A few weeks back I had my sticky ignition key repaired by my Indy. It has completely frozen, so he had to drill out the locking pin to get the assembly out. Once out, he opened the little trap door cover and removed the spring and the pin which extends out to the steering column.


All is well and the assembly has been working like butter ever since. Only thing is that when you turn off the ignition and remove the key, the steering wheel still locks! My understanding is that with that pin and spring removed it should no longer be possible to lock the steering wheel. Is that correct or am I misunderstanding something very basic about this assembly? Not that I'm complaining, but the curiosity is burning a hole in my brain!