Ok, I think I understand now that once you get that snap ring out of the way that the next piece will come off with a puller correct? I don't think I was clear at the beginning of this thread. I don't need to just change the ignition switch cylinder. I need to get to the wiring harness part to test for any shorts. What happened was this: I've had to do a lot of rewiring in the engine bay on this car due to the extensive rodent damage that the car had when I got it. I fixed everything visibly bad and the engine cranks if I jump the ignition relay with a screwdriver. However, when I went to start it with the key, the first few turns gave me nothing. The third or fourth turn gave me sparks out of the column where the ignition switch is. Am I right in trying to access this to test that harness or could something else be shorted that caused it to spark there? The main thing I want to know is after removing the snap ring on the shaft do I definitely need a special puller to get the next section off or can it be coaxed with a little elbow grease and a pry bar or two? When I pull on it by hand, I feel the whole shaft and column giving several inches from down lower somewhere, I guess close to the steering box or something. Thanks for your patience with my delema and any advice anyone can give from here.