Busted ignition - ignition cylinder rod replacement

[cmw]

Just played this game myself.

1999 LC with ~330k feel like I leaned on or bumped the steering wheel while turning the key, lucky the rod broke in the OFF position.

Points I might add or stress:

Watch the video a few times, it really does cover the topic
Read post #180 as to inserting the new rod
You should not need to remove the ignition switch (the "white thing") it needs to be loosed to create a ~1/8" gap
Fishing out the broken-off stub with a bent wire was a BI+CH, hemostats would have helped
I didn't need to disconnect any electrical connectors from the bracket assembly or ignition switch
A 3" piece of galvanized conduit was the perfect size to hold back the steering lock bolt, approx ID .615 OD .715
Made a 7"pick with a 90° 1/4" end to push the steering lock bolt
Replacement 7850B rod from Amazon required delicate file-work to reinstall the brass bits

WRT installing the new rod, as described in post #180
Put the ignition switch fully to OFF (fully counter-clockwise with a long flat head screwdriver)
The white ignition switch needs to be away from the back/bottom of the tube 1/8" (screws loosened)
The rod needs to be inserted in to the housing with the brass tab at 12 o'clock and wiggled a little counter-clockwise to seat
The rod is then turned to put the tab at ~4pm - this is the ACC position to match the lock cylinder because...
The key cylinder within the lock MUST be turned to ACC for the cylinder to be inserted into the housing
Once the lock is back in the housing, having easily mated to the properly positioned rod, turn the key to OFF
With the key set to OFF you can now press the ignition switch back into place easily, indicating everything is aligned.
Tighten the screws securing the white ignition switch.


Conduit and pick are going into the vehicle tool bag

 

[saucebox]

Oof, not even my worst enemy. Finally back on the road after 2 months of diag, broken parts, and a severe inability to work on it more than an hour or two at a time. Root cause on this one: me. Heavy 37" tires/steering, less than careful sometimes during crank, and somewhere in the process of getting things replaced I broke the ground wire for an aftermarket alarm system and just wiped out any immobilizer signal.

Even with 36 pages of the right answer, I still managed to install it 180º out, which creates the super fun condition of your steering locking up when driving. So you park it, and get to the second condition: battery drain. Yeesh—so very, very strange that it's designed this way.

All said though, thanks to all that did all the figuring out and posted here. Chunky to read through and sort out which position applies to which model year, but it's here. I'm no longer considering arson.

 

[Tinkerer]

...Root cause on this one: me. Heavy 37" tires/steering, less than careful sometimes during crank, ...

Was not tracking this forum for a while, missed this issue. Holy cow. Hope my stock wheels/tires and unloading steering wheel lock while turning key save me from this. Don't have time or inclination to replace as PM.

 

[Tinkerer]

Given the time and hassle to replace the rod, plus the pitfalls and the likelihood of sub-par aftermarket rod which may itself break in service, why not just replace the assembly, $251 + shipping for OEM Toyota part 45280-60510 ?

Busted ignition - ignition cylinder rod replacement - https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/busted-ignition-ignition-cylinder-rod-replacement.57050/post-15177004

https://lexus.oempartsonline.com/oem-parts/lexus-upper-bracket-4528060510

Time is money. $251 seems like a good investment to make the repair much easier, less time-consuming, and more likely to last.

Side note: There are multiple aftermarket 7853B compatible rods on Amazon. That implies that this is significant problem worldwide, creating a market for rods.

 

[2001LC]

36 pages of busted rods.

Yet, I've never seen one. Am I lucky or what!

 

[excessive]

I bought a new OEM one on the last 25% off sale. I'm replacing it preventatively so I dont have to worry about it . hope to do it sometime soon

 

[saucebox]

Given the time and hassle to replace the rod, plus the pitfalls and the likelihood of sub-par aftermarket rod which may itself break in service, why not just replace the assembly, $251 + shipping for OEM Toyota part 45280-60510 ?

Busted ignition - ignition cylinder rod replacement - https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/busted-ignition-ignition-cylinder-rod-replacement.57050/post-15177004

https://lexus.oempartsonline.com/oem-parts/lexus-upper-bracket-4528060510

Time is money. $251 seems like a good investment to make the repair much easier, less time-consuming, and more likely to last.

Side note: There are multiple aftermarket 7853B compatible rods on Amazon. That implies that this is significant problem worldwide, creating a market for rods.

That's the direction I took, yeah. The security bolts had already been replaced with Allen head bolts, so I wasn't the first of this truck's owners with the problem. I also bought one of the $12 Amazon rods as a spare to compare, and I'll probably run OEM again next time.

@2001LC I imagine wisdom and mechanical sympathy go a long, long way here. But this will likely break on me (and likely others) again. At least a handful of us want to push these trucks beyond "big Subaru", and the wispy pot metal rod just isn't going to hold up long term. I'm about due for a column rebuild to update bushings and the like, and will find a way to chop out the steering lock at that time. Without that force on it, it should hold for nearly forever.

 

[2001LC]

Never force IG key. Key should turn with absolute no feel of pressure, being hung up or caught. Not even a little! Which people mistake, for a bad key or sticky tumbler.

IG SW has a steering wheel locking pin, back end of rod. If steering wheel turned, after IG key removed. Pin locks, and spring back tension from rubber of tires. Put presses against locking pin. We then feel some resistance, as we try to turn IG key. Force key at this point, and rod breaks as it designed to. By simply, releasing pressure off locking pin, by turning steering wheel. We save the rod from breaking.

The rod is part of security design.

 

[Tinkerer]

Never force IG key. Key should turn with absolute no feel of pressure, being hung up or caught. Not even a little! Which people mistake, for a bad key or sticky tumbler.

IG SW has a steering wheel locking pin, back end of rod. If steering wheel turned, after IG key removed. Pin locks, and spring back tension from rubber of tires. Put presses against locking pin. We then feel some resistance, as we try to turn IG key. Force key at this point, and rod breaks as it designed to. By simply, releasing pressure off locking pin, by turning steering wheel. We save the rod from breaking.

The rod is part of security design.

"Never force IG key. Key should turn with absolute no feel of pressure, being hung up or caught. Not even a little! Which people mistake, for a bad key or sticky tumbler."

Correct.

However:

"We then feel some resistance, as we try to turn IG key. Force key at this point, and rod breaks as it designed to."
"The rod is part of security design."

Unlikely with a new rod that is not fatigued yet.

The rods are breaking because of high cycle fatigue, cracks propagate to failure as cycling continues.

Reality check: There is no need to design a rod to break when steering wheel is locked. The locked steering wheel maintains the anti-driveaway-theft function. A correct key is the only way to apply torque to the rod, and in that case the designer doesn't want the rod to break because it most likely is not an attempted theft.

 

[2001LC]

Perhaps it's not a design breakage, perhaps it is. IDRK!

But I've work with over 200 LC & LX 100 series over last 23 years. Form 3yr old w/24K mile to 27yr w/over 400K miles. Not one busted IG rod. If this a fatigue issue and design flaw. I must be luckiest person on the plant. As I've yet to see a busted rod.

 

[Tinkerer]

Perhaps it's not a design breakage, perhaps it is. IDRK!

But I've work with over 200 LC & LX 100 series over last 23 years. Form 3yr old w/24K mile to 27yr w/over 400K miles. Not one busted IG rod. If this a fatigue issue and design flaw. I must be luckiest person on the plant. As I've yet to see a busted rod.

All else being equal, high cycle fatigue will cause failure sooner with greater magnitude stress peaks.

Some drivers are more careful about unloading the steering wheel side force when locked, when turning the key. This reduces the peak torque on the rod.

Maybe you have been working on vehicles mostly driven by people who are the types who are more careful to unload the locked wheel when turning the key.

The other variable assuming material defect is not an issue: Number of cycles. Some drivers do mostly highway miles, their key is turned fewer cycles over time, maybe such drivers are overrepresented in your client pool.

Guaranteed Toyota did not design the rod to fail. Too much risk of warranty claims, not to mention customer ill will that would tarnish the LC reputation.