im wanting to rebuild the ignition switch for my T because the tumbler is cracked,imjust not sure of how to get it out. i could problably figure it out but i might damage something in the process.
any help greatly appreciated.
I've rebuilt a few 26/27 type switches a couple of weeks ago. Ok, First I gathered old incomplete switches for years.. Many of the tumblers were swollen, cracked and stuck - pot metal disease. Two of them were useable, I bought two repro tumblers so I could make four complete switches out of perhaps 8 to ten incomplete switches. You first check if it's the pin type or the tab type on the back side, the pin type you can disassemble by simply pushing in and turn the rearmost part with the cable connections, the tab type you carefully bend the tabs outwards, not rearwards to minimize deformation. (Most of the tabs hold up for repeated bends, though)
With the rear part off you can pull the rest of the electrical switch innards out. These parts are available as repro, but as most of the time you're better of with original Ford parts if they haven't been in a flood or in a fire
You may have to file them plane, clean the brass contacts, rebend for better springiness, etc.
The rest of the switch parts are likely held by two hollow rivets. They have to be drilled out for disassembly. I don't know where to source new rivets, so I replaced them with oval head screws of similar size. The nuts needed more space than the rivets so the nearest of the Ford switch parts had to be reshaped in the isolation material with a file to give room for the thinnest nuts I could find.
With the rivets off you can get the tumbler out. It may be stuck in a pipe shaped steel part - if the pot metal is swollen and starts to crack it's scrap anyway, you may then have to use some violence to get it out piece by piece..
I found repro tumblers of two kinds, neither one were useable directly from the bag
The one with a cromed look took most work, the brass rectangles inside weren't finished after stamping, they were full with grades and put into the tumbler with force, wouldn't move. I had to force them out and file them flat to be thin enough to move freely. Worst was the too big diameter of the tumbler, the chrome surface was really hard to file down in diameter to fit in the pipe shaped steel part.
The other type of repro tumbler I got had a grey zinc surface much like the originals. It was too long in the main body, so I had to spen quite some time reshaping that one too with the file, but the key action worked OK from the bag.
I bought both at ebay, may be older repros, so I don't know about the quality of the tumblers being offered today, but expect some fitting required.
thank you, thats exactly what i was wondering. i noticed the two rivets and wondered if i had to remove those.
btw an ace hardware SHOULD have those rivets, if not check mccmaster carr or msc.
A word of caution. The works in the switch were originally mounted on a sort of heavy cardboard material. If it has gone bad (as in ruined by moisture), you can get a good reproduction. The one I got from Lang's was excellent, BUT because Ford bought these things from different suppliers there are minor variations. In the case of the tab switch I repaired, the notches in the reproduction works didn't match all the tabs. That was easily fixed by widening one of the notches with a little grinder.
well i got it apart just as you said, just drill the rivets and it comes right apart.
My t had the whole ignition switch replaced about 15 years ago, and the plate isnt stamped exactly like the original, so im transfering the parts from the repro into the original.