2nd Gen Non-Engine/Transmission 2002 3500 Dually... Steering column lock hangs up

[Motorhead]

I have a good friend that I do all the work on her 2002, 3500 Dually, 2wd, automatic trans. The truck was bought new by her. It has about 110,000 miles. She called me the other day saying that it took many times to get the steering lock to disengage. I went and checked the lock, graphite lubed the lock cylinder and I talked to her about not turning the key off with the wheels turned hard. She called me today and even with the wheels straight, she had a time getting the key to unlock the steering lock. The Ignition key is not worn.
Any tips on what might be wrong? I am going to remove the column covers tomorrow and check things.

 

[Motorhead]

Nobody experienced this?

 

[fest3er]

I haven't experienced it with my '98 in the 18 years I've owned it. Those times when the wheel is held hard against lock so the key won't turn, I automatically rotate the wheel a bit to free it.

That said, there is mechanical leverage and maybe some sliding used to lock/unlock the wheel. You at least need to grease the mechanism; you may need to lightly grind/deburr and polish a surface or two to let it move/slide freely again. This probably entails disassembling the whole thing. And being very careful about the airbag.

 

[Motorhead]

Thanks Neal, I too owned a second gen for 120,000 miles and never encountered this. When I searched the pages here on the TDR, I didn't find anything either. I'm going to get the truck here in a few minutes and luckily, I saved the factory shop manuals from my '01.5 second Gen. I am going to see if she has the second key for the truck too and have her use it for a while. I'll report back my findings.

 

[Motorhead]

So here is what I did and I have asked her to drive it and let me know.
I took the column covers off, pulled the ignition key tumbler assembly and pulled the ignition switch part away from the steering column assembly. I have a third gen truck since 2007 but I kept the Factory Shop manuals from my 2001.5. The manual specifically states that there are a few parts in the column locking assembly that are NOT to be taken apart and that if it has issues, the whole Tilt column assembly has to be replaced. I looked inside the locking assembly and the factory amber grease was plentiful and showed no signs of something coming apart. I pushed the grease back into the lock assembly. I used spray graphite and sprayed it into the lock pin area. The ignition SWITCH assembly has two different pins coming from the back of it and leading into the column lock. I have a spray light grease that I carefully applied to the rotating parts of the back side of the switch. It works much smoother now. Lastly....Well ACTUALLY FIRST, I took her daily usage key and luckily she had the second FACTORY key that had never seen any use. I measured BOTH the peaks and valleys and found maybe .005" difference in a few places of wear on the daily use key. I told her to use the daily use key and if it stuck again to then try the other, non wear key and see if the switch moves. So that is where I stand now with this.
This Gal has been a long time friend and neighbor and is one of the nicest people you could meet. She just turned 74, doesn't take a SINGLE medication and is a daily horse rider. She gets into her 2002 Dually with her living quarters, horse trailer and will go to Arizona, Utah, ect for 4-6 weeks at a time with other horse riders. SO you can see why I try to keep her truck in even better order than my own. I don't want her to get stranded anywhere.