anyone had a steering colum apart before?

[fireguy12117]

can you swap the key tumbler assembly easily?

i had a junk yard steering colum that ive partially broken down. what i need to replace is the shell that holds the bushing in place for steering shaft as it comes out from the colum, which means im replacing the whole damned colum, but i dont want two different keys, one for the doors, one for the ignition, AND the junk yard key tumbler is jacked. some sort of retaining pin is shearing and allows the key to spin a 360 if you jiggle it right. im wondering if its possible to swap that whole cast peice that houses the key tumbler, or the tumble itself.

[wvcat]

To remove the lock turn the key to the on position and insert a small drill bit (or similar) into the hole at the bottom. The ignition should just pull out.
John

[fireguy12117]

wow...


ill give it shot once i get some coffee in me, thanks!

[fireguy12117]

that worked great, thanks again wvcat.

i was able to tear down the whole assembly once it was out of the truck and swap the best out of a junk yard one to get everything working right.

[wvcat]

Your welcome, glad everything worked out!
John

[locovaca]

I'm in about the same situation (the outer metal which secures the "tabs" outside of the key slot is very loose). I pulled a cylinder from a junk yard which works better, but how do you get at the pins to re-key the thing? I don't really want to have two keys for the truck...

[MAKG]

You take it to a locksmith. Never install used pins. It will work much better with new (unworn) ones.

Alternatively, you go back to the same donor and pull the door (and hatch, if equipped) cylinders, or have yours rekeyed. There are no electrical parts in the door cylinders, so those are better candidates for disassembly.