This is for a Dodge Dart Swinger, 1973, not a tilt steering wheel model. I am trying to get at my ignition lock cylinder, so I need to remove the bearing housing in the steering column (where the turn signal switch and hazard switch are). I've already removed practically everything that can be removed, including the snap ring behind the turn signal retaining plate. The bearing housing comes out half an inch and then won't come out any more. If anyone has ever changed out an ignition cylinder, how do I get the bearing housing out? Do I have to remove the entire steering column from the car?

This is my first time doing this. Yeah, I removed the three retaining screws that secure the bearing housing to the lock housing. I can't think of anything else that's holding this in. There's slack in the wiring so that the housing can move.

Does anyone know? Thanks for any information shared

I've disassmbled and reassembled columns for most of the TMC's giveaway cars (see http://www.tidewatermoparclub.com); the oldest was a '65 and the newest a '77. They were all pretty similar, and I take the column out of the car before I work on it.

The lock is held in by a small pin; this pin can be easily pushed down to release the lock only when the lock is in the RUN position.

The quick & brutal way to remove the lock is the Detroit way - a dentpuller to rip the lock out. Generally, the pin breaks and no damage is done to the housing. Clean out the junk and the new lock will slide and click into place.

The correct way is what you're doing - the bearing should slide up the shaft, but rust may make it stick. I used WD40 liberally and it's always slid off eventually with a gentle tapping from behind.
With the column out of the car, the rest of the column can be slid down away from the bearing housing pretty easily.

If you know exactly where to drill (consult a spare column), you can drill though the soft metal so you can push down on the release button (or drill right on through the button if the lock is broken or the key is missing). Avoid enlarging the hole that the pin sits in.

For the latter case, I'd do the drilling in 2 seperate steps - one larger hole to let you see the button, and use a smaller drill that matches the buttons size (around 1/8") to drill out the button.

Thanks K.Beard. It isn't as severe as you describe, just an electrical problem, as if something is not contacting. "Start" and "On" do not do anything (The oil light doesn't come on). So I want to change out the switch. I'll try some WD-40 on the bearing housing bearing to try to make it slide off the shaft.

Man it's stuck. This thing doesn't want to budge even after letting the WD-40 soak in overnight. My gentle tapping is only serving to tap the entire shaft out of the coupling in the engine compartment! Then it pushes right back in. That plate behind the housing is in the way of tapping this thing out from behind. I think I am going to have to default to a mechanic on this one

Well, another thought. If you can get the housing an inch or so forward, put a wood block down at the coupling to keep it from sliding back, then GENTLY tap the housing back away from the bearing; maybe the bearing will stick to the shaft and pop out of the housing.

Then you could cobble together a puller to get the bearing free. Be carefull to NOT hit the housing too hard, or you'll shear the plastic pins connecting the 2 pieces of the telescoping (safety) shaft.

Try not to pull the coupling apart; it's really difficult to get the seal to go back on the coupling!

Hmm, how do I get that much clearance to tap the housing outward? That darn plate is in the way of the coupling, too. Here's the image in my head:



Edit: I think I will also change my strategy and try to take the steering column out of the car. Where is the "roll pin" my Haynes is referring to? Somewhere on the coupling (in the engine compartment)?

We're only talking about one coupling... right? Maybe I am confusing it with the bearing sleeve that fits over the shaft in the bearing housing. This is supposedly what is stuck to the shaft! I think, from my Haynes diagram, that it is also connected to the plate?

Please focus my mental picture

The coupling that connects the steering column to the steering box has a ~3/16" spirol-type pin preventing the coupler from sliding up off the serrated shaft of the steering box. It is about 3/8" from the bottom end of the coupler;
you use a punch to push it out.

Try not to have the coupler come apart; it is a royal pain to get the top seal in place.

Other than that, removing the shaft is easy. W/ the shaft disconnected from the steering box, you should get 2+" or more play, maybe enough to clamp the shaft below the bearing in a vise so you can beat the housing down from the bearing.

Even if you damage the housing, they are pretty much interchangeable and easy to come by. Good luck!

Great picture!

If you can grab the shaft w/ vise grips to prevent it sliding down, and leave enough space between it and the housing holding the bearing, you can try to use a punch to tap the housing down & off the bearing.

Don't pry where you marked "pry here", it will just damage something. If you can get the bearing out of the housing, you could then get it free.

Beware of collapsing the steel shaft or the outer housing; they are designed to collapse in an accident to prevent injury to the driver.

You could try to lock a vise grip to the shaft 1/2" above the bearing and try to pull it using the bearing retainer holes, but I predict the soft metal would just strip its threads.

As a worst case, w/ the column out and the coupler removed, you can slide the whole shaft out entirely.
Brace the top end against a block of wood and you'll be able bang on both sides of the bearing housing until something lets go.

I've never seen one so stuck, but Chrysler sometimes smashed things that didn't fit together so hard at the factory that they'd never come apart; they have to be cut to pieces. In that case, I'd try to scrounge spare parts. I've got some parts left over from the giveaway cars if it comes to that, but you should be able to get them locally.

Good luck, Kevin

Thanks for walking me through this, Kevin

Is the roll pin missing?

Good picture; it looks like the pin is missing to me. You could run a drill bit through there just to be sure.

Sometimes the pin IS missing - its purpose is to keep things connected in case of a bad crash; in normal use the column has far too little play to let the coupler pull off and I've never seen a missing pin be a problem.

The ~1" splined shaft from the steering box has a groove below the splines to clear the pin; if the shaft were far out of place you'd see it blocking the hole.

Often, when people work on the couplers, they just forget the pin; it is rare that I've had a professional mechanic work on a car and put *all* the fasteners back.

With the column loose, you just pry between the steering box and the coupler and it should slide apart fairly easily. A little WD40 helps if the steering box splined shaft is really rusty, but as the coupler is full of grease that usually isn't required.

Don't let the column fall down with a crash - a cardboard box can be braced between the wheel and seat
to hold it up.

Note the orientation when you take it apart so it'll be easier to put it back the same way.