nubuilder
Why buy new when you can restore?
Thanks Bernie!!!Bernie, you don't happen to have any pics of the process or plan on doing a write up do you? If mine ever breaks (knock on wood) I'd like to know what I'm getting myself into before I start.
I didn't take any pics (hard to do that from under the dash) and I hadn't planned on doing a write-up, but I can give you the highlights.
First, if you follow the instructions in the Chilton's book you'll be tearing your hair out. Chilton's leaves a couple of important steps out, and gives some conflicting info. For example, they direct you to disconnect the harness from the bulkhead connector, but the harness doesn't go to the bulkhead (firewall), only to a plug halfway down the column, and you have to remove the center bolt from that plug (and another bolt holding it to the bracket under the dash to move it to a position where you can actually get to that bolt from).
To get at the switch you have to pull the steering wheel and take apart the two piece cover on the column. The problem with that is the upper cover has the ignition lock cylinder through it, and the hole in the cover is too small to get over the lock. If you look in Chilton's they tell you that to replace the switch you have to remove both covers, and to remove the upper cover you have to pull the lock cylinder. However, their instructions for removing the lock cylinder tell you to remove the upper cover first. (WTF?)
Once you get that sorted out (I did it the sneaky way and managed to lift the cover enough to get a ratcheting 1/4" wrench in there with a T-25 Torx bit in it to loosen the upper screw on the switch without removing the cover at all) then you have the fun of trying to get the two wire connector off the shift linkage. That one was fun, and caused much cussing and bleeding because it's in a small space just big enough to get one hand in (helps if you have small hands and are double jointed - I'm not and have big hands) that's surrounded by some very sharp edged sheet metal. Once you do get your hand on it then you have to press in a very strong plastic locking tab to unlock it, while trying to pull it off at the same time. Because of the location you'll be trying to do this left-handed using only two fingers and your thumb, while kneeling outside the vehicle with your nose mashed up against the dash.
Putting it all back together goes a bit easier, but you can probably count on at least one of the plastic tabs on the column shroud snapping off, and good luck getting the screws back in on the lower cover.
Damn, looks like you had fun! I hate it when a manual tells you to do the same things (the lock and cover). I've got the same manual as you do probably. I'm gonna print this and put it in my manual so I have it.
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if I had holes. 
