I suppose this is my first big dumb mistake. When I first took the deliver of the car (not running) my finger slipped off the release latch and the key got stuck just in front of the lock position. I panicked and wrenches the key out while jiggling. After the key was out I was able to use the latch to move the cylinder to lock. Now even with the key in I can't get the cylinder to turn.


There were a couple copies of each key and none worked any better. Jiggling the latch key, the wheel, and the lever don't seem to help. I ordered a rebuild kit off of rock Auto just in case.

Is there anything I can try in the meantime? Thanks for the help.

Auto or Manual shift? The guts of the columns are a bit different.

Hopefully, all you'll need to replace is the cylinder. The good news is the cylinders are available at most auto parts stores (Dorman Brand), GM dealers, Rock Auto, Summit racing, and others. They're not super expensive $20-$40 depending on finish. The bad news is you may have jammed or broken the switch actuator rack and selector. This is what the key cylinder turns to operate the switch inside the column and IIRC they are pot metal.

No matter what, you're going to have to remove the steering wheel, the lock plate, and turn signal switch to get to the screw that holds in the lock cylinder. If you don't have one, buy a steering lock compressor to make it easier to remove the lock plate. Well worth the ten buck cost. When you get the cylinder out you should be able to see if it's a jammed cylinder (fingers crossed) or not. If the cylinder is jammed, you can try using a regular screw driver in the switch actuator and turning it to start the car. If the actuator turns and starts then the actuator rack and selector should be good to go.

Final Recommendation: Look around on the site or the WWW and get a PDF copy of the service manual for your car. Section 3.3 has possible causes for the lock not to operate. Sections 3B4 and 3B5 has disassembly instructions for the steering column and switches.

Good luck.

[This message has been edited by Mike in Sydney (edited 06-08-2021).]

Tilt wheel or not is likely more important.
Tilt has parts that bend/break in link for lock to operate the switch.
See my Cave, Steering

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Dr. Ian Malcolm: Yeah, but your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn't stop to think if they should.
(Jurassic Park)

The Ogre's Fiero Cave

quote Originally posted by theogre: Tilt wheel or not is likely more important. Tilt has parts that bend/break in link for lock to operate the switch. See my Cave, Steering

There's a good picture of the switch actuator rack and selector in Ogre's Cave under "So you think a Ignition Switch is bad? And you have a Tilt Wheel?" . If they are bent in all likelihood, they are toast because they are brittle aluminum (pot metal). I don't think you can bend them back into shape without breaking them.

(Just wondering, could you bend them back if you heated the part to high temperature in a potter's kiln? Hmmmmmm, something to consider and try when I have time - and access to a kiln.)

It's surprising how long something can take to get to.

Anyways, I finally fixed it. (Manual with tilt column FYI) What happened was the key-present switch in the cylinder snapped off internally and jammed the mechanism. All I had to do was replace the ignition cylinder. Everything else looked fine and nothing was bent. I spent a good hour trying to get the new column cover to go on, only to realize it doesn't actually fit the electronic part of the key-present switch so I had to reuse the original cover. All in all I think the original was higher quality, even if the new one was cleaner. Now it's all back together and working fine. I double checked the key-present switch with a multimeter just to be sure and it was functioning properly.

Luckily the cylinder was all I had to do as the column was not wobbling and none of the pieces were showing bad wear.

I think my next job on the car will be the headlight motor rebuilds and then dropping the engine cradle. Thanks for the help everyone!