Cant get my pos key out, no way no how. it has gotten stuck in on in the past, and i had been able to move it to crank (with coil unplugged) and it would come out. this time its not coming out, played with it for like 20 minutes. its stuck, and im gonna fix it this time. how hard is it to do this, where can i get a new switch? what sounds like is broken here? they key used to work but just got hung up every once in a while. i could probably get it unstuck when i take the steering wheel off and get inside the column, but what exactly is causing this so i know what to replace once i get there? im gonna get my haynes out and start taking the wheel off and stuff, if u got any ideas please reply, need to fix this ASAP. its a 90 bird, 3.1L if it makes any difference. vats has been fine.

 

TV,

Your manual should have all the exploded views, diagrams, schematics, and 8 x 10 black and white glossy photos with all the numbers and circles (just like Alice's Restaurant).

Two things you'll have to deal with are SIR (the air bag) and VATS. Your replacement lock cylinder will have to be VATS-compatible, with the extra contacts, wire harness, and slightly larger outer diameter than the "old" cylinders. The "old" cylinders are commonly available at many parts houses (with a pair of keys), but I'm not certain about the VATS cylinders, and you would also need to make certain you got a cylinder/key with the correct resistance pellet for your system.

The air bag will have to be disarmed (disconnect the battery) and carefully removed with the center pad of the steering wheel. There is also a firing coil/transducer below the steering wheel. The coil is "centered" to the steering wheel for proper alignment with the gas generator (explosive chanrge), and has a coiled spring in it to keep the contacts aligned while turning the wheel. There is a spring winding specification to be followed when reassembling. Other than that, the rest is fairly straightforward.

The only other advice I can offer is that you clean all the old grease from the turn signal switch, cancelling cam, upper bearing, etc., and apply clean white lithium grease.

Of course, you'll still need a steering wheel puller, and a column lock plate depressor is a big help. Plan on a good afternoon worth of work once you have all the parts and tools gathered.

 

ok i got the cylinder out. the key is still stuck in it, i cant get it out. got stuck in there good. where should i try to get a new cylinder as i have vats? im gonna call around some auto parts stores now. also do they come w/ new keys?

i dunno if u know this, but there was this black torx bolt holding the cylinder in. right over it was a white plastic clip that had 2 copper metal tins coming out of it. it popped out of its hole when taking the bolt for the cylinder out, does this just pop back in? theres a black metal bar spring behind it, not sure what its function is.

 

i know this has to have happened to someone else out there. what did u guys do? bypass vats and get a regulare cylinder of did u find a vats cylinder? and where if u did? couldnt find an open gm parts counter today, all closed and they'll be closed monday too which really sucks. how much is a new vats lock cylinder from a dealership?

 

i went to the dealer and got me the right part

 

how much? do they keep them instock or do they order them, if they dont how long did it take to arrive?

also sent u a PM btw just in case u dont get notification of those.

 

ocean chevy in toms river had it in stock

it was about $100 if i remember correct

you get the lock cylinder plus a new key

 

IIRC i paid about 70 bucks total for a new VATS cylinder and key.

 

eh guess ill wait till thursday and get one at a dealership.

oh just remembered something. you know the firing coil thing under the wheel, i did the realigning thing as described in the haynes but the arrows dont line up, are they supposed to after following the directions?

 

i got the key out, put the cylinder in a vice and used pliers to turn it, took some force but now the cylinder appears to be working perfectly, not binding up at all. should i trust it and install it again or should i get a new one anyway? is there anything i can do to this one to make sure it wont bind up again?

 

spoke too soon, it binded up again but i could probably get it free again w/ the vice. is there any type of lube that i could try? machine oil? not sure whats inside the lock cylinder or if oil w/ damage anything.

 

I'd definately just get a new cylinder; unless you like driving around will all the tools necessary to take your column apart

 

yeah, heres another vote for replacing it

i dont like hack jobs

 

yeah going to the dealer tomorrow, hopefully they got one in stock. can they get parts same day if i show up there early in the morning? hope they dont rape me too badly..

 

most dealers can

depends what warehouse has it in stock

ocean chevy had mine in stock

 

alright i got the cylinder, installed it today, everything is fine now. glad thats over lol. something weird happened to my steering shaft tho when installing the lock plate, it slipped off the ball bearing thing thats just past the lock cylinder, anyone know what im talking about? couldnt get it to sit on the bearing no matter what i did, and the shaft was really loose. put the lock plate on and compressed it and put the little clip in and it tightened up, is that the way its supposed to work? steering wheel feels just like new now, but im wondering if thats what your are supposed to do when the shaft comes off that bearing thing.

 

That's exactly how it's supposed to work... I just put mine back together after fixing my steering column a few months ago.....

 

ok cool. what threw me off was when i originally took the lockplate off the shaft stayed rigid, guess it was just somehow jammed rigid into the beaing beause of the spring force before and during working on it i made it slip off the bearings. when i saw that shaft all flopping around in there i started getting worried everything is as good as new now.

 

Yah me too, I took that bit appart, put it together about 5 times before I just went with it...

I also have a shop manual and a chiltons with diagrams.... helped a great deal.

 

i need a shop manual, the haynes didnt have ANYTHING on that.

 

I got mine here, posted on the classifieds...

check ebay, lots there, and look around here....