Steering Wheel With Air Bag


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ItemPart NumberDescription 1 16043B13 Driver Side (http://www.justanswer.com/ford/2xf14-95-ford-windstar-ignition-switch-actuator-rod-broken.html#) Air Bag Module 2 N804385-S100 Screw 3 N606676-S36 Screw 4 3F785 Plug 5 14A664 Air Bag Sliding Contact 6 390345-S36 Screw 7 3600 Steering Wheel A - Tighten to 36-46 Nm (25-34 Lb-Ft) B - Tighten to 2-3 Nm (18-27 Lb-In)



Remove air bag sliding contact (14A664) by pushing snap back at 6 o'clock position, then 3 o'clock position, then 12 o'clock position and remove from steering shaft.

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Remove suspension height sensor control ring (3C131) and steering column upper bearing tolerance ring (3L539) .

Steering Column


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ItemPart NumberDescription1 3C131 Suspension Height Sensor Control Ring 2 7302 Transmission Selector Lever Arm and Support 3 3D681 Steering Column Lower Bearing Retainer 4 7A216 Transmission Shift Selector Position Insert 5 7212 Transmission Column Shift Selector Tube 6 - Selector Indicator Attachment Point (Part of 7212) 7 7210 Gearshift Lever 8 3511 Steering Column Tube Flange 9 13318 Turn Indicator Cancel Cam 10 3520 Steering Column Upper Bearing Spring 11 3F752 Solenoid, Brake Shift Interlock 12 3676 Steering Column Bend Bracket



Remove turn indicator cancel cam (13318) by pushing up with flat-bladed screwdriver. Note direction of flush surface.

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Remove ignition switch (11572) .

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Remove upper bearing retainer snap ring and steering column upper bearing spring (3520) .

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Remove steering column tube bearing sleeve (3518) and steering column upper bearing tolerance ring .



Remove gearshift lever (7210) .



Remove brake/shift interlock solenoid retaining screws and remove solenoid assembly.

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Remove shift control assembly and transmission shift selector position insert (7A216) .

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ItemPart NumberDescription 1 7302 Transmission Selector Lever Arm and Support 2 N806584 Screws (6 Req'd) 3 7202 Transmission Column Shift Selector Lever 4 7335 Gearshift Lever Socket Bushing 5 - Brake Shift Lock Solenoid
(Part of 3Z719) A - Tighten to 7-11 Nm
(5-8 Lb-Ft)



Using a drift, tap steering column lock actuator lever pin (3F530) loose. Remove with diagonal pliers.

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Remove plastic bearing retainer from bore of lock cylinder.

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Remove steering column lock housing bearing (3E700) from lock cylinder bore.

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Remove steering column lock gear (3E717) .



Remove two pivot bolts. Use caution as steering column position spring (3D655) will release when bolts are removed. Remove steering column tube flange .

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Remove steering shaft from steering column.



Remove upper and lower steering column lock actuators.

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Remove steering column lower bearing retainer (3D681) and steering column lower mounting bracket.

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Remove tilt lock lever pivot pin using a drift. Remove steering column locking levers and springs.

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Assembly
Reverse disassembly directions.


This job calls for 3.5 hours shop time, if I had some extra money on my hands. I would've GLADLY paid someone for that labor. I can promise you that I'll have a lot more than that in it by the time it's all said and done. The parts will be here in the morning. It'll be a damned miracle if I get it all put back together and it works right. If you want, we can change the subject as well to reflect the actual problem.