Okay, I'm going to be surprised and stoked at the same time if anyone has a 100% sure answer for this one...

Any of you ever had the steering column cover and dash off your truck? If you have, you'd see the key barrel assembly. It's supported off of the column by about a 3/4" square cast piece that then clamps around the steering column. The pieces that clamp are a strange headed bolt style that I've never seen.

My question... I want to relocate the key barrel. With my tool choices it would be easiest for me to just simply cut right thru that square arm that extends and holds it off of the column. BUT!!!!!!!!! Is there anything inside that or is it just solely a cast piece for mounting? My gut feeling is I can cut it but I want to be 100% sure!!!

Anyone???


Reason being, I'm putting a new dash in my truck and I want to flush mount the key barrel in it... The problem is the face of the dash is about 4" out from where the key currently is...

 

it might have the lock set up for the steering wheel in there but thats it, the wires should be coming off the back so since u are relocating the key set up u should be able to just cut it but why not just get the right socket or item to pull the lock off?

 

Yes, all the wiring is coming off the back and like you said, the steering lock mechanisim is the only thing I would think might be in there.

I can't even figure out what the tool would be to unbolt it from the column if I wanted to. It's basically two bolts that thread into the cast. Only the heads of the bolts are cone shaped with no holes or flats to grab. Literally like the SNL conehead shapes... I'm not sure how you'd ever grab them to remove let alone even how they were installed.

Next time I'm working on it and have the dash pulled back out I'll snap some photos of it. I need to pull it out to get the gauge holes cut in it still anyways and get them wired up.

 

I had to replace mine. Its a pita you have to drill it and use an easy out, or try grabbing it with some big dykes/side cutters.

 

I'm swapping doors from my 95 part out to my 93 build and I'm also swapping out the ignition switch to keep all the keys the same. I haven't tried it yet, but from talking to some techs at the dealership I work for, they told me to use a dremel and cut a slot in the "cone headed" bolts and use a flathead screw driver to remove them.

I just asked them about it today because that is going to be my project for tomorrow.

Hope that helps!

Ruskymx

 

Oh man, if you see this I'd love to know if there's any mechanism or anything going into the column once you pop it off!!! If the wheel lock is controlled thru there I wouldn't mind if I could set it up so that that steering was always unlocked even without the key.

 

This is the bolt, as it's tightened down the head twists off and just leaves the cone shaped bit you see now. Use a Dremel and cut a slot across it so you can use a plain old screwdriver to remove



you can see the part that makes the steering column lock in the pic below - it's the square bit in the half-circle saddle. this is how most column locks are set up, when you turn the ign key the square bit retracts, simple as that.

 

Thanks for that info and the pictures! I think that ignition barrel is different then what's on mine but I'm sure the concept is the same... Knowing that I'll try to pull it off before getting crazy and destructive with it! LOL

 

Well, for anyone that stumbles on this thread for info reasons. I was able to cut a slot in the lower of the two bolts with a dremel and pull it off with a straight slot screw driver as mentioned. My dremel though didn't like the top bolt and messed it up pretty bad. So... the destructive nature came into play and I just pried the clamp open essentially until I could slide it off. I had no intention of remounting it on the column so that was fine with me. After a ton of thinking and brain storming along with my welder and some lucky hardware I found in the garage I got it mounted in the relocated spot that works well with the new dash. So far the whole thing is coming together pretty nice amazingly enough!

 

I still didn't tackle mine yet because of the top bolt. The bottom seems easy to do but the top would be tricky. I'm leaving that task for a later date because I have other stuff to deal with to get my 93 to pass inspection so I can get her back on the road.

Ruskymx

 

Yeah, my dremel wouldn't fit in good enough to get the top bolt so once I got the lower bolt out I literally pried the tin clamp open enough to slide it off over the top of the column. Once it was off I was able to unscrew it actually by just grabbing that half of the clamp and spinning it... The bolt broke loose easily. If I was going to reuse that clamp I could've pretty easily stuck it in a vice and massaged it back to usable shape again.