2003 Panther Town Car Ignition Stuck

Hi. My dad's got a 2003 Panther platform Town Car with a stuck ignition. I've tried all the jiggle the shifter and pop the key and move the wheel stuff, nothing gets it moving. The strange thing is that the steering lock isn't on. I can turn and turn the wheel, and it is actually moving all the linkage, not just a broken column problem.

I'm thinking its a bad ignition lock. I've experienced this on many BMW's and Porsche's, but in all of those cases the steering lock gets stuck too. I work on very little American steel, so I wanted to see if anyone has another idea about this before I rip into it. It's cold in Minnesota, and I want to spend as little time working on this in the driveway as possible.

Thanks,
Alex

From what you described, it sounds like a bad ignition cylinder which will not allow the key to turn. Am I right? You can remove the housing around the the steering column to see if there is anything preventing it from turning.

Be sure you have a Haynes or Chilton manual to see how this stuff comes apart and re-assembles. Or do a Google search for removing the ignition cylinder.