Blinker/Cruise/Wiper Assembly

[gvt]

My blinkers have been acting up lately. After turning a corner the flasher continues to click until I "jiggle the handle". The indicator on the dash in not flashing and I'm not sure about the blinker lights. It's just really annoying! I stopped by the junkyard yesterday and checked out a truck that had the column intact. I didn't get too far though, I had my 4 yr old daughter with, it looks like the steering wheel has to come off??? Is it a major pain in the neck to swap the assembly?? Thanks for any replies!

[MikeC]

gvt,

About two years ago I replaced the lever and switch box in mine. Auto Zone had a OEM looking replacement for $180 iirc.

As far as the install, you need to remove the lower cover on the column. The switch itself is loosened by a couple of screws that come down from the top. One you can easily get to but the other I could see and drilled a hole in the upper cover that was above it. The multi plug is a little bit of a pain where it connects to the main harness.

Overall I would give the R&R a 4/10 for difficulty. Not hard, just tedious.

Mike

[charliepeterson]

You'll find two torque screws on top and two on the bottom. Now the two halves of the steering column almost come apart. The key switch holds the rest together. This doesn't have to come off.
The multi function switch is what's it's called is now accessible. A couple of screws and it's off accept for the harness which runs down the column. Climb under the dash and you will get access to the plug.
The install is just the opposite.

[gvt]

Thanks for the replies! Yesterday I noticed that the wifes Venture van has the same switch, so I may try the junkyard again to see if I can find a "low-mileage" switch. The pick-ups that I looked at all had fairly high miles. Thanks again!

[slagona]

The $150 part from autozone is OEM. You need both male and female thorx bits to remove the lower and upper cover. Two screws for each cover half. All four screws are easily accessible. The upper half screw on the ignition side of the column is hard to see - but it is there. The igition is supposed to be removed, but may be difficult. An easy solution is to cut (utility knife) the cover on the back side of the ignition and slip the cover over the ignition instead of removing the ignition - dealers actually do this. I wasn't too happy about it when I saw that. I thought the truck was still under warranty when I took it in - the only reason that I did that. A few years later when I had to do another vehicle - I ended up cutting the cover at the ignition to remove the cover as I couldn't get the ignition to come out.....

The hardest part is keeping the fingers intact while getting the connectors done under the dash. Plan on 1.5 - 2 hours for the first time - less than a hour for the second time......

There should be some more detailed info out there - try searching this forum for it - hopefully it was put out there after the wipeout.....

--Scott

[charliepeterson]

I've done a few of these switches and I've found it's more work than it's worth to remove the key switch. The job can be done by lifting the top cover from the column and getting access to the screws for the wiper switch. The tough part is fishing the harness down the steering column and plugging into the plug at the bottom.

IIRC to remove the key switch turn the key to on and from the under side look for a small hole. If the truck is in gear it won't start for this. After locating the hole stick a pin into it to release the lock and pull the key switch out. To reinstall just push all the way in.