Steve83

I did look. All your pics in post #40 show white Lithium grease on the column & actuators.

Low-temperature (non-disk) wheel bearing grease is white lithium. Most spray grease is white lithium. Every parts store I've ever been in (which is a LOT) has plenty.
$4.50
$3.50
$3.90
$9

pixelpadre

you dont see white lithium in the pics (its yellow and please dont tell me it changed colors over time), what you see is not anything that can be purchased. It is dried out brittle remnants of what used to be inside the actuator track. And whatever it originally was....was made in 1994. I would venture to guess that grease compositions have evolved since then.

Now you are suggesting that spray white lithium is sufficient? spray lithium and tube lithium arent anything alike.

stancook1

Steve83, I have a similar problem. Bought ‘94 S/C. The guy was using a screw drive to operate the cylinder lock. I installed a new cylinder and everything works but I can’t remove the key even though the key is in the right position. AND the steering wheel doesn’t lock. I purchased a steering column from a JY, mostly to get the wheel (he also ruined the cruise & horn buttons). Kind of half afraid to tackle the full swap but the column does have the cylinder & keys, and the wheel is locked. How hard is this really?

pixelpadre

4 bolts and the entire column is sitting on the ground.

stancook1

Thanks. I may give it a try. I presume it’s all plug and play.

Steve83

If the wheel won't lock: the key isn't in the lock position, &/or the actuator isn't timed, &/or the actuator is separated/broken. If the key won't come out, it's not in the lock position. What's the brand, PN, & source of the lock cylinder? Post pics.Not very, IF you read all the captions in the first link in post #28.

stancook1

I think I got the cylinder from O’Reilly’s. It is a LockSmart, P/N LC14380 (made in Taiwan). Many things on this truck were rigged to work, not repaired to specification by the original owner, from whom I purchased it. I called it a time filling project truck. It’s becoming a headache but it will not win. It won’t be like new but it will be functional and right.

stancook1

I find that there is at least one difference in the ‘94 vs. ‘96 steering column: the arm that the gear indicator attaches to is in a different location, so the cable lengths are different (if I remember right, the ‘96 is shorter as the arm is closer to the top of the column).

Steve83

No, none of that changed. All the same parts. The only change to the indicator was the material its guide tube is made from (brittle white to reinforced black).

stancook1

I’m all confused now. I’ll know more when I get the column out of the ‘94 and do a direct comparison but I’m beginning to think it’s not the original column, nor is it one from ‘92–‘96. Could that be why the key doesn’t lock the column, nor am I able to remove it from the cylinder? And why the indicator cable attachment arm is in a “different” location? I found the cable unattached and laying over the top of the column. Am I correct in presuming that cable should pass beneath the column?