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HELP... Key wont turn to start.. 89 K5

O

offroadnut

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Hey I have a 89 K5 Blazer just got it. It was working fine and then all of a sudden the Key won't turn to start. (YES it is in park and it is reconizing the gears correctly.) once we started wiggling it back and forth to get it to go now it is stuck in run only it won't even go back to off. I bought a new Inginition for the truck tonight but I am not sure if that is going to fix it. Please let me know if anyone has experienced this and any tricks to get the steering column off to replace all that.

Any advice is helpful... thanks.
 
I would figure that its the ignition. Im not sure how far you have to go into the column to get the ignition out (I dont think its all that far because I did it once but dont really remember), but if you have tilt steering and do have to go far, the column is a major bitch to work with.
-Harrison
 
You may need a steering puller. I have taken wheels off without them.

You might need a lock plate tool, if you need to get inside of the column.


You can drop the steering column, if it has a plate holding it up. Then you will see the ign switch. It has a bunch of wires with a rod going towards the key. Try moving the rod and see if it is stiff. This may cause the stiffness. Other problem can be the lock itself. Or worst case is the small gears inside the colum, that connect the two.
 
sounds like a dumbass way to fix it but i had this problem when i was picking up my motor at a shop. I had the blaze on a flatbed and had to put the motor in the back then have it towed to where we were gonna do the swap. I put the key in the ignition and it wouldn't turn over which meant that the back window wasn't gonna roll down.... the shop was closing in 5 minutes(it was their forklift and their building i was keeping the motor at) and this was about the only time i was gonna be able to get a free tow for a year so i took some wd40 and some pliers and it popped free. just was stuck from sitting. don't know if this is your problem but try putting some pressure on it... might pop free. don't go crazy tho.
 
this happened to me as well. first it was stuck in the off position, then got stuck in the run position. its the lock cylinder sticking. sometimes you can wiggle everything and kinda rock the wheel back and forth at the same time.

i've had my column apart, its a major PITA. taking the wheel of is the easy part. i just took my truck to my local mechanic. he installed a new lock for about 150 including parts. well worth it IMO.
 
The easiest way to replace the lock is to use a special tool. The center pad will come off, then the center nut. Under that is the steering wheel locking assy. This big plate has to be depressed and the c ring removed. When the c ring is removed the steering wheel shaft will try to drop down, no problem until replacing everything. You can then see down to the shaft the lock cylinder slides into. If You have Harbor Freight store near you they sell a tool for a few bucks that will aide in the removal and replace ment of the c ring. You can order online from them if you have the time. The jobs a little more complicated than that but with patience its not that hard.
 
Thanks for all the advice... I bought the Haynes manual on the truck tonight with the steering puller and plate puller. I am hoping it goes smoothly. one of you mentioned the shaft will drop... what is the trick to either keep that from happening or more likely what is the trick to putting it back together.

Thanks again,
 
I forgot about that... rock the steering wheel back and forth while turning the ignition. I've had that happen a few times in the silver blazer :p:
 
Pulling your shaft

You can push up on the shaft from the bottom where it goes through the fire wall. If you have the plate puller it should pull the shaft up into position as long as the key way is lined up. Make sure the nut is in place when you start the operation.
 
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It does sound like sticky tumblers in the lock mechanism, but before you go through the work of tearing the steering column apart you might want to try this. Take some graphite, shavings from pencil lead will do, and put it in the place where the key goes. Slide the key in and out several times to get the graphite to work into the tumblers and see if that loosens it up.
 
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