Need help with a Ignition Key Switch

[Wayne Hess]

I need to replace my ignition key switch and was hoping someone can walk me through this process or point me in the direction that I could find this information. I need to remove the old switch and have no experience with this.

Thanks,

Wayne
Londonderry, NH

[jemarshall64]

Is it a tilt or strait colum?? Hopefully for you it a tilt.

Ok, on tilt, look behind key switch on the colum and you will see a little hole. Put your key in and roll it forward until just before you turn the power on and push in the litttle tab in the hole using a pick, all, or wire tester and pull out on key switch. line up new key to match the position and put in the hole. It should lock right into place, but give it a tug or two to make sure.

Now on strait colum. Remover steering wheel, turn signal handel, hazard pull thing, and then turn signal switch unti. Neer the 1 o'clockish position you will see a little opening about 3/4 to 1 inch long that you can see down into the colum where the back of the key tumbler should be. Again, put in key and roll forward a little and then push in the metal tab with a slim strait screw driver or slim piece of metal (hose clamp works if you are trying to do this on the side of a trail in the middle of the woods, trust me) and pull out on the lock tumbler. Again line up new tumbler and push to install, tug to make sure it is seated and locked in and then reasemble the colum. See now wasent that esy???

[pri]

Hmmmm... Isn't that just the lock cylinder?
If I recall correctly the switch is placed a bit down the column and is operated by a rod from the lock. The hardest bit about changing the switch is getting down there under the dash... Otherwise it's quite straight forward, you see the connectors and you see how to replace the switch.

Paul

[EagleMark]

Originally Posted by jemarshall64

Is it a tilt or strait colum?? Hopefully for you it a tilt.

Ok, on tilt, look behind key switch on the colum and you will see a little hole. Put your key in and roll it forward until just before you turn the power on and push in the litttle tab in the hole using a pick, all, or wire tester and pull out on key switch. line up new key to match the position and put in the hole. It should lock right into place, but give it a tug or two to make sure.

Now on strait colum. Remover steering wheel, turn signal handel, hazard pull thing, and then turn signal switch unti. Neer the 1 o'clockish position you will see a little opening about 3/4 to 1 inch long that you can see down into the colum where the back of the key tumbler should be. Again, put in key and roll forward a little and then push in the metal tab with a slim strait screw driver or slim piece of metal (hose clamp works if you are trying to do this on the side of a trail in the middle of the woods, trust me) and pull out on the lock tumbler. Again line up new tumbler and push to install, tug to make sure it is seated and locked in and then reasemble the colum. See now wasent that esy???

Can the switch be removed from a non tilt column without the key?

[jemarshall64]

yes, but you need a good drill and a good set of drill bits to do it.

you basically need to drill out the guts from where you put the key in until there is nothing left and the keeper falls out. Unless you dont care about the condition of the colum and then just take a 1 to 2 lb sledge and go for it. The other option when you get to that point is to call a lock smith, they canplay with the lock cylender while it is still in the colum and get the info and cut you a new key. truly that is probably your best option at this point.

[EagleMark]

Well I went both routes, I removed the steering wheel and directional switches so I could access the button to depress. It would not depress. I then drilled out the tumbler with small drills up to 3/8th drill bit. Once I got to 3/8 the button depressed and the tumbler came out.