I agree. I like being able to do things myself. I hope I'm instilling that in my little boys.

Slickshoes you're a DIY leader.

I'm ok swapping heads...but not so sure I'm willing to do the rear end/tranny swap in my garage (or in your case, driveway!).

 

I had it done recently by my dealer for 600 and change. I supplied the part off the internet. I was a DIY'er until back troubles set in.

 

Lol, thanks Joe. I am trying to arrange what I have of my Heater Core swap pictures, but I ended up with corruption in a bunch of them. That last haul had me out working in the driveway again till 0430 the other morning in 38* weather- my camera didn't take kindly to that. The flash was slow to illuminate and the internal mechanics were slow as well, which resulted in improperly exposed pics for a lot of the final steps. I will dig up what I can and pirate pics from others to piece mine together.

Sorry for the OT stuff, OP.

Hoonose, yeah I can understand that. Interior work or anything in/behind/under the dash is a no-go if your back is tweaked. $600 + $350-$400 for the part- still steep. Eek.

 

Is he column lock only on the manual trans cars?

 

I think labor was $200-300, the part was $300 and change. The total was $600 and something.

 

Yes and only '05's.

 

Excellent write-up

 

Thank you, thank you, thank you!

I've had this problem intermittently for three years and it always strikes at the worst possible time!

I'm not sure if its actually related but my '05 only seems to do this when its been sitting in the sun (black on black). If the interior temp is 85F or below, never a problem. Weird.

 

I noticed I had the problem only once or twice...when I've been forced to let valets park my car.

I suspect, but cannot prove, that the valets leave the wheels cocked with pressure against the column that causes the pin to have a hard time locking the column.

I personally always make sure the wheels are not against the stops or applying pressure to the column so it has an easy job going in and out. I've noticed on the rare occasion when I've parked with wheels cocked and pressure on the steering wheel, the pin makes a lot more noise retracting.

 

I could see temperature affecting that crappy little nylon gear in the SCL internals if it's borderline.

 

I agree, in my experience, after a few years nylon gets brittle. I have had other similar nylon gears fail.

The clutch sector gears on mid 80's Mustangs come to mind...how many of those did I replace. The seem to be the same nylon material. At least I learned to float gears delivering pizzas in my 83 GT.

 

I seem to be having the same issue but my car is an automatic 2005. any suggestions?"

 

Sorry no clue if not MN6

 

Anyone have a part number for the SCL? Thank you.

 

Part #: 88963402

 

I know this thread is over a year old but I wanted thank csnow for such a good DIY guide. Did this little project last weekend and everything went really well. Best of all, the thing works how it's supposed to now, no more worrying over it not starting.



I took the original actuator apart and found a stripped plastic gear that is the obvious culprit. It's a wonder that it didn't just fail all together and cause the car to simply not start at all (the ole disconnect the battery terminal and wait 10 seconds trick ALWAYS worked for me).

Anyway, just wanted to give my thanks as this thread saved me a bunch of time and heartache!

 

Sorry for dragging this up, but it may be my problem (can't really tell from the description).

Mine has failed 3 times in the last month. This is what it does. I park it in the garage, turn everything off and make sure the column is locked. It seems to happen if it has sat for more than a day. When it occurs, I get in the car and the steering wheel is unlocked (I know I locked it), I have power to everything, but the engine never starts or engages when I start it. I take off the negative terminal wire, put it back on, and the steering wheel then locks and the car starts.

Is the the same problem? Is this the fix?

Thanks!

 

Look around as there is now a SCL bypass plug available from Corvettes in Houston, something like $80 and you're done!

 

Low 12's: Based on the fact that it works when you pop off the negative battery terminal I would say it sure sounds like this issue.

Some other questions to narrow it down:

Is your car a manual 05? (this is a specific issue for these models)

Can you hear the lock actuator when you try to start the car? What I mean by this is when mine was malfunctioning it made a sort of groaning sound...but when it was working properly I heard more of a quick 'zip' like an electric motor turning very quickly just before the starter would turn and the car would fire. If you hear the groan then that should be a dead give away.

Do you get the 'service steering column lock' on the DIC when it fails to start?

If you feel up for it, this thread will make it fairly easy to replace the thing yourself. Just one caution: be EXTREMELY CAREFUL when you are messing with the steering wheel position sensor and its plugs...we also have the fortune of a Technical Service Bulletin issue associated with our model years where the plug can get pulled and cause the Active Handle to malfunction (car likes to activate the Active Handling and hit the brakes when you're driving slow in a straight line )

Anyway, I wish you the best of luck...I know this thing drove me crazy for about a month til i diagnosed it. Once I found this thread and got it fixed it changed my life for the better! LOL

 

Wow, I am glad this thread has been helpful to the community and still around.

Low 12's,

Your problem sounds like the SCL, especially considering it will start after you let it sit with the negative off. I would probably look at the bypass that is now available. If this would have been available when I did mine, I would have gone that route for sure.

Chris