Curses! key won't turn
 

I had an appointment to have my brakes looked at today (pulling under braking), so I tried to leave early, but my key woudn't turn in the ignition switch! This happened once before, and some fiddling and a small squirt of wd40 did the trick. Well a half hour of fiddling and more than a little wd40 did very little except get my fingers all filmy. My mechanic said I should look for a used ignition switch.

I will shortly post a WTB ignition switch in the parts forum, but I wondered if there were other solutions? Would a locksmith be able to repair it?

Pull it out a little bit.

Tom

Did you try turning the steering wheel slightly to take any tension off the lock mechanism?

Wiggle the key in/out and try turning. LIGHTLY. My 87 did it when I first bought it. Soak it with WD40 and massage it.
Mine works like new now. And has never hung up again

maybe try the graphite powder lubricant you can buy for keeping locks working...although now that it's wet from wd-40, not sure i should recommend this or not...hopefully an expert will chime in.
ryan

I had good luck using TriFlow Lube.

it seems like every week there's a car here with that problem. nothing like wiggling the key for 15 minutes every time you want to start the car. i took a steering lock apart once to see what the problem was, and it turned out that a small steel spring loaded pin, that normally slides on a pot metal ramp, had dug a notch in the ramp to a point where it got hung up. you can't file or fill the notch, due to it's small size, so you just have to replace the steering lock assembly.

I have a never-used ignition lock w/ keys if yours turns out to be beyond redemption. Much cheaper than new list price.

I have tried every method mentioned above with the exception of WD-40. Mine seems to work perfectly now if I push IN on the key while turning. I like to think of it as a theft deturant, at least that's what I tell myself.

The main reason a key suddenly stops working is becasue one or more of the wafers has extended when the key was inserted and did not settle back down onto the key. Since on a double sided key, some wafers move up and some move down, if a spring has become fatigued, on the ones that move upward gravity will allow the wafer to settle down onto the key. If it is one that moves downward when the key is inserted, gravity works against it.

WD40 or a light lubricate will free some of the debri to allow the parts to settle into place. There are numerous things that cause wafers to stick out in an extended position but a light lubricant might temporarily solve it. The reason wiggling helps is to vibrate the stuck parts back down onto the key.

For those of you that have to pull out or force the key inward to make it turn, it is usually because the key spacing was not cut properly or the metal stop in the lock that the key stops against is worn and changing the proper alignment of key combination. Hope this helps Phil

Safecracker,

Dumb question. would it be worthwhile to use a spray carb or brake cleaner to loosen/remove any gunk that is holding the pins prior to using your favorite light lubricant?

got tired of wondering whether I could turn my key to start the car...until the day when I couldn't turn the key at all. Had to hustle to Parts Heaven and purchase a new ignition assembly. Thanks to 101 Projects, this wasn't too difficult a task. Haven't had any issues since, other than I need to keep two sets of keys (one for the door, one for the ignition).

Joe

That is the main reason I haven't replaced mine yet. How hard is it to re-key the ignition to your old key?

I wouldn't advise it, WD40 is good enough to loosen old grease or some debri. Carb cleaner is a little nasty for lock parts.

WD40 will not hurt anything. Avoid graphite, lockease, 3in1 oil or equal. Light cleansing lubricant is best especially for ignitions not exposed to weather conditions.

I don't want to infer that lubricant is a cure for a mechanical lock problem. It will correct problems due to stuck wafers caused from old dried up lube and lack of any lubrication. Spray it in the cylinder (you don't need to drown it) and simply work the key in and out repeatedly, this will make the wafers go up and down in their chambers. Hopefully this will dislodge any problem debri/grease/lint.

The problem is removing the cylinder from the housing and then unstaking some peened over areas to disassemble the cylinder. Many of these white metal components don't like to be un-peened and then re-peened. Once the cylinder is disassembled, you could theorectically install the wafers from the original cylinder but they need to be in good working order.

Unfortunately I am generalizing way more than I should be, contact your local locksmith to see if they can help you out if you don't feel comfortable doing it yourself. Find one who is well versed in automotive.

it may seem like may work, but you could re-key your door locks to match your new ignition key. i re-keyed a door lock a couple of years ago following wayne's book and it wasn't too difficult.
ryan

Thanks! I won;t expect any Lubricant/cleaner to fix a mechanical problem but it might loosen up the crud to help get a bit more service.

Hi,

I just went through this to get my trunk and glove box to work. I was unable to buy the wafers and ended up bringing the tumblers to a lock smith. Cost about $20.00/ea to re-key.

Wow, 17 answers! I've had a busy day, maybe when I get back from the store (yes I'll be walking) I'll finish reading them all. I was gonna ask if anyone knew how to get the switch out of there, but I have 101proj, so I'll look it up. Something tells me it isn't just stuck. I had a door handle off a few months ago and took the opportunity to put some lithium grease on the mechanism.

You are right, although it means keying more locks to match one, almost always any lock other than ignition is designed to be disassembled without major work. Generally they have screws or snap rings etc. etc. that hold the cylinder in place without having to un-peen rivot type connections.