Hi,
I am a new poster, what a great board! I have a problem with my 1988 ford f-150. The ignition key was very stiff. This morning I went to start it and I broke the ignition switch (the cylinder you stick the key in). It was never this hard to turn. Other clues are, I cannot move the lever to signal a right turn so that it will stay on. This is a new problem.
The only thing I can think of that I have done is adjust the steering wheel position. Do any of you fine people have any ideas what might be wrong? Thanks in advance!

 

My guess is somebody, at some point, had squirted oil into the cylinder. The oil gummed up and now that it's cold, it's caused it to bind.

You need to get the cylinder removed, cleaned, and lubed properly with graphite.

 

Is it possible the shroud arond the column shifted? I put a new cylinder in and it is still stiff. I also have the problem lacking clearence for the turn signal to the right so it stays on ( it is being blocked by the plastic.

 

I have an 87 F150 that did the same thing. There was some little piece of casting that broke several times. The last time the mechanic said that the guides in the steering column are worn out causing the problem. Since the truck is just for work I had them install a new whole switch in the dash panel and bypassed the original switch.