I had to take my steering column apart today because I couldn't get the key to turn properly. It turned out that there was nothing wrong. I had just bumped the part of the outer column that rotates and once I rotated it back into place everything worked as it should.

This is what I had to do.

Remove everything as you had to previously. Then remove the blinker arm by unscrewing the phillips screw. Unscrew the tilt lever if you have one and unscrew the flasher knob. At the base of the column seperate the large wire connectors that hook the column wiring to the wiring harness.

Remove the 3 phillips screws holding the blinker switch assembly in place. You should be able to gently slide the the switch assembly up. You should see 3 large silver phillips screws ( mine are #3 phillips ) remove these. There should be one more small phillips screw visible. Lossen it and back it almost all the way out.

Now you should be able to slide the blinker switch and the part of the column upwards exposing the gear and rack that need attention. There is a small cover that should slip out. The Rack is alum and should be okay. You will see a plastic gear with a spring and snap ring. Remove the screw you loosened and the spring. Be careful with the spring as it is connected to the column lock bolt. Remove the snap ring and you will be able to push the shaft through the gear. You can then remove the broken gear.

I think I got my replacement from American Performance Products. The shaft hole was a bit undersized on the flats and I had to file the flats down on the key shaft a bit to get it to slide in. The last part will make sense when you get everything apart.