A friend of mine has a '91 RS V8 automatic. She tried to start it the other day and the key turned farther than normal and nothing would happen. It also won't come out of park. Still has power.

I was thinking bad tumblers in the ignition. I did some searching on here and it sounds like a bad lock cylinder except most of the ones I found in my searching had the keys stuck, not turning more freely than normal.

I am not familiar with domestics and thought I'd seek the advice of you fine folks. (Nice site here btw.)

My plan of attack was going to be to go buy a new lock cylinder and rent a steering wheel puller at Autozone. Take the new cylinder with the blank along with the original key to the dealer and get a new VATS key made for the new cylinder. Replace.

I looked for a "how to" or "write up" with maybe a tools list, pics, diagrams, etc., but didn't find one.

I may be misdiagnosing this and my plan of attack may be totally wrong.

Any input, link, advice, pointers, etc. would greatly be appreciated.

Many thanks.

 

Does the starter make any sound at all? You might want to try jumping power to the starter... Oh wait. I think that's called hotwiring. Anyway, I think as long as the car has power from the key, it's not to hard to do. Just locate the wire that connects the ignition assy. to the starter and connect it to a ground.

 

It doesn't make any noise at all. It's like the key is in the on position regardless of what position it's actually in. I'll keep the jumpstarting idea in mind if she needs a way to start it but looking for a more permanent solution.

Thanks for the help. Keep it coming.

 

I think new ignition tumblers can be had for not too expensive, but it sounds like that's what you're going to need. I'm not sure if you'll have to disassemble the steering column or not, I've never done it before.

Good luck with it though.

And what kinda engine do you have in this 91 RS?

 

It's not my car but I'm guessing it's a 305. It's a V8.