This 2001 Chevrolet Silverado came in with the complaint that the ignition key will not turn most of the time. I removed and inspected the lock cylinder and housing assemblies and found the fault with the tumbler assembly. The following are pictures of dis assembly.
Grasp the corner of the dash and pull out. Repeat pulling process across the dash.
Remove the screws from the bottom cover and pull the whole cover towards the seat and remove. Do not pull just on the bottom edge or you will break retainers. Work the whole panel loose top to bottom.
Remove the tilt wheel handle by wiggling and pulling straight out towards driver’s door
Remove screws from steering column cover, separate and remove.
Remove the steel knee bolster from under steering column. There are four nuts, two on each side.
Locate and separate the ignition switch junction block at left side of steering column.
Now go back to the lock cylinder and work the key until you finally get it switched on. Changing the position of the key in and out slightly while wiggling and rocking the switch will usually allow the key to turn on. It may take quite a bit of trying if the lock is in real bad shape. After the key is turned on, rotate it fully to the crank position and depress the retaining pin in the top of the assembly. With the pin pushed in pull the lock cylinder out.
Install new tumbler by inserting in the ignition housing and turn the key off. Reassemble and you are done.
I am going to do another post on how to code the new tumbler kit to your key.
Update July 11, 2011:
Well it was bound to happen, a bull in a china shop had difficulty reinstalling the lock cylinder and has now messed up his steering column. Wants to blame poor information from this site. I cannot stress enough that all of the work performed by me, on this site requires an extreme eye towards detail and a gentle touch. No part of this repair in particular should require any force or coercion of any kind!
Some extra things to keep in mind:
The new ignition switch needs to be indexed into the exact position, as the old switch was in, when it was removed. The ON position.
The key tumbler assembly needs to be checked, to make sure the locking bar drops flat and even towards the center of the tumbler assembly when the key is installed. If it does not, DO NOT INSTALL IT!
There is a retaining bar/panel that holds the springs in place for the individual tumblers. If it is not fully installed and flat, no protrusions past the outside edge of the tumbler housing, DO NOT INSTALL IT!
Thanks , is there an actual sensor in there that operates my door locks? Is it in the column? Is there anyway to test or check it to see if i damaged it?
As long as it will still crank the lock cylinder is not hard to remove. Start by either disconnecting the battery or disconnecting the ignition switch junction block under the dash. Next remove the upper steering column cover. Depending on the year model the lower one will have to first be removed and follow that up with removing the two screws from the underside of the top cover. With the top cover removed or at least lifted, locate the hole in the top of the lock cylinder housing. Turn the key to the full crank position and depress the locking pin in the hole found earlier. Pull the lock cylinder out and inspect for damage from there.
So my ignition lock in my truck stopped going into acc power, so with the advice on here I put some graphite in the lock and kept working it back and forth. Long story short didn’t work, and now I wrecked something.
When you open your door and you still have the keys in it you get the bell ringing we’ll I get that all the time now with no keys in it. Also with my truck when you slide your key out of it, it opens the door locks. Well now my door locks won’t lock, I try to lock it and it just keeps popping open. I can make it work by wiggleing it without the key in it.
So I am thinking did I wreck the lock or the sensor in side that controls all of this? What do you think? Anyway to test it?
Also is it very hard to pull out the ignition lock?
Your help would be greatly appreciated, Thanks
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It will be very similar to the information at the following post address. You will need to copy and paste the address.
http://www.sparkys-answers.com/2008/11/with-small-screwdriver-depress.html
Did you post the way to code the new tumbler to the current key? I can’t seem to find it.