Well it finally happened! My truck would not start and the key pretty much free turned in the switch. This is suppose to be the sign of a faulty Ignition switch located on the steering column or the "ignition actuator" located behind the steering wheel. My issue is the actuator does not appear to be broken, the rod moves fine, but it will not start the truck. When you turn the key the rod moves, but not far enough to allow the truck to start, I can use pliers and push it the rest of the way. When I took the steering wheel off and got to the actuator it does not appear to be broken at all.
I have tried adjusting the location of the ignition switch but nothing is happening.
What do you guys think the problem is?
Is there a trick to adjusting the ignition switch?
Just cause the rod moves can the actuator still be broken?
Thanks,
Charlie

 

It starts when you force the rod with pliers? When you say the key is loose is it wobbling around? Hold the rod with your fingers and then turn the key...it should be fairly firm if there is too much play then you prob need a new key cylinder. If that's the case do yourself a favor and get a real one from Rockauto. The 20 dollar Duralast POS will fail in a a few months.
There are gear teeth that turn the actuator rod ..check those. i forget exactly what they are on but they are in there somewhere...lol. Actuator is not hard to change if you do it like the redneck on youtube...lmao. He cut off a small section and it slides right in without taking the damn tilt mechanism apart which is a real pita..i did it and have had no issues since.

 

I got it all fixed. Turns out my actuator was broken. I did follow the redneck video and everything went well except for putting the key switch back in. The gears must line up but there was no logic or markings. I had to remove the key switch at least 50 times and move it and try again. I finally got it.