The column shifter handle on my 04 S 10 has to be pushed forward towards the engine so the key can be extracted. I thing there is a little (but heavy) spring in there that does this; am I right/> Is it worth (hard) it to replace it?
I ran into this with a Silverado. The spring broke. Guy owned a machine shop and gave me an oil pump pressure relief spring to put in its place. Wasn't a perfect match but it worked and it did the job.