83 cj5 Ignition push rod?

[opie]

I am having problems with my ignition switch. Or so I thought. I pulled the steering wheel and replaced the ignition key switch. It was still tough to rotate and then would just easily flip back and forth without turning power on or turning over. After looking into the column I realized the little push rod with the gear teeth, that gets pushed back and forth inside the steering column, has broken in half. so I have about 5 inches of the slotted rod pulled out and it appears to have snapped in two. So the rod inside the column is not engaging with what it needs to. Basically I need to replace that rod. It appears I will have to take the entire column apart. I am not familiar with it, nor do I know where to begin to look for this piece(what is it even called) or how to pull it and put back together. Thoughts? Better left to a pro?! Any advice or help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

 

[Torxhead]

A factory service manual has an exploded view of the steering column. It is somewhere out there on the net, possibly someone can see this post and send it.

 

[Jimbos76cj]

Sounds like its time for a cool push start button. You have tilt colums I'm assuming? I just tore mine down to tighten the 4 bolts that make it wobble around when they get loose.. Look up gm column repair and loose gm column in google and you can find several write ups on it. If you have no luck i can check tomorrow and post the sites I used.

 

[cerrajero]

MOST of the part stores call it an ignition switch rack kit
they are anywhere from $10 to $20
and yes it can be a pain but it can be done without the "pros"