Disassembly (Continental)

Disconnect negative battery cable. Remove steering wheel. See STEERING WHEEL R & I . Remove steering column from vehicle. See STEERING COLUMN R & I .
Remove slip ring brush assembly and harness. See Figure. Remove key warning switch.
Remove tilt pressure spring and tilt detent lever spring. Remove forward bracket. Remove cover plate from column housing.
Remove tilt cable bracket (with cable attached) and tilt lever bracket from column housing. Using a pair of vise-grip pliers, clamp tilt detent lever in fully open position. Remove tilt detent locator.
Remove tilt assembly bracket. Remove ignition switch. Remove retainer, washer and lock cylinder gear from lock cylinder bore in column housing. Remove lock actuator from lock actuator bore.
Place selector lever in Drive position. Insert a 3/32" (2.4 mm) drill bit or punch into hole in side of parking brake vacuum release switch. This locks switch in proper position for installation procedure. Remove parking brake vacuum release switch actuator. Remove parking brake vacuum release switch.
Remove steering sensor. Remove steering shaft. See steps 2) and 3) under removal procedure for SHAFT BEARING (UPPER) .
Remove washer and upper alignment wedge from steering shaft. Slide steering shaft out of lower end of column housing. Remove lower alignment wedge, sensor ring and preload spring.
Rotate shift socket fully counterclockwise. Using a 3/16" (4.8 mm) drill bit, drill out rivet attaching shift socket to shift tube.
Remove lower bearing retainer, shift tube washer and shift tube from column assembly. Remove shift socket assembly from column housing.
To remove lower shaft bearing from lower bearing retainer, tap backside of bearing using a drift punch. Separate sleeve from bearing.