Hey guy and girls,

I am wondering if anyone has any suggestions here.. I have a 1993 steering column in my jeep and the previous place I had it lost the key... I went to the dealer with the VIN for that ignition and got a key - doesn't work!

SO my question is, how do I get the ignition cylinder out? The steering column is tilt and it's out of a laredo if that matters... And it appears to be a one piece sleeve over the column...

And my other question, how in the heck can I get this thing running without the key? I need to be able to remove the steering wheel lock plate so that I can rehook up my steering linkage and move the thing without one person pushing it while the other constantly readjusts the front tires lol

Thanks for any suggestions!

 

Sorry to hear youre having problems. Its possible your ignition cylinder may have been changed at one point or another, or the key was cut wrong. The only way of finding out is to remove the cylinder itself. (which is fairly straight foward) Id highly advise against making the car start without the key.

The only stickler part about this is that the procedure is to remove the cylinder...by turning the key!!

That is -the- only way aside from drilling out and cutting off the brace that surrounds the column holding in the cylinder.

Anything aside from that is going to be ugly and will net you repairs later on down the road (like a screwdriver in the ignition).

 

A screwdriver in the ignition wouldn't matter as I need to take it out to replace it...

 

In that case, if you can somehow manage to turn that cylinder then you can replace it!

The procedure states to remove the covers around the ignition, disconnect the battery, turn the key to the 'ON' position, and then youll see a release tab through a hole in the cylinder housing. (you can only see the tab through the hole if the ignition is in the ON position) Press on that tab through the hole on the housing and then pull on the cylinder to remove it. This leaves the switch, brace, and everything still bolted to the car but you can remove and install a new (properly keyed) cylinder. Be sure to make a spare key this time!

 

Okay, but how does that work? Do I just shove a flat head screw driver in there and hope for the best...?

 

In all keyed ignitions there is always a retaining pin inside the cylinder that connects to the cylinder housing. This pin prevents the cylinder from turning without the proper key inside the cylinder. This pin need to be removed or broken or removed. There are also multiple key slides (the part that touches different sections of the key making it actually 'unlock') that would need to be removed to broken as well to allow the cylinder, yet again, to move.

Here is a picture to explain a little better:



Each of those tabs in the middle reaches a certain position when they key is put in and allows the cylinder to move. Those will have to be removed or broken. In addition to the retaining pin i mentioned.

This is why having a spare is so important. If you dont want to break or have to go through all this trouble then removing the entire brace around the steering column (that holds the housing to the column) will have to be removed and replaced.

There are numerous ways to get around a keyed cylinder ignition, but none are easy. Only those who have perfected this art (thieves) can do this in a quick fashion. By no means is this supposed to be easy.

edit- Shoving a screwdriver in there and hoping for the best is one way to do it, but its also one way to guarantee something will break. I cannot tell you that you will not break more than you intended. You may break something that costs alot of money to replace!

 

This is the simple and easy procedure (if you had a key) to remove the cylinder.

 

I found this video on youtube and it is my exact steering column... So I am going to try this! No key required and I can get a new kay made for this ignition at a locksmith for fairly cheap which means I don't have to replace my door locks YAY

I have spent hours looking for a tutorial, write up or video and finally found an awesome one lol

 

DOH! I should have asked what year you were working on! Sorry!

I dont think you even need a key for the older ones! @ the 7:20 mark on the video, he pulls out that torx head bolt. In the newer ignition cylinders they didnt use a simple bolt to hold in the cylinder. They replaced it with the tab that i so elaborately explained :P In the older ones you may be able to take that bolt out and the whole thing should just pop out, potentially without a key to turn the cylinder! So good job on finding the video! You did better research than me!