My ignition cylinder pooped out this week so I brought it by the locksmith for disassembly. Either they lost the rocker arm spring or it wasn't there in the first place, but it is gone now. I was able to get everything put back together and it appears to work properly.

Will missing the spring for the rocker arm cause any serious issues? I would hate for my steering to lock up going around a turn or something else bad.

Also, I stole this pic from Captain Obvious's thread.

Been a while since I was inside the lock, but I believe that spring/rocker/pin assy has two functions. The first is to activate the "key in ignition" chime switch. The second is the hold and latch the steering wheel lock OFF once the key has been turned away from the "LOCK" position.

The rear part of the bar catches a slot in the steering lock slide and holds it out of the way until the key is removed completely. So when removing the key, you aren't fighting the steering lock slide spring the whole time. It snaps into place when the last tip of the key finally leaves the lock. Problem is, however, I don't remember how the rest of the steering lock works, so I don't know if you would run into any problems at the other end of travel. In other words, I don't know if there would be any issues all the way around over at the "START" position.

Why don't you just buy a replacement at a hardware store? Here's some pics that should help you find a suitable replacement or something close enough that you could modify it to work:

And for good measure, here's how the "key in ignition" switch connects:

Thanks for the extra pics. I thought the spring rested in the cylinder underneath the rocker arm. From what I could tell the cam (round/flat bottom side) of the switch linkage is what allows the steering lock to engage/disengage. When the key is any position past off it is disengaged.

I will give them a call just in case they found the spring, but if not I will hit up the home depot.

Thanks again

Edited June 2, 201311 yr by hogie

I may have a crappy core that I will give you if you pay shipping. Can't be more than $5. PM me if interested. I changed mine to a new Key Lock from Advanced when mine started going wonky and killing the ignition while I was on the road.

Thanks for the offer. I got very lucky the locksmith actually found my spring. I have no clue how as the shop had parts strewn everywhere.

Now that I replaced the spring the column lock pops back with a snap as soon as the key is fully removed. Before hand it slid out slowly after pulling the key.

Now that I replaced the spring the column lock pops back with a snap as soon as the key is fully removed.

As it should be. That's the second function of the spring and rocker bar I mentioned above.

When the key is inserted and turned off "LOCK" for the first time, that rocker bar latches the locking mechamism out of the way until the key is completely removed. The snap you hear is when the rocker bar unlatches the lock mechanism and lets the lock snap into place.

Glad they found it!